Ronaldo Blames Brazilian Soccer Team’s Elimination at Pan-Am Games on Artificial Turf

The performance of the U-20 Brazilian national team in the Pan-Am Games was disappointing. In three games, it did not win once, leading to an elimination in the group stage. For Ronaldo, the grass was an important factor. The legend even excused the fans and coaches.

“It was an underwhelming performance, but it was affected by the artificial turf,” Ronaldo said. “You could tell on the television, the bounce of the ball was different. We are not used to playing like that.

“Brazil is a factory of stars. We can’t condemn the boys for losing,” Ronaldo added.

Finally, Ronaldo defended from criticism Mano Menezes, the coach of the national team, who joined the team in Guadalajara and will coach the team participating in the London Olympics in 2012.

“This will not affect Mano,” Ronaldo said. “He does not control the group and players. He was only observing and taking note.”

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