The story of two Rons

The old sony trinitron in my drawing room was on a late night shift. Its owner was doing what he does best-watching manutd play. And like they do on most of their away travels in Europe, manutd looked shaky lacking creativity and adventure. Then from across the corner of the screen it appeared as if a pregrine had flown in and the ball was in the back of the net. I got up stunned and so were the 65000 ppl in the Stadio Olmipica in Rome. I didnt even bother to check who the guy lying sprawled on the floor after hitting the header was. I knew!!!

I also knew it was time to erase the last of my nagging doubts about the boy from Madeira. Is he a big game player,is he on his way to become an all time great, is he finished material .The answer is a resounding YES.

For me Cristiano is always linked with Ronaldinho.The man who made every manutd fan despair by snubbing manutd to go to Barcelona. Manutd then hurriedly got a replacement Ronaldo claiming he was the best young talent in Europe.For two years Ronaldinho rubbed hot Andhra chillies into our wounds. I remember day dreaming-ronaldinho-rooney-van the man what a combination. Instead I was watching the mercurial ronaldo run past one defender after another and then hit the ball straight at the last defender. He was like eating a cake which is so brilliantly done but the cherry topping at the top was stale and stinking.

The Nou Camp is one of the most awe inspiring sights I have seen. It is a modern day colloseum with such deep cultural and political roots that gives such a special feel to it. And for these two years Ronaldinho played GOD here. Impossible goals- scissor kicks, no look passes, sublime dances (who will forget the goal against chelsea) and a 100 watt smile. He could do nothing wrong.If it was the nba ( they do such things for brandon roy and randy foye) we would have had 5 page articles comparing the statistics of the two players, their shoe sizes and the speed at which they hit the ball and what a collosal mistake manutd had done by not picking up Ronadinho.

Fast forward two more years.. They say life is fickle and sports is the 20-20 version of life. Ronaldinho is fading away like a brilliant short story writer but a poor novelist.He looks overweight and the joy with which he played the game is all but gone. And Peter Kenyon doesnt look so stupid after all. Its never a good sign for a movie of the best scene comes first. Alas Ronaldinho might be one such case...

A 36 goal season with about 10 games left-otherworldy for a striker, impossible for a winger. Cristiano has become a player the likes of which I have never seen. Incredible pace which he always possesed, good passing ability and outstanding finishing -both of which have grown by leaps and bounds in the last season and this. Makes me feel if that snub two years back was a blessing in disguise. At the moment I am tempted to say yes. The cherry topping has been replaced by a brilliant choclate icing. The champions league semifinals should give the definitive answer or maybe I am still being shortsighted... Bipasha Basu knew better