LAHORE: Ronaldinho VII outpaced Giggs VII 2-0 in the second and last exhibition football match to win the series 2-0 here on Sunday at the Fortress stadium.
Led by Brazilian football celebrity Ronaldinho, the winning side had earlier won the first match at Karachi 2-1 and wrapped up the series,the first ever high profile football event, in style by winning the second match with comfort and ease in a front of a lively crowd which enjoyed the presence and skills and technique of world's best football in their own arena whom they have seen playing on TV screens.
The diehard crowd welcomed the foreign footballers on their arrival at the field by giving them rousing applause and cheered their display of memorable football skills and superb run up and down the flank throughout the play. The foreign footballers imparted useful coaching to the home footballer by setting them up in different collective moves, showcasing their " rare football talent" and art of the game.
In the seven players a side match, former Manchester United Ryan Giggs led the other side. Both the teams were of mix up of foreign and Pakistani players and with this unique series Pakistan football gained a unique identity of hosting top of line footballers at two venues, Karachi and Lahore.
The home players seemed pumped up throughout the match by rubbing shoulders with the masters of the game. The local players coordinated in style and the winning side scored both the goals through home players aided and guided by the top notch footballers in the play. Ronaldinho missed a scoring sitter in the first quarter to put his team ahead when David James blocked his forceful shot by underling his talent under the bar.
Ronaldinho VII stamped its supremacy in the second quarter, when Portugal's Luis Boa Morte setup Riaz through a superb pass and the Pakistani player made no mistake to give his side 1-0 lead.
Ronaldinho entertained the crowd with his nature gifted football moves and anticipation and was close to score a goal but the ball
eluded the post by inches.
As the foreign and Pakistani players continued to thrill the audience with lively moves and fast paced football, Ronaldinho done the major work for scoring a goal and gave a timely pass to Hasan Bashir who doubled the lead in the third quarter. Two goals down Giggs VII,sped up the pace of the game to break the dead lock but solid defence on part of Ronaldinho VII players foiled all such sitters.
Pakistani players fully took the benefit of the presence of the foreign footballers and coordinated them in engineering moves and then playing their part of guard their area. Corps Commander Lahore, Lt General Sadiq Ali was the chief guest on the occasion and distributed the prizes among the members of both the teams.
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