Ronaldinho set for Ravenna start at 46, with derby points at stake

The football comes on Sunday, 15 November 2026, when Ravenna face local rivals Forlì at Stadio Bruno Benelli. The club’s official kickoff is 17:30 Italian time, or CET. This is Serie C, Italy’s third division—not an exhibition arranged solely to celebrate a former great. Ravenna enter the weekend second in the table, with something substantial to protect beneath the occasion.⁠5⁠14⁠1

Manager Andrea Mandorlini committed on Friday to starting Ronaldinho as one of his three forwards. His certainty about selection did not extend to how much football the former Barcelona and Milan playmaker would manage.⁠1

Around half an hour is the reported expectation, not a guaranteed substitution time. Mandorlini’s fuller explanation leaves the workload to a decision between player and coach. Nor does the announced start yet amount to a completed comeback: the final team sheet is still to come, and the available club announcements do not establish registration clearance from the relevant football authority. That is a limit on what can be confirmed, not evidence that he is ineligible.⁠22⁠1⁠5⁠6

The preparation is strikingly brief. Ronaldinho arrived in Italy on Friday and had dinner with his new teammates that evening. Ravenna’s programme scheduled an individual workout behind closed doors that afternoon, followed by a single first-team session at the Benelli on Saturday morning. The published schedule establishes the plan, rather than confirmation that every workout was completed.⁠4⁠6

That team session was set for 11:00, with journalists allowed to watch only its opening 15 minutes. One scheduled opportunity to work with the side is a slender bridge between Ronaldinho’s event-football life and the demands of a league derby. Mandorlini plans to keep Ravenna’s usual 4-3-3, with the other players adapting to Ronaldinho’s positioning in the front line.⁠6⁠8

The competitive gap is specific. His last competitive appearance was for Fluminense against Goiás in September 2015. It would be wrong to describe the intervening years as complete inactivity: he has played charity, testimonial and display matches, including the Kings League in 2023. Mandorlini acknowledged the distinction. Keeping a feel for the ball is not the same test as handling a professional league match.⁠1⁠4⁠22⁠8

Ravenna are not short of reasons to take that test seriously. Counting the 13 results on their official calendar through 7 November gives nine wins, two draws and two defeats—29 points under the standard scoring system, before any administrative adjustments. That calculation establishes their results-based total; the BBC separately reports their second-place position. Sunday is the season’s 14th round.⁠16⁠1⁠8

There is already an established scorer alongside the returning celebrity. Simone Rabbi has eight league goals and says Ronaldinho will take any penalty Ravenna receive. He has also allowed himself to imagine scoring from a Ronaldinho assist. Those possibilities give the romance a practical shape: can the newcomer help an attack that is already delivering? Neither a penalty nor an assist, of course, can be booked in advance.⁠8

Forlì have their own urgent business. They approach the derby after beating Gubbio, but also after Nicola Campedelli’s resignation as coach. His assistant Gianluigi Bamonte has taken charge. Ravenna & Dintorni’s Friday preview placed them 14th, two points above the relegation-playout places, and expected them to retain a 3-5-2 with Coveri and Petrelli up front. Those attacking choices remain projections, not a confirmed lineup.⁠8

Ravenna last beat their neighbours in a league match in November 2024. Mandorlini expressed regret at the departure of Campedelli, a friend, while insisting that his own side’s objective was to collect points. He reported having the full squad available and said the players had trained with concentration despite the attention.⁠8

There is also the less glamorous matter of the surface. Heavy rain before Friday’s comments added to concerns about a Benelli pitch that had experienced problems before. The fixture remains scheduled; the reporting does not establish a postponement, an unplayable ground or a final match-day assessment. For a return built around touch and invention, conditions are more than background scenery.⁠8

Ronaldinho initially joined Ravenna as an investor in August. The World Cup and Ballon d’Or winner has spoken about wanting one final goal to bring his career tally to 300. His explanation for agreeing to play is personal: friendship with president Ignazio Cipriani and “the things we want for the future.” Those future plans remain unspecified; they are not a promise of a sustained playing schedule.⁠1⁠4

“Now I want to make the people of Ravenna happy, because of the passion they have,” he said in comments carried by Football Italia through Yahoo Sports. He hopes the occasion will be special for his fellow players, too. That is the appeal Ravenna are selling: not simply a famous name on a team sheet, but the chance to share a football memory.⁠4

The club has added a temporary stand, Tribuna R10, in the Distinti area to accommodate more spectators. Its ticket notice does not establish a final seat total, and there is no verified final attendance or completed sellout in the available evidence. Expected demand should not be mistaken for a counted crowd.⁠14

The financial terms are already concrete. Ravenna designated the fixture a Giornata Giallorossa, excluding it from season-ticket coverage. Existing subscribers received a priority window from 5 to 7 November, discounted prices and the right to retain their seats—but still had to buy another ticket. Unclaimed seats returned to general sale, which began on 9 November through TicketOne online and authorised outlets.⁠14

Reserved adult rates for subscribers ranged from €15 in Curva Mero to €50 in Tribuna Corvetta. General-sale adult prices were listed at €30 in Curva Mero and Curva Sud, €60 in the lower covered stand and €120 in the side covered stand. Corvetta was unavailable in general sale. These are the event’s published rates, not a verified comparison with ordinary-match prices.⁠14

The R10 stand has progressive pricing. In the notice available on 14 November, its first tier had concluded; the second was listed at €90, or €150 with hospitality, while the third remained undetermined. Adding seats widens physical access, but it does not remove the separate admission cost—particularly for supporters who had already committed to a season ticket.⁠14

Access concessions have limits, too. General courtesy accreditations were suspended apart from media and qualifying disability exceptions. Disability accreditation required certified 100% disability, with capped spaces and a companion included only where the certificate specified the need. Complete applications were due by 18:00 on 10 November and assessed in order of receipt. Meeting the eligibility rules did not automatically secure a place.⁠14

Ravenna have made room for the spectacle, and Mandorlini has promised Ronaldinho room in the starting attack. What remains is the part no announcement can settle: whether he starts, how his body handles the match, how long he stays on and whether Ravenna emerge with the points. The supporters are paying for the possibility of a remarkable afternoon. The league table will record the result.