Ronaldo de Assis Moreira, nicknamed Ronaldinho Gaucho, was born on March 21, 1980 in the southern city of Porto Alegre. Known as today’s greatest footballer; this young man is another rags to riches story that rose to international supremacy starting from a poor family and was raised in the dirt road-laced settlements of favelas.
His talent was so evident at a young age that he helped Brazil win the World under-17 Championship in Egypt. During that event he was scouted by local club Gremio and signed his first professional contract.
Ronaldinho won his first senior cap for Brazil against Latvia in 1999 where he scored 15 goals in 14 games while playing for Gremio. He then played for Copa America squad of Brazil scoring an incredible goal against Venezuela en route to a trophy win. Later that year, he scored their first hat-trick in the Confederations Cup semi-finals against Saudi Arabia.
Two years later, he left Gremio for Paris St. Germain (PSG) playing only 3 months after and with the help of FIFA due to contract restrictions.
A year after his start at PSG he was voted France’s player of the month for January after hitting 6 goals in 7 games.
During the World Cup 2002 he was best remembered for scoring the famous freekick against David Seaman in Brazil’s World Cup Quarter Finals match against England. The arc and how the ball got to the net were technically difficult but were done through Ronaldinho‘s creativity and talent.
In 2003 summer transfer market, he joined Barcelona for £21m after rejecting Manchester United.
He is a genius on the playing field that could find the net in the most spectacular, outstanding and creative shots. His dedication to the game has continuously raised his level of play throughout the years which led to Barcelona’s renewed domination of the Spanish Primera Division.
Ronaldinho was chosen by Brazil legend Pele as one of the 11 greatest living footballers through FIFA.
To sum up, below is the list of teams and awards he has played and received throughout his career:
Teams Played
1999 – 2001: Gremio de Porto Alegre, Brazil
2001 – 2003: Paris St. Germain, France Ligue 1. Signed for fee of $4.5 million
2003 – F.C. Barcelona, Spain. Signed for fee of between $30 -$35 million
Awards Received
1997: U-17 FIFA World Cup Winner. Voted MVP of Tournament
1999: Copa America Winner
2000: FIFA Confederations Cup. Golden Boot Award – six goals
2002: FIFA World Cup Winner
2004: FIFA World Player of The Year
2004-2005: Primera Division Champion with F.C. Barcelona.
2005: FIFpro World Player of The Year.
2005: European Footballer of The Year – ‘Ballon d’Or’ Winner
The latest sensation from soccer powerhouse Brazil; scores beautiful goals on a whim and dances the samba while doing. He is going to be a force to reckon with for years to come.
Expect a dominating performance from him in the upcoming World Cup 2006!
[…] I shall look at those who will most likely dominate the game as well as those sleeper players that can come out of nowhere and steal the spotlight onto becoming the world superstar like Ronaldinho during World Cup 2002. […]
[…] Or are we focusing too much on Ronaldo? Have we forgotten Ronaldinho and Kaka? I have a great respect for Ronaldo but at his present physical state how do you expect someone to bounce back. He did overcame his last major adversity en route to the 2002 Cup title but he was totally in shape for a long time prior to the competition. Come the games itself he was perhaps in the greatest shape of his life — ready to show the world why he is the game’s deadliest striker. An overweight, out of synch guy like him may not be enough to pull off Brazil. The country has a lot of great talent in both Ronaldinho and Kaka. I believe that both of them especially Ronaldinho could spell the difference between humiliation and glory. Parreira knows this definitely. I feel that the coach is saying these things publicly to boost Ronaldo’s morale to get in shape ready for the games. But by doing this, doesn’t that affect the people in the Brazilian squad that feel they can carry their team to victory? […]
[…] Or are we focusing too much on Ronaldo? Have we forgotten Ronaldinho and Kaka? I have a great respect for Ronaldo but at his present physical state how do you expect someone to bounce back. He did overcame his last major adversity en route to the 2002 Cup title but he was totally in shape for a long time prior to the competition. Come the games itself he was perhaps in the greatest shape of his life — ready to show the world why he is the game’s deadliest striker. An overweight, out of synch guy like him may not be enough to pull off Brazil. […]
[…] Parreira named quartet Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Adriano and Kaka to start their World Cup bid who will be playing Croatia, Australia and Japan respectively. […]
[…] Dunga remained true to his word that local players shall be given a chance for a slot on Brazil National Team which was traditionally reserved for European players by leaving out Ronaldinho, Adriano, Kaka and Ronaldo, Cafu and Emerson; the only players chosen from World Cup 2006 squad were Cicinho, Fred, Gilberto, Gilberto Silva, Juan, Lucio, Luisao and Robinho. […]
[…] Brazilian style was lacking in this year’s tournament that did not allow even the World’s number one Footballer, Ronaldinho, to shine. The media pressure including everyone shouting for change prompted for the resignation of Parreira, but brought surprise to the world when Dunga, a tough defensive midfielder and captain of Brazil when they won World Cup in 1994, was chosen instead of Vanderlei Luxemburgo or Paulo Autuori who are both experienced and well known. […]
[…] Brazil is the team I expect to explode with Ronaldinho yet to score in the tournament. Ronaldo is finding his form and feel of the game once again having scored two goals in their last match, Kaka and Adriano continues to improve and show maturity and Ronaldinho providing the set plays for the team. […]
[…] Have you ever thought how come Brazilial players are known for their first name like Ronaldinho, Kaka, Ronaldo, Robinho, and so on? In a post by Nick found here via againagain says that the use of the first name could have it’s roots in the slave system where people referred to these slaves using their first name. […]
[…] Honorable Mention: Ronaldinho even without scoring made crucial and intelligent plays that gets Brazil scoring opportunities. […]
[…] But given the firepower of Brazil from Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Kaka, etc. they are most likely to overcome all odds. Whether England or Italy does not lose a player they will encounter immense amount of difficulty against the Brazilians until they fall and crumble apart. […]
[…] Who could beat Brazil at this level of play? Unless a miraculous performance by any of their three rivals this should be a walk in the park for Brazil. With Ronaldo the greatest striker in the world competing with the South American squad is a giant mountain block toward the coveted prize. Add up today’s greatest player in Ronaldinho plus the rising superstar status of Kaka; a different team on a different level is disguised in the form of Brazil. […]
[…] Profile: Ronaldinho […]
[…] “With long shots, it floats and moves a lot which makes it difficult to read,” said Brazilian superstar Ronaldinho. […]
[…] Brazil won the Copa America sans Ronaldinho and Kaka who asked to be rested during the tournament. Dunga who has been widely criticized on his capacity to bring Brazil back to glory has a lot of thanks to his team which gave him his first title in only 11 months with them. Brazil won convincingly against Argentina on the score of 3 – 0 with Julio Baptista and Daniel Alves filling in on the scoring chart. […]
[…] players that can come out of nowhere and steal the spotlight onto becoming the world superstar like Ronaldinho during World Cup […]
[…] some respect and level of responsibility especially when you still belong to the quarter of Kaka, Ronaldinho and Adriano. Thank Parreira since he has told the media time and again that Brazil has full […]
[…] 1. DIDA , 2. CAFU , 3. LUCIO , 4. JUAN , 6. ROBERTO CARLOS, 8. KAKA , 9. RONALDO , 10. RONALDINHO , 17. GILBERTO SILVA , 19. JUNINHO PERNAMBUCANO , 23. […]
[…] Dida, Lucio, Juan, Cicinho, Gilberto, Kaka, Ronaldinho, Silva, Juninho, Ronaldo, Robinho. Subs: Adriano, Cafu, Carlos, Cris, Emerson, Fred, Julio Cesar, […]
[…] World Cup, World Cup, FIFA World Cup 2006, Germany, Brazil, Ronaldinho, Robinho […]
[…] Mention: Ronaldinho even without scoring made crucial and intelligent plays that gets Brazil scoring […]
[…] are we focusing too much on Ronaldo? Have we forgotten Ronaldinho and Kaka? I have a great respect for Ronaldo but at his present physical state how do you expect […]
iam big fan . Ronaldinho. idont know why not play on fifa word cup 2010