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Chris Wright, writer to poke
If Lionel Messi was wondering what interest his imminent arrival at Inter Miami CF in MLS will get from Florida fans, the events in Orlando on Friday will give him some ideas.
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Ronaldinho’s star-studded charity match in Florida ended in chaotic scenes as the weather-induced premature end to the game led to a mass invasion of the crowd.
The 43-year-old Brazil legend welcomed a plethora of football faces and all-star celebrities to take part in the ‘beautiful game’ at Exploria Stadium, with Ronaldinho’s Team (R10) against Roberto Carlos’ Team (RC3) in the home of MLS team Orlando City.
The captains are joined by former teammates like Cafu and Rivaldo, as well as other former stars including Juan Veron, Javier Mascherano and Patrick Kluivert, and current pros like Vinicius Jr., Eder Militao, Paulo Dybala and Joao Félix – with a few other well-known musicians, influencers and social media personalities also thrown in. Well.
Grant The impressive depth of the menusSurprising perhaps, there is still room for a major action, but Ronaldo Nazario – the original R9 – has certainly appeared on the bench for the R10 team.
The inaugural edition of “The Beautiful Game” took place last summer in Miami when Team RC3 narrowly edged out Team R10 in a 22-goal thriller.
Indeed, it looked as though the fans were about to witness another high score when Cafu hit the crossbar just minutes before play. Jay-Jay Okocha opened the scoring for Team R10deceiving the defense with some trademark marks before breaking through Colombian goalkeeper Rene Higuita.
After an equalizer for RC3’s evergreen Rivaldo, the goals began to swing for both sides as Kluivert, Vinicius (twice), Cafu and Lucas Moura all found the net to send R10 into a half-time lead 4-2. Group selection might be fine Vinicius impudently hit the goalkeeper from close range.
Then Vinicius, the Real Madrid star, exchanged the difference between the two halves and He continued to wow audiences as he opened his box of tricks.
😱 Everyone wants a picture! Crowd invades field after heavy rain in Orlando ☔
Watch the beautiful match: Ronaldinho’s team vs Roberto Carlos’ team live on beIN SPORTS 📺 pic.twitter.com/ynVEe9fQ97
– beIN SPORTS USA (@beINSPORTSUSA) June 24, 2023
However, the tick of the hour brought with it a tropical downpour, and as the downpour slowed, the frantic atmosphere took a turn as a procession of young fans interrupting the match began running onto the pitch looking for a selfie with one. or more football stars.
Ronaldinho’s substitution in the 58th minute triggered a new wave of encroachments from the stands. With dozens of fans still breaching the perimeter of the playing area and swarming around the players, the security team decided to postpone the match due to “bad weather conditions” as players and officials rushed off the field. After about 15 minutes, the game was completely abandoned.
Inter Miami owner Jorge Mas spoke earlier this week about the club’s preparations for Messi’s arrival, which include working to increase their stadium’s capacity to 22,000 by adding nearly 3,000 seats.
Security will be beefed up for the players in the two-legged matches involving Messi, the first of which is set to take place on July 21 in a League Cup match against Cruz Azul of Liga MX.
With Messi no stranger to fans running onto the field waving their phones in hopes of getting a picture with him, security at whatever game he plays will be kept on their toes.
