Ronaldinho Hasn't Lost His Touch on Free Kicks

Ronaldinho … remember him? He was kind of a big deal when European soccer started permeating the American sports consciousness a couple years ago. His buck-toothed grin was for a while the face of soccer across the globe. (Actually it was only 5-6 years ago, but it feels like ages ago.)

The Brazilian star is still grinding away, doing his thing. He’s back in his native country playing for Atletico Mineiro. If these free kicks from a recent game against Fluminense are any indication, he hasn’t lost his magic touch.

Although he’s now 33 and lost a step or two of his pace, it still would be great if MLS found a way to bring Ronaldinho to the States, even only for a season. In the early days of the league there was no shortage of over-30 South American playmakers like Carlos Valderrama and Marco Etcheverry who helped MLS grow.

Something to think about on an early September day.