This post will give you a real insight to how I think and is pretty revealing, however, this will resonate with some of the Be Like Ronaldinho readers, so I feel the need to put this post up to help others that may be in the same position I was. So here’s the deal. From the very beginning of the season I have been playing a rather mediocre game that consisted of failed one touch passes, lacking fitness and wayward shots on goal. It was a slump in my game and it sure made me feel like nothing and that that I didn’t deserve a place on the team. Sure enough I have been relegated to the bench for the past 2 weeks and this allowed emotions of bitterness and anger to cloud my judgment, and what I should have seen was that this was only a slump and that I would find my touch again. It happens to everyone.

Reminds Me Of Ronaldinho

The best in the world even had a minor slump in his performance this year despite being top scorer for Barca, that’s how good the guy is. But I am in no way comparing myself to him, he’s just way better than me, but I do plan to overtake the man soon. When Ronaldinho received criticism about his form this year he didn’t take it on board, but rather thought about why and how he could combat this form that kept dogging him from playing to his full potential. You can see his reactions of the criticisms he faced via the Ronaldinho Interview I recently covered.

Sarmiento - Have your own problems been poor fitness training, the tour and arriving without a proper holiday, as you said?

Ronaldinho - “I think so. I had just got back from the World Cup and immediately started work again, and not separate from the rest of the group, and that wasn’t good for me. I never felt good all year, I was tired. I was shattered. I hope to get next season off to a good start and to be physically in shape.”

What To Do When Out Of Form

First and foremost, search deep inside for your biggest desires and find out what they are. There has to be a hunger to play great football. Another thing you need to do is to also be honest with yourself. Are you really good enough to be able to go from ball bumbling to ball controlled maniac very quickly? The one thing that I have realised about players who aren’t in good form is that they have all this talent and skill at their disposal, it’s just they haven’t utilised it yet. I can honestly say that I have been training so hard these past few weeks to try and get my form back and presto, on Thursday that passed, I played one of the best games I have ever played in a long time and those on my new team who don’t know what I am truly capable of have been coming up to me and telling me “I didn’t know you could play that good?”  So if this teaches you anything, is that if you know you have the right stuff to play football, then keep at it, keep practicing and honing your skills, don’t let up and soon enough, you will find that great player you want to be and others will notice very soon.

P.S I have to add that I prayed to God, asking for guidance and help to play better. I honestly believe that He has helped me very much, more than anything else I’ve talked about here.

One of the most important aspects of football is the gear you decide to use. Secondary to that is how you go about taking care of your football gear. When you choose to invest in some great football boots, shin guards, socks, jerseys, shorts etc you need to be able to take care of them. Now how long your gear lasts is totally up to you and the quality of the product that you purchase. For example, as you know, my 10R Nike Tiempo boots were stolen recently, however, up and until that time I was doing my best to take care of them. Let me share with you a couple of my little secrets when I want to take care of my stuff.

Football Boots And Their Maintenance

They have to be the footballers most valuable piece of equipment and rightfully so, as many famous footballers strive to have their name etched onto the boots that Adidas and Nike produce. Ronaldinho, of course has reached such a level that he has this privilege, to have his name etched in gold into some beautiful boots; not to mention an entire clothing line. Moving on, I bought my first leather shoes back in 1998 and they were the Adidas Predators, which had these grooves on the side and all around the shoe to encourage ball spin. When I purchased these, I also picked up a tin of Dubbin leather preserver. Ever since 1998 I have used this stuff on all of my football boots, and every time I use it, my shoes look like new. Not only that, it helps to water proof them and softens the leather. I highly recommend this stuff and you can find it wherever shoes are sold.

I Can’t Carry All This Stuff By Myself

So that is why you get yourself a sports bag. I use this one by Puma to get the job done, but you can go get yourself a nice Ronaldinho sports bag is you need to, it’s a bit much to carry your stuff, but it really is something nice for the avid Ronaldinho fan. I tend to put all of my stuff into the bag and I even have room left for more stuff like my water bottle etc. I used to go to training or a match all geared up, but these days, with the changing weather and other factors I tend to carry a bag with all my gear and only put them on when I know I’m going to be playing some football. So, I also recommend you get yourself a sports bag, which will help keep you organised and everything in the one place.

The premise of this post comes from the game that I had this weekend. I played a good game but something happened during the game that got me thinking about the professional nature football players display on the field in terms of their sportsmanship. For those that don’t know what the term ’sportsmanship’ means, Dictionary defines sportsmanship as the following:

1. The character, practice, or skill of a sportsman.
2. Sportsmanlike conduct, as fairness, courtesy, being a cheerful loser, etc.

Let’s Go With Definition Number Two

Now, let me tell you the story. Our team was down a goal and there must have been around 5 minutes left on the clock. With some quick scrambling and desperation, my friend was able to hit the ball past the keeper into the back of the net. Great celebrations were had by all, especially out on the pitch. Some of them ran to the sideline, I assumed to celebrate in front of our supporters, but no, the goal scorer and another ran straight to the opposition bench and started taunting them saying something along the lines of “What happened there? I scored didn’t I?” in a very sarcastic tone. The coach of the opposition was furious and didn’t appreciate what they were doing. I couldn’t agree more. I ran over and told off my team mates, telling them that what they were doing was very unprofessional and unsportsmanlike.

Disappointing Stuff To See

To see my own team mates displaying such behaviour really dented the image of our team and tainted the goal they scored, in my opinion. Many agreed with me, and as a Christian team, it was totally out of left field (excuse the pun). It then got me thinking about other players that play this beautiful game called football. Is this kind of ugly behaviour going on often? The definition for sportsmanship says being courteous, and that wasn’t displayed. Some of you may think that I’m taking this too far, but it is something that creates chaos if not dealt with properly and ruins the spirit of the game. It was great to see the coach and my team mates shake hands afterwards with no hard feelings, so I was glad to see that. This all comes back to being professional in a game, and when you display that kind of attitude, that respect aimed towards you will go very far, never underestimate that.