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Viral Video: What a Kick!

Dec 4, 2006  •  Post A Comment

TelevisionWeek is trawling video-sharing Web sites to find the hottest clips spreading on the Internet. Visit TVWeek.com to view the latest.

The setup: Take it off Ronaldinho. You earned your Brandi Chastain moment. Barcelona soccer star Ronaldinho, whose name is Portuguese for little Ronaldo, pulled off a once-in-a-career move in a game on Nov. 25. A teammate kicked the ball to Ronaldinho, he stopped it with his chest, whipped his body around and booted the ball over his head and into the goal-all the while with his back to the goal. To celebrate, he tore his long-sleeve shirt off-Chastain style-and trotted around the field in his tank top. And as a postscript, Ronaldinho’s bicycle kick was far more artful than that other once popular viral soccer clip, Zidane’s nasty headbutt heard round the world from this summer’s World Cup.

The source: The video clip came from international coverage of the soccer game. One of the best parts of the clip is the excitement in the announcer’s voice as he says “Ronaldinho” again and again.

The hits: The clip arrived on YouTube Nov. 25 and generated nearly 1.9 million views in the first five days. It’s also available on iFilm and was embedded into several online news reports on the game.

Video: What a Kick!