Friday night in Parramatta is a commuter's nightmare. But this particular Friday was different, especially on O’Connell Street, where you would have been lucky to move a metre a minute. Foot traffic did not ease the situation either, as those young and old swarmed onto CommBank Stadium, most draped in Brazilian flags and donning the country's blue, yellow, and green. This was no ordinary Friday night. Ronaldinho, the football legend, was in town.
Ronaldinho's XI celebrate a goal in the Joga Bonito Tour match. (Image: Harley Appezzato)
Commbank Stadium played host to the latest exhibition match to grace Australian shores. But rather than the usual pre-season friendly between two European clubs, or one of those clubs playing A-Leagues opposition, this team featured Ronaldinho and his Brazilian mates, alongside some former A-League international players and Kevin-Prince Boateng, playing against Tim Cahill and the former Australian players he was able to pull together.
Ronaldinho’s XI v Cahill’s XI. The Brazilian is one of football's most iconic personnel, and he still has all the tricks and flicks that made him such a superstar. Facing him was a collection of some of the best Australian footballers of the 21st century—the likes of Archie Thompson, Aaron Mooy, and former Matilda Heather Garriock winding back the years. It was a game that matched the hype and energy that justified the gridlock of cars streaming into the area, right?
The scene on the other side of the turnstiles told a different story. The stadium was more of a sea of grey rather than the yellow and green the outside crowd suggested would be there, as empty seats dominated the stands. That gridlock outside the stadium was more or less just an unusually high percentage of attendees choosing to drive to the stadium rather than the various modes of public transport usually opted for in the occurrences of large-scale events.
The match itself provided what fans were hoping to see. Ronaldinho used every moment with the ball to engage the crowd, whether with a wonder pass or his silky samba moves that were synonymous with him in his heyday. The crowd got into it, the noise levels increasing every time he received the ball.
While Ronaldinho did not get on the scoresheet himself, he provided several assists. A-League legend Shane Smeltz proved to be the goal-scoring machine of the night, helping himself to a hat-trick. Meanwhile, former AC Milan star Kevin-Prince Boateng sent fans home with two stunning strikes that would not look out of place in an actual professional match anywhere.
Kevin-Prince Boateng stole the show with two world-class goals. (Image: Harley Appezzato)
Ronaldinho’s XI would go on to win 6-3, a testament to the flair and directness they played with. Cahill’s XI still provided some noteworthy moments, though. Cahill scored a trademark header, following it up with a trademark celebration. Meanwhile, Mooy decided every ten minutes or so that he wanted to be the best player on the pitch and would go on a mazy run or pull off something magical to remind everyone how good he was (and maybe still is).
The match was probably not the thriller the scoreline suggested, though, as players certainly showed they were past their physical peaks. It was slow and casual, not far off what you would see from a group of mates at the local park on a Sunday afternoon, only this had a live band playing Brazilian music for the duration of the match.
While the goals and carefree attitude on display could make for an enjoyable experience, it was not without broader criticism. Many fans online pointed to the fixture scheduling potentially detracting from the A-League fixtures at the same time, particularly the A-League Women's season opener.
While nothing is without fault in football, the potential of these matches is undoubtedly there.
The most prominent detraction of the night was the poor turnout, but that could be attributed to the marketing strategy over the match itself or the fact that this game was announced, promoted, and completed in barely two months.
The reality is those who attended saw value in what they saw. Games like this may not be everyone's cup of tea, but that does not mean there isn't a market for them.
Ronaldinho takes a free-kick with a number of empty seats in the background. (Image: Harley Appezzato)
Australian football fans seldom see a figure like Ronaldinho in their backyard. Even at 44, with next to no fitness levels and, based on what we saw on Friday, no genuine desire to run anyway, he still oozed class and constantly pushed to do the audacious, a trait seen increasingly less in modern football. For some, watching Ronaldinho on his own could have been worth the ticket fee, and if that were not enough, Boateng's strikes would have made the night out worth it.
The argument that it does nothing for Australian football isn’t necessarily valid. While it may not have been as enthralling as a professional match with added emotion, intensity, and metres in the legs, this could have easily been played with a bunch of no-name footballers around the world who mean nothing to the Australian public. The odds are that it would have been cheaper to organise.
Seeing former Socceroos like Mooy, Thompson, Tarek Elrich, and Carl Valeri, alongside former Matildas and a current Pararoo in Ben Roche, up against a footballing icon, is only a positive image for any young fans watching. And on the other side of the fence, a host of A-League alumni increased the sense of nostalgia the game brought. Not to mention the inclusion of SD Raiders forward Taiana Almeida and Sydney University midfielder Jaime Beaufils, allowing them to line up within such a side. For every inclusion fans could have been critical of, there were two to three other players whose presence was a positive story for the match.
Milos Ninkovic was one of a host of former A-Leagues players to feature in the Joga Bonito Tour match. (Image: Harley Appezzato)
That is not to say the night was without criticism; as mentioned earlier, nothing is without fault in football.
The argument that it could take eyeballs off Australia's domestic leagues is true. The match was shown on 10’s main channel, while the A-Leagues languished on 10 Bold. That is no fault of the event, and the domestic game that night would have been on 10 Bold whether this match was played or not. However, the A-Leagues have often been seen as second-class citizens, with media corporations using it merely as leverage to secure more appealing big-money games, which get treated with the respect followers of the domestic leagues have long yearned for their competitions.
While the match has the right to be played whenever the organisers see fit, and Channel 10 has the right to show whatever it likes on its channels, fans have the right to be dissatisfied with the adverse effects it could have on the league they follow.
There is every chance the timing of the match itself was purely down to Ronaldinho's availability. While that may not be enough reason for some to believe that this match was played alongside two A-Leagues fixtures, the alternative may be that the event does not see the light of day. It is hard to imagine that many people would think that having Australians miss out on watching Ronaldinho altogether is a wise decision.
What should also be considered is how quickly Australian football fans can reject anything resembling a gimmick. In the lead-up, this match was described as ‘a charity match without a charity’, which was a fair assessment. Matches similar to this one are played worldwide, albeit in support of those less fortunate.
There was a real opportunity to positively impact the Australian community, even outside football. But looking within the sport, donating even a percentage of profits to an organisation such as the Dylan Tombides Foundation or to the ParaRoos or ParaMatildas, who are about to travel to Spain for the IFCPF World Cup, would have been a statement of intent that would have caught the eyeballs of more people.
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The Joga Bonito Tour presented a rare opportunity for Australian football fans to see a legend of the game play live in their own backyard. (Image: Harley Appezzato)
As mentioned, this fixture may not have excited you, but the opportunity for exhibition matches like this rarely comes. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and maybe the next time we see such an event, it occurs in the A-Leagues off-season or during an international break. But to entirely discredit the idea may be a shot in the foot for football fans down under.
The message from the match was to activate the grassroots and have kids dreaming of where football can take them in life. Whether that impact remains true is up to the public, and more so those kids themselves. However, exposing them to highly talented players, especially ones where their mums and dads can tell them stories from their childhood, having watched or idolised them, is hardly going to have any profound negative effect.
So, the next time such an occasion is brought to Australian shores, and hopefully, there will be a next time, it is done with plenty of notice, at a time when all corners of football can enjoy it, and done for a cause better than the players that grace the pitch.
And who knows, maybe the organisers can establish a strike partnership between Fernando Torres and a young, fresh-faced Australian football journalist…
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