Happy to be in India: Ronaldinho

For thousands of football fans, who gathered to get a glimpse of Ronaldinho, it was a dream come true feeling, as the Brazilian football star inaugurated the Sait Nagjee football tournament in a spectacular function at Kozhikode Beach in Kerala on Sunday.

Wild cheers of ‘Ronaldinho, Ronaldinho, echoed when the two-time Ballon d’Or and Fifa World Cup winner took the stage to the pinprick lights of thousands of camera phones. Soon after he was seated, the former Barcelona player, who is widely recognised for his technique and tricks, started to wave his hands.

In the limelight of the huge crowd, the player, who is on his maiden visit to India, then decided to take the video of the excited fans on his mobile phone.

“I am happy to be here. The love you have given is immense and I am always bound to you,” said the superstar in broken English.

“The arrival of Ronaldinho will be a big boost for the revival of the Sait Nagjee tournament and football in the district. This will help us attract more sponsors and conduct more tournaments,” said Siddeek Ahmed, the president of the district football association.

The tournament will start at February 5 and end on February 21.

Eight teams, in two groups, will take part and seven are expected to be the youth sides of prominent European and South American clubs.

The U-23 sides of the Argentina national team, English Premier League’s newly promoted entertainers Watford FC, La Liga’s Levante UD, Brazil’s Atletico Paranaense and Germany’s TSV 1860 Munchen and Hertha BSC will take part. The senior squad of Romanian Liga II side FC Rapid Bucuresti and one of the I-League clubs are expected to complete the line-up. The tournament is being revived after a gap of 21 years.