Which football fan does not dream of sharing the pitch with their idols? Nobody. And FC Barcelona fans had the opportunity to play alongside a club legend in Rivaldo – and they had no idea until the end of the game.
Club sponsor Betfair had run a contest called #MagicOfBarca and picked winners who had the opportunity to visit Barcelona’s training ground for some drills and an 11-a-side game. What the other fans did not know was that one of the winners “Roberto Da Silva” was actually Rivaldo in disguise!
The video shows the former Brazilian midfielder undergo an amazing transformation as he dons a face mask, a wig and even a goatee. After a game of rondo, the 11-a-side game kicked off and Rivaldo's Da Silva's team soon found themselves 1-0 down.
That’s when he comes on as a substitute and the 44-year-old showed that he still has what it takes to impress on a pitch, even managing to nutmeg an opponent on a run towards goal. The Ballon d’Or winner dug into his repertoire of tricks and bamboozled the opposition to eventually help his team win the game.
It was only when he was announced as the Man of the Match that he took off his wig and mask for all the fans to stare in utter disbelief at the one and only Rivaldo.
“There were a couple of moments when I thought people suspected I was someone else,” Rivaldo said.
“But when I saw the fans surprised faces at the end of the match I knew we pulled it off. I loved being back playing on the pitch in Barca, even if it wasn’t my best performance of my career!”
