Ronaldinho has not played a competitive game since 2015, and Ravenna will start him in Sunday’s derby

On Friday morning Andrea Mandorlini was still talking about bringing Ronaldinho on in the second half. By his afternoon press conference he had changed his mind. “He will play from the start, and we will decide together how long he plays,” the Ravenna coach said. The 46-year-old will be one of the three forwards in Mandorlini’s 4-3-3 for Sunday’s derby against Forlì at the Stadio Bruno Benelli, on 15 November.

Kick-off is 5:30pm local time, 10pm in India. It will be Ronaldinho’s first competitive match since 26 September 2015, when he played for Fluminense in a 2-0 win over Goiás at the Maracanã.

One session with his new team-mates

The preparation is about as thin as it gets. He landed at Forlì airport on a private flight from Barcelona on Friday afternoon, went to his hotel on the coast and did an individual session behind closed doors. His only session with the squad was set for Saturday morning at the Benelli, with the press allowed in for the first 15 minutes.

Mandorlini did not pretend this was normal. “Clearly his age is what it is, but he has never stopped and he has played lots of exhibition games,” he said. “A league match is obviously different.” He added that he would not be handing Ronaldinho tactical instructions. The team, he said, will adapt to whichever position the Brazilian chooses to take up.

That is a big ask of a player who officially retired in January 2018 and has spent the years since in legends games and friendlies. Serie C is a physical third division, and this is a derby against the neighbours.

There is a real game underneath

Ravenna are second in Serie C Group B, behind leaders Spezia, so the points matter. Forlì arrive with their own upheaval: coach Nicola Campedelli resigned for personal reasons on Tuesday, and the derby will be the first game without him.

The club has leaned all the way in on the occasion. A temporary stand branded R10 has gone up at the Benelli, and tickets run up to €150 for a seat in it with hospitality.

The 300th goal

Then there is the number. By the count Sky Sport Italia uses, Ronaldinho has 299 official goals, and when Ravenna presented him in August he said scoring a 300th for them would make it “even more beautiful”. Career totals for him vary depending on what a database counts, so the 300 is his own count.

Mandorlini’s honest answer on minutes is that nobody knows yet, including him. Half an hour feels realistic. If Ravenna win a penalty while he is still on the pitch, though, it is hard to imagine anyone else picking up the ball.

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