PORTO ALEGRE // For a city that supplied football with one of its great entertainers, there is not much in the way of tributes or homages.
Porto Alegre may be famous for its churrasco, the barbequed meat swallowed by the barrel load in Brazil, but for fans of the jogo bonito, it is more readily renowned as the place that produced Ronaldo de Assis Moreira.
Or, to you and I, Ronaldinho.
The two-time Fifa World Player of the Year cut his distinctive teeth in these parts, having grown up in Villa Nova, to the city’s south.
At age 13, he caught the media’s attention by scoring all 23 goals in a local football match.
Then, graduation to Gremio’s first team, where Ronaldinho collected a couple of cups before a big-money move to Paris Saint-Germain.
By the time he returned to Porto Alegre, in 2006, to cut the ribbon on the Ronaldinho Institute, he was a World Cup winner, and easily the best player on the planet.
Upon opening the educational facility, Ronaldinho broke down in tears, moved by the endeavour of others in turning his dream into reality.
Yet around Porto Alegre now, there does not appear to be the same gratitude returned.
In a city with an abundance of street art, sketches of Ronaldinho cannot be easily found.
A tiny souvenir football shop sells Gremio memorabilia, but their former star is not plastered over mugs or flags.
A Ronaldinho museum, even? They have that covered in the institute, apparently.
Ask taxi drivers, restaurant owners and football fans, and they all acknowledge Ronaldinho can stake a claim as Brazil’s most skilful exponent.
But there is a sense he departed Gremio, the club that provided the platform, too soon in search of fame and fortune. It all seems a little unfair.
jmcauley@thenational.ae
