A football superstar who hung up his boots eight years ago generated an unparalleled frenzy among students, teachers and almost everyone else at St Xavier’s College (Autonomous) on Park Street on Tuesday.
Brazilian legend Ronaldinho Gaucho, who is on a Calcutta tour, spent close to 40 minutes on the Park Street campus. But the build-up started at least an hour earlier. Members of the college and school football teams (St Xavier’s Collegiate School also shares the same campus), hundreds of other students, teachers and members of the alumni association waited with excitement.
“Kichhu bhelki dakhale jome jabe (It will be wonderful if he shows some tricks with the ball),” a police officer was heard telling a member of the alumni association of the college.
By 11.45am, a large crowd had gathered on the road outside as well.
The siren of his convoy was heard around 11.50am. Minutes later, Ronaldinho stepped out of a white SUV. A collective roar greeted him.
Students on the Park Street campus cheer the Brazilian soccer star
He was greeted by Father Dominic Savio, the principal of the college, and other Jesuit priests.
He posed for pictures with the football teams, offered flowers to the statue of Mother Mary and went to the ground. A huge crowd of students had gathered on the ground. The balconies of the building surrounding the sprawling greens were also packed.
As the crowd kept chanting his name, Ronaldinho, who has won the Fifa World Cup, Champions League and Ballon d’Or in a glittering career, kept waving at the crowd from a makeshift dais on the ground.
Most of the budding players, in the school and college teams, have never seen Ronaldinho in live action. Many of them were fans of Lionel Messi and got interested in Ronaldinho after knowing that he mentored Messi in Barcelona.
Arnav Goel, a second-year student and member of the college team, remembers Ronaldinho for the assist that led to Messi’s first goal for Barcelona. “But as I started watching Ronaldinho’s clips on YouTube, I was mesmerised. He could do anything he wanted with the ball,” said Goel.
Many others, like Loren Lepcha, in Class VI and the captain of the junior team, were introduced to Ronaldinho by elders in the family. “My father told me about him,” said Lepcha, an attacking midfielder.
On the dais, Father Savio greeted Ronaldinho in English, Hindi and Portuguese.
Between taking selfies with the crowd in the background, Ronaldinho took the mic and said: “Thank you for your hospitality. I am very happy to be here.”
“The crowd here says everything about his popularity. His presence is a great motivation for the students,” Father Savio told Metro.