Ronaldinho gets his grin back

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This article was published 03/09/2011 (5330 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Ronaldinho’s face is unmistakable. There is the tall forehead, the prominent cheekbones, the wide nose, the square jaw. Then there’s the grin — all incisors and gums, lips flapping in the wind.

It’s a grin we haven’t seen much of lately, not since the 31-year-old left Europe in disgrace for his native Brazil, not only unable to conjure up the brilliance that made him FIFA World Player of the Year in 2004 and 2005, but also completely disinterested in doing so.

The nightlife of Florianopolis seemed more where his head was at. And when he did happen to score for his new club Flamengo, the smile he occasionally coaxed from his mouth was more contrived than anything; the dance moves an artificial display of joy long since departed.

Well, this just in: the grin is back.

After going through the motions during the Carioca state championship following his transfer from Milan to Rio in January, Ronaldinho has, for whatever reason, rediscovered some of that old joie de vivre he somehow misplaced after the 2006 World Cup.

Be it his relationship with Flamengo manager Vanderlei Luxemburgo, the alteration of his game from explosive attacker to clever playmaker or the reality that those occasional weekends in Florianopolis aren’t nearly as frowned upon in Brazil as they would be in Europe, he seems to have finally struck an elusive, comfortable balance in his life, and his soccer has thrived as a result.

In 18 Brasileiro matches so far this season, Ronaldinho has notched 12 goals, added six assists and scored twice in the Copa Sudamericana. And he’s enjoying himself. Flamengo are in contention for the title at the halfway point, and Brazil manager Mano Menezes has recalled him into the Brazil squad for Monday’s friendly against Ghana.

Should he take the field, it will be his first appearance for the national team since last November and just his fifth in two-and-a-half years. He hasn’t scored since Brazil’s 5-0 route of New Zealand at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and was omitted from Dunga’s World Cup squad in 2010.

But Ronaldinho is exactly what the current Brazilian team needs. Bounced at the quarter-final stage of the Copa America in July, they have yet to hit on any sort of rhythm or consistency under Menezes. Some of that has to do with the manager’s scattershot approach to team selection and stubbornness when it comes to setting up a formation, but a lot of it is down to the fact that there simply isn’t a reliable creative presence in the setup at the moment.

Ronaldinho can be that presence. He’s no longer the pacey trickster who for years operated down the left of the attacking third. Age and experience — and a lot of failure, disappointment and poor lifestyle choices — have forced him to slow the game down, spend more time on the ball and make better use of his teammates.

Between wide players such as Neymar and Hulk and behind a centre forward like Leandro Damiao, Ronaldinho could conceivably thrive. That’s where he’s been brought into the squad to play; that’s why he’s been called up. For the most part.

What Menezes, like the rest of us, has surely noticed is that, despite a time in the wilderness, Ronaldinho is back. It’s a different Ronaldinho, to be sure, but it’s a useful one, and one who happens to be enjoying his soccer.

You can tell by that grin of his that he’s enjoying it, that he knows he’s playing well. Menezes, for all intents and purposes, recalled him because of that grin.

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