During his long and mostly illustrious career, Ronaldinho has "broken the ankles" of countless defenders with his inimitable sleight of foot.
In the closing minutes of a Copa Libertadores match between Ronaldinho's Atletico Mineiro and Arsenal Sarandi Tuesday, one defender appeared to want to return the favor in the most painful way possible. With Ronaldinho in possession just inside the edge of the opposition's penalty area, Arsenal defender Diego Braghieri attempted a two-footed lunge, studs up.
Ronaldinho's leg bent back as he absorbed the vicious blow, but he appeared to escape unscathed from the attack. For his trouble, he was awarded a penalty kick. The 32-year-old former Barcelona star and two-time FIFA Player Of The Year pounded his effort off the crossbar.
Thanks to a hat trick from his teammate, Bernard, Atletico Mineiro didn't need that goal en route to a 5-2 win.
After the match, the tackle garnered more attention than the result, being described by 101GreatGoal.com as "one of the worst tackles you have ever seen on a professional football pitch." The Original Winger characterized Braghieri's tackle as "an all out assault and is borderline criminal."
Despite the widespread outrage that the footage has created, Braghieri wasn't even issued a yellow card for his cynical tackle.
(H/T The Telegraph)