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‘The last magician’

AFP, Paris
As far as awards go, Ronaldinho didn't know which was better -winning the 50th European Player of the Year award or hearing some of football's greatest ever players gushing over his talents.
On Monday at a lavish ceremony near the Champs Elysees football royalty including Alfredo Di Stefano, Michel Platini and Johann Cruyff paid tribute to the silky smooth Brazilian who won the award with a whopping 225 points.
A third place finisher in the voting last year behind winner Andriy Shevchenko, the 25-year-old Barcelona forward won France Football magazine's prestigious prize with a 77-point lead over Chelsea forward Frank Lampard.
First won by Blackpool's Stanley Matthews nearly half a century ago, most of Europe's big names have won a Ballon D'Or, although it was only open to non-Europeans playing in UEFA affiliated leagues in 1995 when Liberian George Weah, of AC Milan, was the firstAfrican winner.
Ronaldinho is the third Brazilian to have win it in less than a decade, after Ronaldo's two victories in 1997 and 2002, and that of Rivaldo in 1999.
But only days after another former winner, Manchester United star George Best, died after a long illness it was perhaps fitting that another player with dazzling individual skills walked off with the prize.
Best, the 1968 winner in the year United won the European Cup, was remembered with particular emotion by the organisers who handed over a replacement trophy to former United greats Denis Law and Sir Bobby Charlton.
It came as no surprise to know that Best, long remembered for his exploits and adventures off the field of play, had lost his somewhere, some time ago.
"It was very touching," Law told
AFP.
"You just had a feeling that something would be done on this particular night, what with it being the 50th anniversary. It was a very nice gesture from the people at France Football."
Best and Ronaldinho may be worlds apart on human terms, but when it comes to the game the
Brazilian is looked upon with as much awe as the Northern Irishman.
"Ronaldinho just makes the game so beautiful. He makes everyone happy, and his smile when he's playing says it all," said France and Juventus legend Platini, one of three three-time winners of the Ballon d'Or.
Cruyff, one of the pioneers of the attacking, flowing game in the 1970's which came to be known as 'total' football said the Brazilian had the power to strike fear into any opponent.
"He deserves this Ballon d'or. He animates the game and people love watching him when he's playing," said the former Ajax and Holland great, another three-time winner along with countryman Marco Van Basten.
"Every one of his gestures is potentially dangerous (to opposition teams) and that, obviously, is what the fans want to see."
The flamboyant long-haired
Ronaldinho, whose mazy turns, deft feints and superb goalscoring leave many defenders kicking out at thin air, appears to have struck a chord with many of the game's former greats.
Despite his own admission he is not exactly handsome, Ronaldinho is now in the process of becoming the marketing nemesis to Real Madrid beau David Beckham.
Ronaldinho's skills, honed from an early age when he followed his brother to training at top Brazilian club Gremio Porto Alegre, have long been compared to those of Pele.
Indeed six years ago a goal that Ronaldinho scored at the Copa America in Paraguay, in 1999, left commentators salivating. The next day, it was being likened to one the Brazil legend scored against Wales at the 1958 World Cup.
For France and Marseille great Jean-Pierre Papin, Ronaldinho's 'magic' comes accompanied with another crucial sporting ingredient.
"Ronaldinho is the last magician. He's a genius with the ball at his feet," said the 1991 winner, whose goalscoring feats have forever left their mark on fans in the country.
"But he is also humble. What he enjoys most is playing for himself, and for the fans in the stands. He's a joy to watch. I would have loved to have had him as a teammate just for his sense of being able to come up with that final pass."
Platini was ofa similar opinion.
"Not only is he individually brilliant, he's an altruist. He knows how to give a good pass. It's not just about the dribbling. I've seen players who know how to dribble and juggle with the ball, and don't know how to give a good pass.
"They are only good for the circus. Ronaldinho is great for football."