Ronaldinho is set to make his first competitive start in more than a decade when Ravenna face Forli in Italy's third division on Sunday, with the 46-year-old named to begin after joining the club in August. Ravenna FC's coach, Andrea Mandorlini, said there was no doubt he would start and that he would be one of three forwards used in the match.
The timing is the point. Ronaldinho arrived in Italy on Friday and will have only one training session with his team-mates before the match, yet Ravenna are willing to put him straight into the spotlight as they chase a result in a season that has them second in the table after 13 matches. For readers looking up Ravenna FC now, this is the reason: the club has turned a brief late arrival into a real competitive start, not a ceremonial appearance.
Ronaldinho's last competitive appearance came for Fluminense in September 2015, which means Sunday will end a gap of more than a decade since he last played in an official match. He won the Ballon d'Or in 2005, during his time at Barcelona, and his resume still carries the weight of a player who once defined an era at Barcelona and AC Milan. That is why a temporary stand has been created at Stadio Bruno Benelli, where supporters are expected to turn out in numbers to catch a glimpse of him.
But the return has also had to be defended. Ignazio Cipriani said Ronaldinho's aim was romantic, to try to score his last goal, and stressed that his involvement was not a token gesture or a marketing stunt designed to draw attention to the club. That denial matters because the story could easily have been dismissed as spectacle, yet Ravenna are treating it as football first: Mandorlini wants him in the front line, and Simone Rabbi said Ronaldinho will take any penalties awarded to Ravenna.
Ronaldinho has said he hopes to score one final goal to take his career tally to 300, and Sunday may be his cleanest chance to do it. Whether he reaches that mark, and whether this turns out to be his last competitive match, is now the question attached to Ravenna FC's most unusual selection call in years.
