Ronaldinho and the Beauty of Function

The wonderful football site GhostGoal is currently running a 'My Favourite Goal' series, which has already produced plenty of excellent articles. My contribution has now been published, and focuses on Ronaldinho's stunning goal against Chelsea in the 2004/2005 Champions League.


The finish, I argue, must be understood as a challenge to the notion that there is even such thing as a 'beautiful goal.' As such, it provides a perfect illustration of Dadá Maravilha's famous assertion that "there is no such thing as an ugly goal; ugly is not to score one." You can read the article here.