A Surprise Twist in Ravenna: Ronaldinho Turns Out to Be a Look-Alike; Fans in Downtown Ravenna Were Fooled. What Happened?
Ravenna is buzzing: On Sunday at 5:30 p.m., Ronaldinho will make his debut in the yellow-and-red jersey of the Romagna-based team, and anticipation is reaching a fever pitch ahead of the kickoff of the derby against Forlì.
The excitement has played a nasty trick on the fans: on Saturday, a crowd in the city center swarmed a man who bore a striking resemblance to the Brazilian superstar, and he signed autographs and took selfies with the fans. Too bad it wasn’t the Brazilian legend himself, but a lookalike who tricked the supporters by dressing up as “The Gaucho” and showing up with his own entourage.
Meanwhile, the real Ronaldinho trained for half an hour with his teammates on Saturday and showcased his skill with a magical stop that left his teammates and coach speechless. On social media, Ronaldinho reposted the video with a playful comment: “They’ll say it’s AI hahaha, I’m in the Ravenna area.” The footage immediately went viral.
The match, part of the 14th round of Serie C Group B, will be played at the Bruno Benelli Stadium and will be watched worldwide. Sky Sport has organized a full-fledged “Ronaldinho Day”: live on Sky Sport Calcio and Sky Sport 251, on Sky Sport’s YouTube channel, and available for free streaming on SkySport.it. Play-by-play by Antonio Nucera, technical commentary by Lorenzo Minotti, and sideline analysis with Gianluca Di Marzio. The “Ronaldinho Cam” will be there, following the Brazilian champion from warm-ups through the end of the match, while Lisa Offside will be covering the key players for Sky Sport’s social media channels.
For the Gaucho, this marks his return to competitive play after eleven years: his last professional match was in 2015, while playing for Fluminense. He recently took the field in a charity match, the Zurich All-Star Game, which his team of Brazilian players won 4-3 against the “Del Piero & Friends” squad, with Minotti himself scoring the decisive penalty kick.
