Full name: Ronaldo de Assis
Moreira
Nickname: Ronaldinho, Ronaldinho Gaúcho
Birthday: 21 March 1980
Place: Porto Alegre, Brazil
Height: 181cm
Weight: 76 kg
T-shirt's number: 10
Best foot: rights'
Position: Attacking Midfielder Debut in spanish league: 27
July 2003
Biography of Ronaldinho
Ronaldo de Assis
Moreira (born 21 March 1980 in Porto Alegre, Brazil) is a footballer
more commonly known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho due to his being from the Rio
Grande do Sul state of Brazil.
His name Ronaldinho Portuguese for "little Ronaldo", was originally
devised as a means of distinguishing between himself and fellow
Brazilian footballer Ronaldo. Among his many achievements and accolades,
Ronaldinho has been awarded the FIFA World Player of the Year award
twice as well as both the European Footballer of the Year award and the
FIFPro World Player of the Year award once. He is widely regarded as the
best player in the world by fans, pundits and peers alike, although he
himself considers such talk ridiculous, having told FourFourTwo
magazine, "I don't even feel I'm the best at Barça."
History of Ronaldinho
Childhood
In his childhood, Ronaldinho's skill in football began to blossom due to
his particular interest in futsal and beach football, which later
developed into a fondness for more standardised football. His first
brush with the media came after a 23 goal flurry against a local team,
at just 13 years of age. His reputation as a footballer was built up
through his childhood, particularly since he was a prolific goalscorer
in the Egypt under-17 world championship. His stylish play at the
tournament also caught the eye of many.
Professional career
Brazil
He was introduced into the Brazilian national team in 1999. He debuted
for the national team on June 26, 1999 against Latvia. In his first
tournament participation he scored against Venezuela in the 1999 Copa
América which the Brazilian team won.
Ronaldinho played a part in Brazil's successful 2002 campaign to win the
World Cup. One of the highlights of the tournament was an outrageous
35-metre free kick he scored against England in the quarter-finals in
Shizuoka, although he was sent off soon after for a foul on Danny Mills.
Following the sending-off, he was suspended for the semi final, but
returned to Brazil's starting line-up for the 2-0 victory over Germany
in the final.
On June 29, 2005, he played a pivotal role as the captain of the
Brazilian squad which won its second FIFA Confederations Cup title, and
was named Man of the Match in a 4–1 victory over Argentina in the final.
Pelé named Ronaldinho in his 125 Top Living Footballers in March 2004.
Grêmio years
His career began in the youth team at Porto Alegre club Grêmio, under
head coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, who would later coach the Brazilian
national team to glory in the 2002 World Cup. His first senior
appearance came in the 1998 Libertadores Cup, and his penchant for
goalscoring was quickly displayed, his career soon generating
speculation and interest due to his phenomenal ball control and ability
to score. This was followed by his introduction into the Brazilian
national team in 1999.
Towards the end of his career at Grêmio, in 2001, many clubs from all
over the world, particularly Premiership teams in England, were eager to
sign him as an attempt to attain a player who was both a "big name" and
was also performing well. Despite several generous bids from Premiership
teams, including a reported astronomical bid from Leeds, and several
requests from Grêmio, Ronaldinho signed a five-year contract with Paris
Saint-Germain, to whom he moved at the beginning of the following
season.
Paris Saint-Germain years
In 2001 Ronaldinho left Grêmio to play European football. Despite bids
from much larger clubs, he opted to play for PSG. During his time at PSG,
the manager, Luis Fernandez, claimed that Ronaldinho was too focussed on
the Parisian nightlife rather than on his football, and complained that
his holidays in Brazil would always drag on and never end at the
scheduled times.
After the World Cup, having shown his worth on the international scene,
there was no shortage on the interest from bigger clubs, and in 2003,
Ronaldinho made it known he wanted to leave PSG after they failed to
qualify for any European competitions. That set off a bidding war among
the top clubs for his services.
Barcelona years
Ronaldinho with DecoOn July 19, FC Barcelona snapped him up for £18
million. Originally, Barcelona chairman Joan Laporta had promised to
bring David Beckham to the club, but
following his transfer to Real Madrid, Barcelona entered the running for
Ronaldinho and beat Manchester United to his signature. It was thought
that a failure on the part of the English and French clubs to agree a
fee was the reason for Manchester United's deal falling through.
Ronaldinho is said to have signed with Barcelona instead of Manchester
United because of his friendship with former Nike executive in Brazil
and Barcelona's then vice-president in charge of sports, Sandro Rosell.
Ronaldinho's signing for Barcelona meant he followed in the footsteps of
a number of illustrious fellow countrymen who had enjoyed successful
careers with the club, including Evaristo, Romario,
Ronaldo and Rivaldo.
Ronaldinho justified the purchase, returning from injury in the first
half of the campaign to lead Barcelona to a second-place finish in La
Liga during the 2003/04 season. Together with Samuel Eto'o, Deco, Lionel
Messi, Ludovic Giuly and Henrik Larsson, he comprises part of an awesome
strike force which reaped the 2004/05 La Liga title for FC Barcelona. On
December 20, 2004, Ronaldinho was named FIFA World Player of the Year
ahead of Arsenal's Thierry Henry and AC Milan's
Andriy Shevchenko, with Barcelona
having rejected a £60 million bid for him by Chelsea, according to
Sandro Rosell.
In June 2005, Rosell resigned from the Barcelona administration
following a bust-up with Joan Laporta, and it was feared that it would
spell the eventual exit of Ronaldinho as well. His contract running to
2008, Ronaldinho was offered a contract until 2014, netting him £85
million, which he rejected until he on September 1, 2005 signed a
two-year extension of his original contract until 2010, with a minimum
fee release clause, allowing him to leave should a club make an offer to
Barcelona of £85 million for him.
On November 19, 2005, he scored two amazing solo goals to help FC
Barcelona to a 3–0 win over arch-rivals Real Madrid at the Santiago
Bernabeu in Madrid. After he scored his second goal of the night, his
team's third, a large part of the Madrid faithful gave him a standing
ovation, a rare feat which had not occurred since
Diego Maradona was playing for Barcelona.
In 2005 Ronaldinho was named as both the European Footballer of the Year
and the best striker in the UEFA Champions League tournament of 2004/05.
Ronaldinho is the third Brazilian to win the European Footballer of the
Year Award. On December 19, 2005, he was again named FIFA World Player
of the Year with 956 points, more than three times the 306 points of
Chelsea's Frank Lampard, who finished second in the poll, and the 190
points of Barça teammate Samuel Eto'o, third. He was chosen for the UEFA
team of 2005 for the third time running in January 2006. He received
more votes than any other player in that team. Over 1.5 million people
participated in that vote.
On March 7 2006, in the 2nd leg of the Champions League first knockout
round at Nou Camp, Ronaldinho avenged Barcelona's defeat to Chelsea in
the same competition the previous year, gliding past the Chelsea defence
to score. Although the game ended 1-1, Barcelona progressed to the
Champions League Quarter Final. And in the semifinal first leg at AC
Milan on 18 April 2006, Ronaldinho once again proved his expertise with
a superb pass for the goal scored by Ludovic Giuly, which brought
Barcelona a 1-0 victory. The second leg game ended in a goaless draw
despite a 70th minute scare from Andriy
Shevchenko's disallowed goal. That result pushed Barcelona to an
exciting-looking final with Thierry Henry's
Arsenal F.C. Gunners, who had not conceded a goal in ten Champions
League matches.
On May 3rd 2006, Barcelona were crowned 2005/2006 La Liga champions
after they beat Celta Vigo 1-0.
On May 17th 2006
Barcelona has won the Champions League defeating Arsenal for 2-1.
Youth clubs
Grêmio
Professional clubs*
1998–2001 Grêmio
110 (37)
2001–2003 Paris SG
55 (17)
2003- FC
Barcelona 68 (24)
National team**
1999 – present Brazil 60 (27)
* Professional club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 2006.
** National team caps and goals correct as of 2006.
Honours
Paris SG
2003 French Cup Finals
Barcelona
2005-06 Champions League
2005-06 League
2005-06 Spanish Supercup
2004-05 League
2005-06 Champions League
National Team of Brasil
2004-05 FIFA Confederations Cup
2001-02 World Cup
1998-99 America Cup
1996-97 World Cup under 17
Individual Awards
2003-04 FIFA WORLD PLAYER
2004-05 Ballon d'Or
2004-05 FIFA WORLD PLAYER
Other
Did you know it?
In March 2004, while he was turning a television spot, Ronaldinho has
broken a window of the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, built in the
twelfth century.
