Ronaldinho, the reigning World and European Player of the Year, came in for heavy criticism in the aftermath of Brazil's shocking exit from the World Cup.
O Globo and Estado de Sao Paulo, two of Brazil's biggest newspapers, ran identical headlines: ''Ronaldinho was the big letdown of the Cup.''
''He played badly, he didn't dribble, he didn't have a shot at goal, he misplaced passes and did not, at any moment, take responsibility,'' wrote Estado. ''It was a portrait of his participation in the World Cup: apathetic, bureaucratic, mediocre and afraid of deciding.''
Like the rest of his teammates, Ronaldinho only showed glimpses of the play that made Brazil the overwhelming favorite to win the World Cup.
''It's an enormous sadness especially after a long period in which we've become used to winning all the competitions,'' Ronaldinho said after the 1-0 loss to France on Saturday. ''I wanted to make Brazil champions.''
Ronaldinho's aging teammates also came in for criticism, in particular outside backs Cafu, 36, and Roberto Carlos, 33. France completely dominated the flanks in its victory over Brazil. O Globo columnist Fernando Calazans described Coach Carlos Alberto Parreira's team as ''a national team dominated by big shots in decline, including Cafu and Roberto Carlos, two nullities in the World Cup.''
Parreira came in for heavy criticism for Brazil's failure to play jogo bonito.
''Anyone who refuses to play the jogo bonito deserves every punishment,'' influential columnist Juca Kfoura wrote in Folha de Sao Paulo. ''Brazil lost playing ugly.''
Added Calazans, ''It was soccer without fun, without life, without joy, without personality, without the Brazilian way of playing.''
Parreira said heavy media coverage created huge expectations.
''It's very difficult to work with 800 people watching,'' he said of the press corps that covered his team's practices.