Ronaldinho

“Ronaldinho”

Ronaldinho was born Ronaldo de Assis Moreira in Porto Alegre, Brazil in 1980, March 21. He was nicknamed ‘Gaucho’ to mean ‘happy Brazilian’ because of his constant smile. His father Joao de Assis Moreira worked in a shipyard and played for Esporte Clube Cruzeiro. His mother Dona Miguelina was a nurse. Ronaldinho started playing football at quite a young age. When he was thirteen, he scored 23 goals against a local team. This match brought a lot of media attention to him. Ronaldinho and his male sibling Roberto both played for Gremio, but his brother succumbed to too many injuries and quit football. Ronaldinho played in that team between 1987 and 1998. He was recruited to play in the Brazilian under 17 team during the 1997 World Championship in Egypt, where he scored two goals. In 1999, Ronaldinho won the Copa America with six goals during his participation with the official national team representing Brazil. He was also signed under the team Paris Saint-Germain between 2001 and 2003. During this time, Arsenal also wanted to buy him but was defeated by Paris Saint-Germain. He joined Barcelona where he played between 2003 and 2008. He was famous for his jersey number ten. He was recruited to play for A. C Milan from 2008 to 2011 alongside Thierry Henry and Samuel Eto’o, two of the world’s most legendary football players.

Ronaldinho is famous for his extraordinary dribbling abilities and effervescent displays of the game and is considered on of the most talented footballers in the world. When he joined Barcelona, fans fell in love with his magic in football and international sales for his jersey number ten overwhelmed retailers. He had the ability to turn matches around with his dazzling one-man efforts and scored an astonishing 22 goals for Barcelona in the first season. However, he was unable to play in the first season because of injuries. Barcelona qualified for Champions League after signing up Ronaldinho and winning seventeen successive matches. While playing with Eto’o and other great players such as Puyol and Xavi, Barcelona clinched the Champions League title and Ronaldinho was recognized as the key player scoring two goals to one against Arsenal. Before that win, Barcelona had been crowned La Liga champions with Ronaldinho putting his name twice on the score sheet against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu Stadium. The whole stadium gave him a standing ovation for his remarkable performance and for leading his team to victory.

Ronaldinho started playing for the official squad that represented Brazil in the under 15, 17, 20 and 23 teams. He accompanied the team to Nigeria during the FIFA World Youth Championship that was held in 1999. He first shot at the senior team was against Latvia in June 1999 where he helped Brazil win three goals to nothing. He went ahead to play and win against Venezuela in Paraguay during the Copa America Tournament that was held in the same year. In the Confederation Cup of the same year, Ronaldinho was selected as the best player and top scorer even though Brazil lost three goals to two to Mexico. Brazil won the 2002 World Cup thanks to the contribution of Ronaldinho, Rivaldo and Ronaldo. Ronaldinho scored two goals and the media insisted that he had excelled beyond many others during the tournament. His fame and admiration continued to rise, as he played in Korea and Japan during the World Cup, when he overwhelmed international media and football fans with his free kick in the match against England. This spectacular performance saw Brazil clinch the World Cup in that year. He has scored more than 27 goals in 57 matches for the national squad representing Brazil.

The 2005 Confederations Cup saw Ronaldinho partake the role of captain for the Brazilian team. He was also named man of the tournament when they played Argentina and won four goals to one. He has overtaken David Beckham as La Liga’s pin-up because people love his embodiment of the football’s soul. Nevertheless, he was blamed for Brazil’s dropout of the world Cup in 2006 and his popularity diminished especially amongst his loyal fans. His statue that stood in the city of Chapeco was destroyed by angry Brazil fans after their team lost to France. Through his courage and exceptional endurance, Ronaldinho continues to play for Barcelona, but the management is thinking of selling him for $255 million.

Throughout his football career, Ronaldinho has been awarded numerous titles and honors. He was voted the best foreign player during La Liga in 2006 and 2004. FIFA honored Ronaldinho with the World Cup Bronze Ball Award in 2006. He was awarded a winner’s medal after the Confederations Cup in Germany in 2005. Abedi Pele, the greatest footballer of all time, named him as one the 125 top living footballers in 2004. He was named FIFA World Player of the Year in 2004 and 2005 consecutively. In 2005, Ronaldinho won the FIFA Pro World Player of the Year, FIFA Team Player of the Year and European Footballer of the Year. He became the best striker during the Champions League of 2004-2005. He also became the only the third individual from his home to win the Ballon d’Or in 2005. Football has only seen very few players as legendary as Ronaldinho, and football fans continue to wait for one who will surpass his talent and prowess in the game. Ronaldinho is blessed with one son, Joao, whom he raises with his mother in Italy and plays for Flamengo. In a recent interview, Ronaldinho said that football is the love of his life.

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