The side step, the between-the-legs shot, the lob over the goal-keeper. Ronaldinho showed off almost all his skills in a vintage, scintillating performance as his team Goa 5s routed Bengaluru 5s 7-2 in the Premier Futsal league on Sunday.
He hadn't been at his best in Goa's inaugural match but against Bengaluru, the Smiling Assassin could hardly take a step wrong.
His first three goals came within the first half, the first a dink and a clever side-step, the second between the legs of the defenders and the third, sheer placement. He added two more after half-time, a silky lob over a stranded goalkeeper and the finishing touch to a pacy counter-attack.
At the end, Bengaluru really had no answers to Ronaldinho in this kind of mood and Goa won 7-2, after trailing 1-2. But if Ronaldinho thought he would be the only star of the night, he was wrong.
Falcao, another Brazilian and considered the world's greatest futsal player, was in his elements for Chennai 5s in the second game of the evening against Kochi 5s. He equalised for Chennai after Kochi had taken a 1-0 lead and sent the home crowd into raptures with a dazzling second goal.
Ironically, it was his showboating which allowed Kochi to come back into the game, when he was dispossessed in his own half by Kochi's Chaguinha, who made it 2-2.
Chennai would have thought they had the game in the bag after scoring two more goals to go 4-2 up, but Falcao's injury deprived them of momentum and gave Kochi an opportunity to stage a comeback. David Moraes slammed home a penalty and, with five minutes to go, it was Chaguinha who equalised for Kochi, with the final score being 4-4.
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