Daily Times

LAHORE: Team Ronaldinho won the second match of the seven-a-side series against Team Giggs to secure a series win at Fortress Stadium here on Sunday. Ronaldinho-7 defeated Giggs-7 with the score of 2-0. The first goal of the game was scored by Mohammad Riaz who was assisted by Luis Boa Morte. Hassan Bashir scored the second goal – courtesy a brilliant assistance from Ronaldinho. The Fortress Stadium was filled up with football fans to watch the match involving “Ronaldinho and Friends”. In the first quarter of the game, courtesy a brilliant save from David James, Ronaldinho missed an easy chance to score his first goal of the two-match series. A brilliant finish from Riaz from a chance made by Morte gave a one-goal lead to Ronaldinho-7 in the second quarter of the game. Later, a beautiful chip from Ronaldinho missed the goal crossing line from few inches. In the third and last quarter, a classic Ronaldinho assist helped Bashir to extend the lead by one more goal. Seven top footballers from around the world, including Brazilian legend Ronaldinho and Manchester United great Ryan Giggs, arrived in Pakistan on Saturday for two exhibition matches in Karachi and Lahore. On Saturday night, at the packed Abdul Sattar Edhi Stadium, Ronaldinho’s side won against the Giggs-led team 2-1.

Giggs says there is a clear desire to play football in Pakistan: Ahead of the second Ronaldinho and Friends match in Lahore, former England star Ryan Giggs said that “the desire to play football in the country was obvious.” He was speaking alongside the other visiting international players at a press conference, where he also expressed his happiness at visiting Pakistan. “Hopefully we can send the message across the world that Pakistan is a good place to visit and there is love for football here,” he added. Earlier, Brazilian footballer Ronaldinho shared a minute-long video on Twitter, thanking Pakistan for its warm welcome. Five other international players visiting Pakistan are Dutch star George Boateng, former England goalkeeper David James, former French players Robert Pires and Nicolas Anelka, and Portugal’s Luis Boa Morte.

The glaring lack of organisation in Pakistan, however, did not escape the footballers’ notice. Giggs stressed the need for proper infrastructure, saying that every league and association in the world needed the right infrastructure and coaching, including Pakistan, to improve their international ranking. Pakistan currently stands at 200th in the FIFA ranking; there are 206 teams in total. “To progress to the next level, you need to bring in the best coaches in the world and not bring their philosophy but a framework and infrastructure so that the Pakistani culture and football in the country can flourish,” Giggs said. Ronaldinho told reporters he wanted to “provide a good show” in the country, which is looking to entice more international stars as security improves. “Thank you for all the admiration and treating me so well,” he said. Pakistan boasted a top place in Asian football until the early 1970s, but a lack of government support and poor infrastructure helped push them to as low as 200th in the FIFA football rankings. The game is growing in popularity once more, however, even in a country obsessed with cricket. Pakistan organisers – Leisure League, a subsidiary of World Group – hope to both promote football, and signal that security has improved in the militancy-plagued country.

Published in Daily Times, July 10^th , 2017.