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Ronaldinho To Retire This Friday?? by Odunharry(m): 2:59am On Jul 24, 2013 |
Ronaldinho was born Ronaldo de Assis Moreira on March 21, 1980, in Porto Alegre, Brazil. His father, João Moreira, was a former professional soccer player who also worked as a welder in a shipyard, and his mother, Miguelina de Assis, was a cosmetics saleswoman who later became a nurse. Ronaldinho's older brother, Roberto Assis, was also a professional soccer player; Ronaldinho was surrounded by soccer from the day he was born. "I come from a family where soccer has always been very present," he says. "My uncles, my father and my brother were all players. Living with that kind of background, I learned a great deal from them. I tried to devote myself to it more and more with the passage of time." In particular, Ronaldinho idolized his father. "He was one of the most important people for me and in my career, even though he died when I was very young," he says. (João Moreira suffered a fatal heart attack when Ronaldinho was 8 years old.) "He gave me some of the best advice I've ever had. Off the field: 'Do the right thing and be an honest, straight-up guy.' And on the field: 'Play soccer as simply as possible.' He always said one of the most complicated things you can do is to play it simple." Ronaldinho began playing organized youth soccer at the age of 7, and it was as a youth soccer player that he first received the nickname "Ronaldinho," the diminutive form of his birth name, Ronaldo. "They always called me that when I was little because I was really small," the player explains, "and I played with players who were older than me. When I got to the senior national team there was another Ronaldo, so they started calling me Ronaldinho because I was younger." Growing up in a relatively poor, hardscrabble neighborhood, Ronaldinho's youth teams had to make do with makeshift playing fields. "The only grass on the field was in the corner," Ronaldinho remembers. "There was no grass in the middle! It was just sand." In addition to soccer, Ronaldinho also played futsal—an offshoot of soccer played indoors on a hard court surface and with only five players on each side. Ronaldinho's early experiences with futsal helped shape his unique playing style, marked by his remarkable touch and close control on the ball. "A lot of the moves I make originate from futsal," Ronaldinho once said, explaining, "It's played in a very small space, and the ball control is different in futsal. And to this day, my ball control is pretty similar to a futsal player's control." Growing up in a relatively poor, hardscrabble neighborhood, Ronaldinho's youth teams had to make do with makeshift playing fields. "The only grass on the field was in the corner," Ronaldinho remembers. "There was no grass in the middle! It was just sand." In addition to soccer, Ronaldinho also played futsal—an offshoot of soccer played indoors on a hard court surface and with only five players on each side. Ronaldinho's early experiences with futsal helped shape his unique playing style, marked by his remarkable touch and close control on the ball. "A lot of the moves I make originate from futsal," Ronaldinho once said, explaining, "It's played in a very small space, and the ball control is different in futsal. And to this day, my ball control is pretty similar to a futsal player's control." Ronaldinho quickly developed into one of Brazil's most talented youth soccer players. When he was 13 years old, he once scored a ridiculous 23 goals in a single gam. |
Re: Ronaldinho To Retire This Friday?? by Odunharry(m): 3:03am On Jul 24, 2013 |
Professional Career Ronaldinho made his senior debut for Grêmio in the 1998 Copa Libertadores tournament. The next year, he was invited to join the senior Brazilian national team to compete in the Confederations Cup in Mexico. Brazil turned in a second-place finish, and Ronaldinho won the Golden Ball Award as the tournament's best player as well as the Golden Boot Award as its leading goal scorer. Firmly established as a star on the international stage, in 2001 Ronaldinho left Brazil for Europe, signing a contract to play for Paris Saint-Germain in France. A year later, he participated in his first World Cup on a loaded Brazilian squad that also featured Ronaldo and Rivaldo. Ronaldinho scored two goals in five matches, including the game-winner in a quarter-final victory over England, and Brazil went on to defeat Germany in the finals to claim its fifth World Cup title. In 2003, Ronaldinho fulfilled a lifelong dream by joining FC Barcelona of the Spanish league, one of the world's most storied clubs, and winning the legendary No. 10 jersey typically worn by the squad's greatest creative player. In 2004 and 2005, Ronaldinho won back-to-back FIFA World Player of the Year awards, the sport's highest individual honor. He also led his teammates to the pinnacle of club success in 2006 with a triumphant run through the prestigious Champions League tournament. The following month, Ronaldinho headlined a very talented Brazilian squad that entered the World Cup with sky-high expectations. The tournament ended in disappointment for the defending champs, though, as France knocked Brazil out with a stunning upset in the quarter-finals. In 2008, Ronaldinho left Barcelona to join another of the world's most renowned clubs, A.C. Milan, but his performance for the Italian Series A giant was mostly nondescript. Underscoring his fading status, the former World Player of the Year was not included in the 2010 Brazilian team that competed in the World Cup in South Africa. In 2011, Ronaldinho returned to Brazil to play for Flamengo in Rio de Janeiro. The relationship between the club and its most prominent player got off to a great start when Flamengo won the 2011 Campeonato Carioca, but things turned sour by the following season. Ronaldinho missed several practices and performed indifferently in games, and eventually had his contract terminated due to unpaid wages. Ronaldinho signed with Atlético Mineiro in June 2012, a move that reignited his dynamic playmaking abilities, and he was given another shot with the national team to make the 2014 World Cup roster. |
Re: Ronaldinho To Retire This Friday?? by Odunharry(m): 3:11am On Jul 24, 2013 |
Ronaldinho has achieved an impressive quantity of championships, prizes and recognitions at world level, next a listing with his most important achievements: + Champion of the World with the selection of Brazil in the Cup of the World Korea-Japan of the year 2002. + Twice champion of the Spanish league of soccer with the team Barcelona FC, in the seasons 2004-2005 and 2005-2006. + Champion of the World cup of juvenile soccer of the year 1997. + Champion of the UEFA champion league season 2005-2006. + Champion of the Intertoto Cup with the team Paris Saint-Germain in the season 2001-2002. + Twice champion of Supercup Spain with the team Barcelona FC in the years 2005 and 2006. + Champion of the America Cup of the year 1999. + Champion of the Confederations Cup in the year 2005. + Chosen twice as the best player in the world (FIFA World Player ) in the years 2004 and 2005. + Winner of the ball of gold in the year 2005. + Winner of the Ramón of Carranza Trophy in the year 2005. + Champion of the Cataluña Cup in the years 2003 and 2004. + Winner of the Joan Gamper Trophy in the years 2003, 2004 and 2006. + Winner in two opportunities of the prize Word Soccer in the years 2004 and 2005. + He marks the best goal in the UEFA champion league into the season 2004-2005. + Winner of the prize brass Onze in the year 2004. + Winner of the prize Onze of gold of the year 2005. + Better forward of the UEFA champion league in the season 2004-2005. + Better sportsman from Latin America of the year 2005. + Winner of the prize FIFpro to the best soccer player in the year 2005. + Scorer of the Confederations Cup of the year 1999. + Winner in two opportunities of the prize Don Ball like better foreigner of the Spanish league of soccer in the seasons 2003-2004 and 2004-2005. |
Re: Ronaldinho To Retire This Friday?? by donigspain(m): 4:21am On Jul 24, 2013 |
Excuuusssse me OP, You actually want me to waste 15 minutes of my precious life reading someone else's autobiography? |
Re: Ronaldinho To Retire This Friday?? by donigspain(m): 4:22am On Jul 24, 2013 |
BTW, is the dude still playing football? |
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