Ronaldinho makes Flamengo debut, greeted by more creepy masks

Ronaldinho makes Flamengo debut, greeted by more creepy masks

"Welcome R10"

Wearing the captain's armband, Ronaldinho started his first match for Flamengo in front of a sell-out crowd. Given the fact that 20,000 people trampled the gates at his official unveiling, it's no surprise that the atmosphere for Wednesday night's Guanabara Cup (the first stage of the Rio de Janeiro state championship) match including giant banners, masks and joyous singing all for one man and one man only -- Ronaldinho.  

Here's a video of some of the pre-match buzz...

As you can see, the crowd basically said, "No pressure, Dinho" and sat on their hands, allowing him time to settle in and get acclimated. OK, they didn't really, but perhaps feeding off their excitement, Ronaldinho played the full 90 minutes in the 1-0 Flamengo win even though he wasn't expected to due to fitness concerns.

Though he didn't score, he did get off some clever passes and ripped a solid attempt on goal with a free kick from distance. But, this is of course just the beginning. He will surely be scoring from behind the goalany day now.