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Ronaldinho’s Queretaro stay achieved its purpose
When Ronaldinho joined Queretaro FC, he obviously didn’t do it to play at the highest level of club football. If that was his goal, he might have done things a little differently throughout the latter stages of his career. “I’ve always led the same kind of lifestyle, and all the teams I’ve played on, I’ve been a champion,” said Ronaldinho per ESPNFC. “I hope to continue leading the same lifestyle and to keep being a champion.”
Ronaldinho clearly loves his football “lifestyle” and that’s why he keeps playing. At this point, he plays for the fun of it. He moved to Queretaro for a change of scenery after becoming somewhat bored in Brazil. He went to Mexico to light up Queretaro and Liga MX, not so much with his skills but with his name.
The Brazilian was born with gifts such that he’ll light up the room with his feet wherever he goes. No longer may he be effective but he remains at very least capable, offering the promise or scoring the odd free-kick or two along with the occasional nutmeg or flick. But never was he going to run for ninety minutes and be the player whom the club could count on.
Ronaldinho isn’t the manager’s pet; but he’s the marketing officer’s best friend. In the end, he missed a penalty kick in his first match and was relegated to the bench in his final few months at the club — the very same months Queretaro made a run to the Liga MX Clausura final, which they lost. He showed up late and partied into the early morning; however, you can bet that he left a more lasting impact on the club than any other player in their lineup this season.
Wherever Queretaro went, they sold out stadiums. They drew international attention, which Liga MX had previously lacked. “The topic of Ronaldinho in terms of marketing has been important not only for Gallos (Blancos), but also for the Mexican league,” said Queretaro president Arturo Villanueva. “Thanks to him, we got our first international games, we’re in the majority of newspapers and Queretaro has been talked about more in this past year.”
When February brought around a managerial change — Ignacio Ambriz was replaced by Victor Vucetich — the new manager didn’t humor Ronaldinho’s flaws. ”Marketing-wise it was an enormous success, he’s got great quality, but we need players that contribute in all aspects,” said Vucetich.
Signing veteran players isn’t the way forward for Queretaro but it was most certainly a start. In that context, Ronaldinho’s move to Liga MX has been an overwhelming success. For Queretaro, all press was good press — even Ronaldinho’s departure, which would explain its timing, with a year still left on Ronaldinho’s terminated contract. The minute he became old news was the minute his wages and ego weren’t worth it.
Ronaldinho’s departure from the league has been offset by the high-profile arrivals of Andre-Pierre Gignac, Jurgen Damm, and Ikechukwu Uche, who have the quality on the pitch to maintain many of the fans Ronaldinho brought to Mexico.
Homepage photo credit: Reto Stauffer on Wikipedia Commons