A fan who paid tribute to Ronaldo Nazario by getting his infamous haircut from the 2002 World Cup bumped into 'R9' on his whistle-stop tour of England.
The former Brazil international recently made a soon-to-be viral appearance for Essex-based Sunday League side Phoenix FC, who currently sit bottom of the NWL Division 8.
After turning up at Henderson Sports and Social club in a white limousine, Ronaldo was registered under the name ‘Dave Walsh’ before making a very short, but memorable outing.
Pheonix manager Brian Edwards said it was a moment he will remember forever.
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"The lads couldn’t believe it when Ronaldo showed up," Edwards said. "He was late by the time he got changed and we were already well behind by the time I could put him on. The rest of his performance? Less memorable."
After the full-time whistle, 'R9' spent hours taking pictures with those involved in the event, including one fan who wanted to show Ronaldo his new haircut. Take a look at that moment below:
Ronaldo's cameo was part of a scripted video released by Paddy Power to launch their new betting feature Super Sub, which transfers bets when a player is subbed off.
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The video went down a hit with many on social media.
One fan commented on the clip, saying: "This had me in stitches. If you get booked, your name is Dave Walsh," while another said: "Amazing. R9 finally playing for an English club."
A third added: "I think this is one of the best adverts I've ever seen. Whoever pulled this off is a genius."
Back in 2002, Ronaldo decided to try and distract the media from his ongoing injury troubles at the World Cup by shaving most of his hair off, leaving a tiny area of hair above his forehead.
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"I decided to cut my hair and leave the small thing there. I come to training and everybody saw me with bad hair," he said.
"Everybody was talking about the hair and forgot about the injury. I could stay more calm and relaxed and focused on my training."
Topics: Ronaldo Nazario, Brazil, Football World Cup
Jack Kenmare