Ronaldinho

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other people with the name, see Ronaldinho (given name).
In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is de Assis and the
second or paternal family name is Moreira.
 Ronaldinho

Ronaldinho in 2019

Personal information

Full name Ronaldo de Assis Moreira[1]

Date of birth 21 March 1980 (age 44)[1]

Place of birth Porto Alegre, Brazil

Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]

Position(s) Attacking midfielder, winger

Youth career

1987–1998 Grêmio

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

1998–2001 Grêmio 89 (47)

2001–2003 Paris Saint-Germain 55 (17)

 2003–2008 Barcelona 145 (70)

2008–2011 AC Milan 76 (20)

2011–2012 Flamengo 56 (23)

2012–2014 Atlético Mineiro 58 (20)

2014–2015 Querétaro 25 (8)

2015 Fluminense 7 (0)

Total 511 (205)

International career

1997 Brazil U17 13 (3)

1998–1999 Brazil U20 17 (8)

1999–2000 Brazil U23 19 (15)

2008 Brazil Olympic (O.P.) 8 (3)

1999–2013 Brazil 97 (33)

show

Medal record

*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980), commonly known as Ronaldinho

Gaúcho (Brazilian Portuguese: [ʁonawˈdʒĩɲu ɡaˈuʃu]) or simply Ronaldinho,[note 1] is a
Brazilian former professional footballer who played as an attacking
midfielder or winger. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, he
won two FIFA World Player of the Year awards and a Ballon d'Or. He is the only
player ever to have won a World Cup, a Copa América, a Confederations Cup,
a Champions League, a Copa Libertadores and a Ballon d'Or.[4] A global icon of the
sport, Ronaldinho was renowned for his technical skills, creativity, dribbling ability
and accuracy from free-kicks, his use of tricks, feints, no-look passes and overhead
kicks, as well as his ability to score and create goals, all prominent characteristics of
his early-age background playing futsal. He is known by the nickname "O Bruxo"
("The Wizard").[5][6]

Ronaldinho made his career debut for Grêmio, in 1998. At age 20, he moved to Paris
Saint-Germain in France before signing for Barcelona in 2003. In his second season
with Barcelona, he won his first FIFA World Player of the Year award as Barcelona
won the 2004–05 La Liga title. The season that followed is considered one of the
best in his career as he was integral in Barcelona winning the 2005–06 UEFA
Champions League, their first in fourteen years, and another La Liga title, giving
Ronaldinho his first career double, receiving the 2005 Ballon d'Or and his
second FIFA World Player of the Year in the process. After scoring two solo goals in
the first 2005–06 El Clásico, Ronaldinho became the second Barcelona player,
after Diego Maradona in 1983, to receive a standing ovation from Real Madrid fans at
the Santiago Bernabéu. Due to these successes, Ronaldinho is widely credited with
changing the history of Barcelona.[7]

Following a second-place La Liga finish to Real Madrid in the 2006–07 season and
an injury-plagued 2007–08 season, Ronaldinho suffered a decline in his
performances—often put down to a decrease in dedication and focus having
achieved so much in the sport—and departed Barcelona to join AC Milan, where he
won the 2010–11 Serie A. He returned to Brazil to play for Flamengo in 2011
and Atlético Mineiro a year later where he won the 2013 Copa Libertadores, before
moving to Mexico to play for Querétaro and then back to Brazil to play
for Fluminense in 2015. Ronaldinho accumulated numerous other individual awards
in his career: he was included in the UEFA Team of the Year and the FIFA World
XI three times each, and was named UEFA Club Footballer of the Year for the 2005–
06 season and South American Footballer of the Year in 2013; in 2004, he was
named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players. In 2009,
Ronaldinho was voted World Player of the Decade 2000s, ahead of Lionel
Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.[8]

In his international career with Brazil, Ronaldinho earned 97 caps and scored 33
goals and represented his country in two FIFA World Cups. After debuting with
the Seleção by winning the 1999 Copa América, he was an integral part of the 2002
FIFA World Cup-winning team, starring alongside Ronaldo and Rivaldo in an
attacking trio, and was named in the FIFA World Cup All-Star Team. As captain, he
led his team to the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup title and was named man of the
match in the final. He also captained the Brazil Olympic team to a bronze medal
in men's football at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Early and personal life

 Born in Porto Alegre in 1980, Ronaldinho moved into
an affluent suburb at the age of eight
Ronaldo de Assis Moreira was born on 21 March 1980 in the city of Porto Alegre, the
state capital of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.[1][9] His mother, Miguelina Elói Assis dos
Santos,[10] was a salesperson who studied to become a nurse.[11] His father, João de
Assis Moreira, was a shipyard worker and a footballer for the local club Esporte
Clube Cruzeiro (not to be confused with the larger Cruzeiro Esporte Clube).[12] After
Ronaldo's older brother Roberto signed with Grêmio, the family moved to a home in
the more affluent Guarujá section of Porto Alegre, which was a gift from Grêmio to
convince Roberto to stay at the club. Still, Roberto's career was ultimately cut short
by injury. It was in their new home where his father hit his head and drowned in the
swimming pool when Ronaldo was eight.[13] Roberto has acted as his manager, while
his sister Deisi has worked as his press coordinator.[14][15]

Ronaldo's football skills began to blossom at the age of eight, and he was first given
the nickname Ronaldinho – "inho" meaning small – because he was often the
youngest and the smallest player in youth club matches.[14] He developed an interest
in futsal and beach football, which later expanded to organized football.[16] Many of his
signature moves originate from futsal, especially his ball control.[17] His first brush with
the media came at the age of 13, when he scored all 23 goals in a 23–0 victory
against a local team.[18] Ronaldinho was identified as a rising star at the 1997 U-17
World Championship in Egypt, in which he scored two goals on penalty kicks.[19][20]

Growing up, his idols included the World Cup winning stars; Rivelino (from
1970), Diego Maradona (from 1986), Romário (from 1994), and his two future
international teammates Ronaldo and Rivaldo (which would form the attacking trio in
Brazil's 2002 World Cup winning team).[21] Ronaldinho is the father of a son, João,
born on 25 February 2005, to Brazilian dancer Janaína Mendes and named after his
late father.[22] He gained Spanish citizenship in 2007.[23] In March 2018, Ronaldinho
joined the Brazilian Republican Party, which has links to the Universal Church of the
Kingdom of God.[24] Ronaldinho endorsed presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro in
the 2018 Brazilian presidential election.[25]

Club career
Grêmio
"I've worked with some great players in my time and all at a very interesting period in their careers,
nineteen to twenty years old. But, with due respect to the others, Ronaldinho was a cut above the rest."
— Grêmio coach Celso Roth.[26]

Ronaldinho's career began with the Grêmio youth squad. He made his senior side
debut during the 1998 Copa Libertadores.[27] 1999 saw the emergence of the 18-year-
old Ronaldinho, with 22 goals in 47 matches, and he put in headlining displays in
derbies against Internacional, most notably on 20 June 1999 in the Rio Grande do
Sul State Championship final.[28] In a match-winning performance, Ronaldinho
embarrassed Internacional's Brazilian legend and 1994 World Cup-winning
captain Dunga, flicking the ball over his head on one occasion, and leaving him flat-
footed in a mazy dribble on another.[28] Ronaldinho achieved further success with
Grêmio, winning the inaugural Copa Sul.[28]

In 2001, Arsenal 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.[29] He considered playing on loan with Scottish
Premier League side St Mirren, which never happened due to his involvement in a
fake passport scandal in Brazil.[30]

Paris Saint-Germain

Ronaldinho arrived at the Parc des Princes (pictured)

to much fanfare.[31]
In 2001, Ronaldinho signed a five-year contract with French club Paris Saint-
Germain in a €5 million transfer.[32] Upon his arrival in Paris, Ronaldinho was given the
number 21 shirt and inserted into a lineup that included fellow Brazilian Aloísio,
midfielder Jay-Jay Okocha and striker Nicolas Anelka.[33]

2001–02 season
Ronaldinho made his league debut for the club on 4 August 2001, appearing as a
substitute in a 1–1 draw with Auxerre.[34] Ronaldinho spent the majority of the first few
months of the 2001–02 season alternated between the bench and starter's role. He
scored his first goal for the club on 13 October in a 2–2 draw against Lyon,
converting the equalizing penalty in the 79th minute after having come on ten
minutes prior.[35] After returning from the winter break, Ronaldinho went on a tear,
scoring a goal in four consecutive matches to open the new campaign. He recorded
impressive goals against Monaco, Rennes, Lens and Lorient. On 16 March 2002, he
recorded a double in PSG's 3–1 victory against relegation strugglers Troyes.[36] He
scored his final league goal of the season in the club's 2–0 win over Metz on 27 April.
[37]

Ronaldinho was also influential in the 2001–02 Coupe de la Ligue, helping PSG
reach the semi-finals where they were eliminated by Bordeaux. In a Round of 16
match against Guingamp, Ronaldinho scored two second half goals in the game after
having entered the match as a half-time substitute. Despite Ronaldinho's initial
success with the club, the season was marred by controversy with Paris Saint-
Germain manager Luis Fernández, claiming that the Brazilian was too focused on the
Parisian nightlife rather than football, and complained that his holidays in Brazil never
ended at the scheduled times.[27]

2002–03 season
Despite repeated rifts with Fernández, Ronaldinho returned to the team for the 2002–
03 season, with the player switching to the number 10 shirt. Though his
performances in his second seaso