Receiving a standing ovation from opposition fans is one of the best compliments a player can receive for his talented displays. However, being applauded by your team’s bitter rivals is something extremely rare in the footballing world. Ronaldinho is one of the few Barcelona players who have witnessed the Real Madrid fans applaud for them at the Bernabeu.
Context of the match:
La Blaugrana were struggling to get their hands on any silverware before the arrival of the Brazillian magician with only one league title in 5 years. Only a point was separating the rivals when they entered this match where Ronaldinho put on a Samba show in the Spanish capital.
Samuel Eto started out as the striker for FC Barcelona in hopes of taking revenge on his former side. Real Madrid had not given Eto a chance as they were in the middle of their Galactico era. Los Blancos also had the opportunity to sign Ronaldinho but rejected him because they thought his looks made him a difficult marketing product. Madrid instead signed the handsome David Beckham from Manchester United.
Dismantling of Madrid with Brazillian magic
As soon as the match started it was obvious to the home fans in the Bernabeu that Ronaldinho will not be an easy foe. The Brazillian danced past the Madrid defence like he was playing against kids. Michel Salgado who was tasked to stop the Brazillian magician failed miserably but it was probably the young Sergio Ramos who was tormented the most. Ramos was seen kicking thin air in attempts to tackle Ronaldinho time and time again. Barcelona opened the scoring with Eto’s goal who pointed to the badge and celebrated his goal with a two-finger salute under the presidency box of Florentino Perez.
The second half began and Ronaldinho put up a show on enemy soil. His first goal was the result of a mesmerizing run at the Madrid defense. He left Ramos for dead once again before stepping aside from Ivan Helguera and firing it home to double Barcelona’s advantage. The home fans were forced to stand from their seats and applaud in awe of the Brazillian when he scored his second goal. After Diego Maradona, Ronaldinho became the first Barcelona player to receive this honour from the Bernabeu.