Memorable moments: he humiliated Real Madrid, the White Ballet fans applauded him

It’s not often that a visiting player receives a standing ovation from the home fans, let alone in a derby, let alone in the famous El Clásico. But that is exactly what the magician Ronaldinho achieved in the autumn of 2005, when he tore apart the Real defence and scored twice.

Eleven rounds of the 2005/06 Spanish league had been played and Real Madrid, in second place, were only one point behind first-placed Barcelona. The schedule of the competition was served in round 12 by the legendary El Clásico on the lawn of the Santiago Bernabeu.

Looking at the rosters, the White Ballet seemingly had the upper hand. Raúl, Zidane, Beckham, Brazilians Ronaldo, Robinho and Roberto Carlos were in his jersey at the time, and Iker Casillas reigned supreme between the sticks. A breathtaking load of talent and footballing skill. Puyol, Xavi, Deco, Eto’o, Larsson, Ronaldinho, the young Messi was on the move and Victor Valdes was guarding the goal.

The upcoming clash with Barça was to become a nightmare for 20-year-old midfielder Sergio Ramos, a summer arrival from rival Sevilla. It was he who came face to face with the Brazilian star with the number ten on his back, operating on the left wing.

From the opening whistle, it was clear who was in control of the game and after a quarter of an hour Samuel Eto’o opened the scoring after an assist from the newly-aged Messi. Proof of the Catalans’ dominance was the home side’s inability to register at least one shot on target in the first half.

Not that the ponytailed chic wasn’t visible by the 45th minute, but the second half was pure Ronaldinho show. Just before the 60th minute was up, he took the ball on the left touchline, left Ramos kneeling with a simple ball to his left, made a similarly easy clearance of Helguera in the whitewash and beat a helplessly running Casillas with a shot to the front post.

Already after that goal, the Real defenders were given a dressing down by their goalkeeper for their sloppy actions, though it was nothing compared to the peppery words Iker showered on them less than twenty minutes later.

In the 78th minute, youngster Ramos sat on his stick again, let R10 through from the left and watched sadly as he wrapped the ball around the back post beyond the reach of the helpless Casillas.

But it wasn’t just Ronaldinho’s magnificent performance that made this match a memorable occasion. After the Brazilian’s second shot, something unprecedented, unique happened.

As Casillas chastised his teammates and Ronaldinho celebrated, one by one the home Real fans began to rise from their seats in the sold-out Santiago Bernabeu stadium to a standing ovation. An absolute rarity, not least in the often hate-flavoured El Clásico. In short, the White Ballet supporters saw that the Porto Alegre native was unstoppable that day.

The match ended in a 3-0 victory for the Catalans, and it was thanks to this victory that they finally celebrated the 2005/06 league title at the Camp Nou. Since then, only Andrés Iniesta has received a similar honour on Real Madrid soil in 2016.

Source: Bleacherreport, Transfermarkt