Robinho: A New Star for Brazil

For me, the last 20 minutes of the Aussie-Brazil match produced the first official soccer chills of this World Cup. That's when Renaldo was replaced by a smaller player named Robinho who immediately went crazy. The excitement of the game tripled and it was thrilling from then on. Renaldo had a great assist earlier, but he looks miserable out there. He's fat and his legs hurt. He barely runs. It's like watching Michael Jordan playing with the Washington Wizards. He was so great once that it's downright sad to behold. There were one or two flat-out whiffs on playable crosses. It was grim. Then the kid came in, and he had greatness in his face, like a young Louis Armstrong. The announcers said that Pele calls Robinho the next Pele and it was immediately obvious why. He's fairly small which means he might not be able to take the punishment of all the tackles, but he's electric. At it's best soccer is one long rush and today I felt it. Play on.