RIYADH: Brazilian football legends Ronaldinho, Kaka and Roberto Carlos on Tuesday night took part in a light-hearted kickabout with a group of Saudi school children in the Star Return 2022 event at Riyadh’s Mrsool Park.
As part of the Riyadh Homecoming Festival activities, the event saw 100 boys and girls beat the three World Cup winners 2-1.
Ronaldinho said that this was a good opportunity to meet Saudi children whose love of football reminded him of himself as a kid.
Kaka recalled playing for his country against Saudi Arabia in Riyadh 20 years ago, a match Brazil won 1-0 only months before they would go on to also win the 2002 World Cup held in Japan and South Korea.
Meanwhile, Roberto Carlos said that he was happy to take part in the kickabout with the children and advised them to concentrate on their education, be patient and love football. He also expressed his delight to meet up again with his former international colleagues Ronaldinho and Kaka.
The match ended with the children winning 2-1 and was marked by a wonderful display of skills from three of the greatest players of the 1990s and 2000s.
While all three were part of the Brazil squad at the 2002 World Cup, only Ronaldinho and Roberto Carlos played in the 2-0 win against Germany in the final.
Although the legends of Star Return 2022 were national teammates, they also have a long and exciting history of competing against each other for their clubs.
Ronaldinho spent the most successful years of his career at Barcelona and faced Roberto Carlos in several El Clasico encounters during the latter’s time at Real Madrid. Kaka, who also played for Real Madrid, spent his best days at AC Milan, often coming up against his countrymen in the Champions League.
As part of the event’s activities, the players signed 100 school bags bearing the event’s name and logo, in addition to the logo of the Riyadh Homecoming Festival, which is organized by the General Entertainment Authority.
