http://tinyurl.com/ggo9s Ronaldinho is a U.S. tour de force Updated 8/8/2006 10:37 AM ET By Joseph D'Hippolito, Special for USA TODAY LOS ANGELES — As FC Barcelona takes its North American tour to Houston and the New York area this week, one thing seems clear: Perhaps no athlete in soccer, that most international of sports — not David Beckham, not Thierry Henry, not Andriy Shevchenko — is as popular as a ponytailed Brazilian with a toothy smile. Ronaldinho, the two-time FIFA player of the year for Europe's best team, is a supernova compared to such stellar teammates as Samuel Eto'o, Rafael Marquez and Lionel Messi. At least, that's the verdict from thousands of fans in Los Angeles last weekend. Barca faces Mexican team Club America at Reliant Stadium on Wednesday in Houston (Fox Soccer Channel, 10:30 p.m. ET) and the New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer on Saturday in East Rutherford, N.J. (FSC, 7:30 p.m.) Almost 4,000 fans packed a three-tiered mall Saturday in Hollywood for a pregame rally. Most of them wore Barcelona's colors and almost all of them waited patiently for the players, who arrived more than an hour late. When the players did arrive, Ronaldinho trailed them by a few yards — surrounded by security, beset by screaming fans wishing to touch him, and smiling as he made his way to a makeshift stage. Even Kobe Bryant was excited. Bryant, who became a soccer fan while living in Italy as a youth, chatted with Ronaldinho extensively as the other players were being introduced. After the rally, the pair exchanged cellphone numbers. Why does Ronaldinho fascinate Bryant? "I think it's the creativity," the Lakers guard said. "I play with creativity, too. There are no boundaries." The opportunity to see Ronaldinho's creativity against Mexico's CD Guadalajara attracted 92,650 fans — the largest crowd to watch a club soccer game in the USA — to Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Sunday night. The Coliseum became a spectrum of color. Thousands wore Barcelona's jerseys, either the red and blue or neon yellow models. Hundreds wore Brazil's yellow and green shirts, many of them bearing Ronaldinho's No. 10. Ronaldinho spent the first half on the bench in a polo shirt, shorts and sandals. Then he made a dramatic entrance. As he trotted onto the field by himself in full uniform for the start of the second half, he received a loud ovation amid thousands of camera flashes. When he first touched the ball, Ronaldinho received cheers. When he pulled the ball back against Guadalajara's Omar Bravo while dribbling, Ronaldinho received more cheers. When Ronaldinho quickly poked the ball to Eidur Gudjohnsen late in the game, Gudjohnsen turned that pass into a goal in the 73rd minute. After Guadalajara tied the score, Ronaldinho had one more chance to enchant the crowd. But he swerved his 29-yard free kick just wide of the left post in the 86th minute. "The reception from the crowd was exceptional," Ronaldinho said. "It was great to play in the United States." If Los Angeles offers any indication, American soccer fans will think it's more than great to have Ronaldinho here. Posted 8/8/2006 12:00 AM ET -- 喔 對了 有板友指出在某板有錯誤的言論而曲解巴薩近年來的一些事實 在此澄清一下 巴薩在2002-2003上半季的確一度落後到中間偏後的排名過 不過後來該球季聯賽第6 而Laporta跟Rijkaard根本是02-03賽季結束後的夏天才上任的 之前的教練是救火隊Radomir Antic 主席是Gaspart下台後代理的Enric 某某某 如果這樣就糊上"某季巴薩差點降級，要不是某某某跟某某某，巴薩應該在拼西乙冠軍" 這樣真的有點奇妙 就好像有些皇馬迷在看到下面這句會產生的感覺； "某季皇馬差點贏國王杯網球賽，要不是Ruud跟Cannavaro，皇馬應該在準備拼大滿貫。" --

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