Many of us fell in love with football because of some of the stars that brought flair and passion and extra beauty to the already beautiful game. These were stars in the true sense of it, so much so that when they started fading, we began to look for possible replacements who would fill the void and take over the torch from them. They were idols both to us and even to those that we thought would be their replicas.
This is an article that serves to highlight some of these players who showed so much signs and quality especially at the beginning of their careers that we thought they would be able to fill the huge shoes left behind by their idols, but who eventually fizzled out without being able to fulfill the promise they showed at the beginning.
THE NEXT RONALDINHOS
Ronaldinho was a class act in his prime playing days that seemed to be operating in a different galaxy from the rest of the players around him. He was the gem of both the Barca and Brazil team of the early 2000s, with an abundance of flicks and tricks mesmerizing opposing defenders with dazzling regularity. He was too good to be gone for good, so the world started looking for possible heirs.
The first on the list of next Ronaldinho's is Robinho. Robinho broke out as a talented and exciting prodigy from Brazilian football club Santos. His pace and skill on the ball were his biggest asset as he was a nightmare for his peers. Between 2002-2005, he delivered 47 goals in 108 appearances to attract the attention of Spanish giants Real Madrid.
Originally posted on YouTube by Teo Cri
After contributing 34 goals in 3 seasons at the Bernabeu, he was shipped off to the new project brewing at Manchester City where he later claimed he knew nothing about. A relatively average performance at City meant he was then moved on to AC Milan in 2010 after spending just two seasons. He somewhat blossomed in Serie A spending 5 years there before being shipped of to China.
From there on, it was a downward spiral for the fleet footed Brazilian, through China, Turkey and back to Brazil. Robinho had a relatively successful career, but couldn't really meet up to the Ronaldinho standard preset for him. Although it wasn't helpful that while he was struggling, his idol (though with only a four year interval), was thriving at Barcelona.
The next one is Kerlon. Kerlon Mora Souza was outrageous with the ball, which gave home the nickname, the seal dribbler. This was mainly because he'd dribbled pass opposing players while bouncing the ball on his head. He was notorious for taunting players marking him which once resulted in former right-back Dyego Rocha Coelho being suspended for five matches after elbowing him in the face.
Originally posted on Youtube by THESWINES
He was dubbed the new Ronaldinho because of his trickery and subtlety. But after dazzling for the Brazilian youth teams alongside the likes of Marcelo and Anderson in 2005, he ended up at Chievo after rumored interest from the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester United. In Italy, Mino Raiola bought 80% of his rights but he ended up playing only 4 times for Chievo, while he did not manage any appearance for Inter due to knee injuries.
He was then told that he's not part of his plans by Jose Mourihno. He then went on loan to Ajax where he also failed to play. He also went on loan at Brazilian clubs Parana and Nacional NS. He left Inter in 2012 to Japanese outfit Fujieda MYSC where he had his best stint scoring 9 goals in 22 appearances before another knee injury forced him to leave in 2014.
His career had already stagnated and spiraled into oblivion by the time he settled in the United States. By this time, the man who was once dubbed the next Ronaldinho had turned into a journeyman before settling in America as a coach teaching children how to play the beautiful game.
That's it for this edition. More editions coming subsequently. What do you think, and who else do you think failed to live up to "the next Ronaldinho" tag.
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