Ronaldinho

Ronaldinho, meaning "little Ronaldo," is better known in Brazil by the nickname Ronaldinho Gaúcho, in order to distinguish him from Ronaldo, who was already called "Ronaldinho" in Brazil. Ronaldo simply went by his first name upon his move to Europe, thereby allowing Ronaldinho to drop the "Gaúcho" and remain simply as Ronaldinho.

Biography and personal life

Ronaldo de Assis Moreira was born in Porto Alegre, a large city in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. His mother, Miguelina, is a former salesperson who studied to become a nurse. His father, João, was a shipyard worker and footballer for local club Esporte Clube Cruzeiro (not to be confused with Cruzeiro EC),^[4] and suffered a fatal heart attack when Ronaldo was eight. After Ronaldo's older brother, Roberto, signed with Grêmio, the family moved to a more affluent home in Porto Alegre, which was a gift from Gremio to convince Roberto to stay at the club. Roberto's career was ultimately cut short by injury.

Ronaldo's football skills began to blossom at an early age, and he was first given the nickname Ronaldinho because he was often the youngest and the smallest player in youth club matches.^[5] He developed an interest in futsal and beach football, which later expanded to organized football, and his first brush with the media came at the age of thirteen, when he scored all 23 goals in a 23-0 victory against a local team.^[6] Ronaldinho was identified as a rising star at the Egypt 1997 under-17 world championship, in which he scored two goals on penalty kicks.^[7]^[8]

Today Roberto acts as Ronaldinho's manager, while his sister, Deisi, works as his press coordinator.^[9]^[10] Ronaldinho became a father for the first time on February 25, 2005, after Brazilian dancer Janaína Nattielle Viana Mendes gave birth to their son, who was named João after Ronaldinho's father.^[11]

Club career

Early career

Ronaldinho's career began with the Grêmio youth squad under head coach Celso Roth, who only played him due to immense pressure from team supporters. He made his senior side debut during the 1998 Copa Libertadores.^[12] In 2001, Arsenal F.C. expressed interest in signing Ronaldinho, but the move collapsed after he could not obtain a work permit, because he was a non-EU player who had not played enough international matches.^[13] He considered playing on loan with Scottish Premier League side St Mirren F.C., which never happened due to his involvement in a fake passport scandal in Brazil.^[14] Ultimately, Ronaldinho signed a five-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain FC.

During the 2001-02 season, PSG manager Luis Fernandez claimed that Ronaldinho was too focused on the Parisian nightlife rather than football, and complained that his holidays in Brazil would never ended at the scheduled times.^[12] In 2003, less than two years into his PSG stint, Ronaldinho made it clear he wanted to leave after PSG failed to qualify for any European competition.

FC Barcelona

On July 19, 2003, FC Barcelona acquired Ronaldinho for £21 million.^[15] Originally, Barcelona president 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 outbid Manchester United for his signature.

He made his team debut in a friendly against A.C. Milan at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C, scoring one goal in a 2-0 victory. After suffering from injury during the first half of the campaign, he returned and helped lead Barcelona to a second-place league finish.

With Ronaldinho's contract expiring in 2008, he was offered an extension until 2014 that would have net him £85 million over nine years,^[17] but he turned it down. In September 2005, he signed a two-year extension that contained a minimum-fee release clause that allowed him to leave should a club make an offer to Barcelona of at least £85 million for him.^[18]

On November 19, 2005, Ronaldinho scored twice as Barcelona defeated Real Madrid 3-0 on the road in the first leg of the El Clásico. After he sealed the match with his second goal, he received a standing ovation from the Madrid fans. He was chosen for the UEFA Team of 2005 for the third consecutive year in January 2006.

Barcelona eliminated SL Benfica in the '05-06 CL quarterfinals with a 2-0 home victory, with Ronaldinho scoring one of the goals after missing an early penalty kick. After a 1-0 semifinal aggregate win over AC Milan, in which Ronaldinho assisted the series' only goal by Ludovic Giuly, Barcelona progressed to their first-ever CL final, which they won on March 17, 2006 with a 2-1 defeat of Arsenal F.C. despite Ronaldinho being kept in check for the match. Two weeks earlier, Barcelona had clinched their second straight La Liga title with a 1-0 win over Celta Vigo, giving Ronaldinho his first career double. He finished the season with a career-best twenty-six goals in all competitions, and was named the 2005-06 Champions League Player of the Year.

On November 25, 2006, Ronaldinho scored his fiftieth career league goal against Villarreal CF, then later scored a second time with an overhead bicycle kick. He later said to reporters that the latter was a goal he had dreamed of scoring since he was a boy.^[19] He scored once and set up two others in Barcelona's 4-0 Club World Cup win over Mexico's Club América on December 14, but Barcelona were defeated 1-0 by Brazilian club Internacional in the final.^[20] Ronaldinho was nonetheless the recipient of the Bronze Ball Award for the competition.

The next day, Ronaldinho finished third in the running for the 2006 FIFA World Player of the Year, behind World Cup-winning captain Fabio Cannavaro and Zinedine Zidane.^[21] Ronaldinho was named among the UEFA Team of the Year for the third straight time in January 2007, receiving the highest number of votes in over 290,000 nominations.^[22] He was forced to miss a charity match on March 13 due to an injury he had picked up several days earlier in Barcelona's 3-3 El Clásico draw with Real Madrid.^[23]^[24]

He played his 200th career match for Barcelona in a league match against Osasuna on February 3, 2008. However, his 2007-08 campaign as a whole was plagued by injuries, and a muscle tear in his right leg on April 3 prematurely ended his season.^[25] On May 19, Laporta stated that Ronaldinho needed a "new challenge," claiming that he needed a new club if he were to revive his career.^[26] Manchester City F.C. owner Thaksin Shinawatra confirmed on June 6 that he was interested in acquiring him.^[27]

Ronaldinho and Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi each captained a team of international stars in an anti-racism exhibition match in Venezuela on June 28, which ended in a 7-7 draw. Ronaldinho finished with a pair of goals and two assists in what would be his last match as a Barcelona player.^[28]

A.C. Milan

Ronaldinho turned down a £25.5 million offer from Manchester City^[29] to join Italian giants A.C. Milan on a three-year contract, after he was purchased from Barcelona for €21 million.^[30] With the number 10 already occupied by teammate Clarence Seedorf, he selected 80 as his jersey number, based on his birth year.^[31]

International career

Ronaldinho is one of few players to have played for Brazil at every footballing level, as he has played at under 15, under 17, under 20, under 23, and senior level.

1997 FIFA Under-17 World Championship

Ronaldinho was part of the first ever Brazilian team to win the FIFA U-17 World Championship, in Egypt, 1997. His first goal was scored from a penalty against Austria in the first group match, which Brazil won 7-0, and eventually went on to finish top of their group. In the quarter-finals Brazil beat Argentina 2-0, in which Ronaldinho was named the Man of the Match after setting up his teammate Fabio Pinto and creating numerous scoring chances. In the semi-finals Brazil had their first game against a European team, they had to play Germany, Brazil won the match 4-0 and Ronaldinho scored the fourth goal with a penalty. In the final Brazil had to play reigning champions Ghana, the game went 1-0 up for Ghana just before the half time break, only for Brazil to win the game 2-1 with the second goal being scored in the 87th minute. During the six matches of the tournament Brazil conceded only 2 goals and scored 21. Ronaldinho was named one of the best players of the tournament, receiving the Bronze Ball award. After the under 17's championship, he debuted for the Brazilian national team on June 26, 1999 against Latvia in a game which Brazil won 3-0.

1999 FIFA World Youth Championship

Ronaldinho also took part in the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship which took place in Nigeria. As usual, Brazil were favored to win the trophy. However, they lost their opening match against Spain 2-0. But Brazil managed to finish the group at second place following their victories over Honduras and Zambia, 3-0 and 5-1 respectively. Ronaldinho scored his first goal in Brazil's last group match and in the round of 16, Ronaldinho helped his team to beat Croatia 4-0 by scoring two first half goals. However, Brazil lost to their old rivals Uruguay 2-1 in the quarter finals.

Copa America 1999

1999 FIFA Confederations Cup

Ronaldinho was both top player and scorer in the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup. He scored in all of the games of the tournament including a hat-trick against Saudi Arabia in the semi-finals to give Brazil an 8-2 win. Although Brazil lost to Mexico 4-3 in the final in which Ronaldinho did not participate due to injury.

2002 World Cup

Ronaldinho played a part in Brazil's successful 2002 campaign to win the World Cup, forming the famed "3 R's" with Ronaldo and Rivaldo. He scored two goals in the tournament. One of the highlights was an unconventional 30-yard free kick he scored against England in the quarter-finals in Shizuoka. The ball lobbed over the English keeper David Seaman, who was out of position as he expected a pass into the penalty area, to make it 2-1 for Brazil. Soon after, he was sent off for a foul on Danny Mills. Following the sending-off, he was suspended for the semifinal, but returned to Brazil's starting line-up for the 2-0 victory over Germany in the final.

2005 Confederations Cup

On June 29, 2005, he played a pivotal role as the captain of the Brazilian squad that won its second FIFA Confederations Cup title, and was named Man of the Match in a 4–1 victory over Argentina in the final.

2006 World Cup

In the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Ronaldinho was a starting player for all of Brazil's five matches, but his performances were considered disappointing by both fans and commentators. He scored no goals and made only one assist (for Gilberto's goal in a 4-1 victory over Japan). When Brazil were eliminated by France 1-0 in the quarterfinal, he failed to make an impression.^[32]

Immediately after the World Cup disappointment, the team was criticized by many Brazilians, and vandals immolated and destroyed a 7.5-meter (23 ft) tall fiberglass and resin statue of Ronaldinho in the Brazilian city of Chapecó.^[33] The statue had been erected in 2004 to celebrate his first election as FIFA World Player of the Year. Two days after the loss, Ronaldinho, joined by Adriano, returned to Barcelona and held a party at his home, which was continued into the early morning hours at a nightclub. This increased the feeling of Brazilian fans that they were betrayed by the lack of effort from their national team.^[34] This reaction contrasted with other players such as Rogerio Ceni, who was ashamed of the game and said "some defeats are marked by struggle, but we lost in an infelicitous way, that wasn't what we had hoped for"^[35] and Zé Roberto, who cried and said that "the unity that we had outside the pitch, lacked inside it".^[36]

After the World Cup

After the World Cup, he has played in three of five official matches under Dunga's command (one start and two substitute appearances). After coming off the bench against Ecuador, Ronaldinho excelled, creating the winning goal for Kaká and hitting the post twice.

On March 24, 2007, Ronaldinho made his first start for Brazil since September 2006 and scored twice in Brazil's 4-0 win against Chile, putting an end to a scoreless streak that lasted nearly two years.[5]

2008 Beijing Olympics

Ronaldinho was named to Brazil's 2008 Summer Olympics squad on July 7, 2008.^[37] Barcelona initially blocked the move because of his upcoming Champions League commitments with the club. The decision was later nullified following Ronaldinho's transfer to Milan, who in turn permitted him to make the trip to Beijing.^[38]

Statistics

Club career statistics

Honours

Contents