The Best and Worst Of Soccer In One Play

Behold, Ronaldinho will demonstrate the beauty and artistry that can happen in a soccer game. It’s sublime. He changes directions so often that it’s as if he doesn’t move at all. He approaches the goal at a ridiculous angle, splitting defenders as he covers more ground laterally than he does progressing to the goal. The ball lingers at the end of his foot as if it’s tethered. Then he shoots and doesn’t score. And thus, the cruel incongruity of soccer. The answer to why soccer inevitably fails in America. There is no reward. There was a beautiful thing created, but not rewarded. It is a fairly common occurrence in soccer — not always this fantastic, but none the less — and it flies in the face of capitalism. Great things get rewarded. A second after this play, it’s as if nothing happened. No momentum, no position gained and certainly no score — a reset. Sad.