Goa 5’s pulled off a stunning performance against Bengaluru 5’s in their Premier Futsal fixture in Chennai. And the star of the show was none other than Brazilian legend, Ronaldinho.
Ronaldinho managed to net as many as 5 goals, as the tournament exploded to life in the light of the former World player of the year. His Bengaluru counterpart, Paul Scholes, was completely overshadowed as Goa ran the South Indian team ragged.
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It started in the 6th minute of the first quarter. Ronaldinho, who had put in a below par performance in the previous game, received a corner. He then sidestepped the opposition goalkeeper and tapped into the empty net.
Scholes tried to get into the action with a shot that went wide. However, towards the end of the quarter, Neto was fouled by Ronaldinho. This led to a quick counter attack and a superb goal from Bengaluru’s Maxi.
It was in the second quarter that Ronaldinho showed his magic. He went close after a neat one two, but narrowly missed the target. He was made to rue it as Bengaluru took the lead through Jonathan.
However, their joy was short lived as Ronaldinho managed to evade two defenders and the goalkeeper to bring the scores level. He then completed a well-deserved hat trick after being set up by Rafael.
Bengaluru went into the break only one goal behind, but the momentum had clearly shifted. In the third quarter, Paul Scholes struggled to exert his influence on the game.
But for the Brazilian maestro more than made up for it with a sumptuous performance. Ronaldinho was at the heart of every Goa move. He literally toyed with opposition displaying outrageous skill. At one moment he juggled the ball 6 times before passing to a teammate. The crowd lapped up the performance.
Ultimately, after one skill too many, Ronaldinho lost the ball to Scholes, who had an unsuccessful shot. At the other end, Ronaldinho hit the post, before the end of the quarter.
Bengaluru may have thought they had a chance. But they weren’t prepared for the upcoming onslaught. No one was really. No one could have been.
Ronaldinho had his 4th of the evening with a calm chip over the last defender. Moments later, Marshall made it 5-2 after tapping in from Vampeta’s deflected shot.
There was nothing in the game after that really. Ronaldinho continued to toy with the Bengaluru defenders. While the crowd went wild cheering the Samba King.
It was still not over, as Vampeta set up Rafael for his teams 6th goal. Soon, Bengaluru conceded foul number 5 and the man of the moment stepped up for the penalty and duly despatched it. On this form, there was no way he was missing that.
This game showcased the best of Futsal. With a marquee performance from a marquee player, it was exactly the shot in the arm required for the tournament. As of now, Kolkata lead the group, followed by Goa and then Bengaluru.
The action now shifts to Goa, where the second round robin matches will be played.
