Ronaldinho delivers as Barcelona win in Beijing05.08.2007 17:00 SportsBy Nick Mulvenney BEIJING (Reuters) - Ronaldinho delighted Chinese fans by scoring with a trademark free kick in a 3-0 win for Barcelona over Beijing Guoan on Sunday. Barcelona took the lead in the first match of their Asian tour, a friendly to mark the one-year countdown to the 2008 Olympics, with a curling left-foot shot from Mexican teenager Giovani dos Santos in the 10th minute. Andres Iniesta made it 2-0 just before the hour mark before Ronaldinho sealed the win. The Brazilian, probably the most popular player in China, had twisted his ankle in training on Saturday but he came on for the second half in place of new signing Thierry Henry. In the 78th minute, Barcelona won a free kick about 25 metres from goal and the 30,000 fans at the Fengtai Stadium got what they came for as the twice former World Player of the Year took almost no run-up before curling the ball into the net. "I was satisfied with the game," Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard told reporters. "We weren't able to play our best but the team accomplished what they wanted to." The stadium was three-quarters full despite ticket prices of up to 1,808 yuan -- a month's salary for many Beijingers. One 24-year-old woman from Sichuan province said she had been sent "almost crazy" at seeing the Brazilian's goal. Continued... Source: reuters.comwww.alllee.com |
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