The World Is a Ball: I almost gave Ronaldinho a straight shot, says England winger from the 2002 World Cup

Scorer of Brazil’s 2-1 winning goal against England in the 2002 World Cup campaign in South Korea and Japan, Ronaldinho Gaúcho narrowly escaped being punched by an English player later. of departure.

Who reports the case is the English Team’s right-back at this World Cup, Danny Mills, famous more for his shiny bald head than for his good football.

He said, in an interview with London sports radio talkSPORT, that he was very angry with the behavior of the Brazilian attacking midfielder in the anti-doping room of the Shizuoka stadium, in Japan.

Mills had been drawn to take the exam along with defender and teammate Rio Ferdinand. On the Brazilian side, the draw chose Ronaldinho and the side and captain Cafu.

“Me and Rio went to the anti-doping room after the match, which is never good, especially when you lose. We went in, Cafu was there, Ronaldinho, who had been expelled for fouling me, was there.”

“He was laughing, joking,” Mills continued. “To be honest, it was over the top, you know? The room was pretty small, and Ronaldinho was jumping around, laughing and cheering nonstop, and there was no one else there besides the guys. [da organização] watching us urinate.”

The athlete, who defended Leeds United, concluded: “It was disrespectful to say the least, and he came very close to getting a straight right.”

The “straight” is the boxing punch in which the boxer hits the opponent in a straight line with the arm, with great force, usually in the face.

Mills, however, managed to contain himself and still exercised his diplomatic side, changing the shirt with Cafu – both wore the number 2 in the Asian World Cup.

It was, in fact, kind of surprising that Mills got the title in the Cup. With limited technique, he was at best a willful player.

England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson opted to honor him after Gary Neville, the country’s best in the position at the time, failed to recover from a foot injury.

In the defeat that June 21, Mills was involved in a bid with Ronaldinho, in the second half, with Brazil already in advantage on the scoreboard.

In dispute for the ball near the England area, the Brazilian ace stomped on the opponent. The referee considered it purposeful and violent and showed the red card to shirt 11.

The game for the quarterfinals was Ronaldinho’s best in a World Cup – he would also participate in the 2006, in Germany.

In addition to scoring the second goal of the selection led by Luiz Felipe Scolari, in a long-distance free-kick in which, with a “kick”, he covered goalkeeper David Seaman, he had a vital participation in the equalizing goal, starting from the mid-range field at high speed, in stoppage time, and hand the ball over to Rivaldo to finish with precision.

The expulsion took Ronaldinho out of the semi-final (1-0 in Turkey), but he returned in the decision to help Brazil overcome Germany 2-0 and lift the Fifa Cup for the last time.