Ronaldinho

Ronaldo de Assis Moreira or Ronaldinho Gaucho is a Brazilian footballer who was born on 21 March 1980 in Porto Alegre, Brazil. The talented player is well known for his foot work trickery, free-kicks, dribbling and overhead kicks. Born from a football family, he followed his father’s and brother’s footprints to become a football legend. He first caught the eyes of the media during a local match when he scored 23 goals in a single match when his team won 23-0.

He started his carrer with Gremio where he scored twenty-three goals in forty appearances between 1998 and 2001. After failing to secure a work permit to play his trade in England with Arsenal, Ronaldinho would later sign for France’s Paris Saint-Germain after a short loan spell with Scottish side St.Mirren in 2001 for a fee of €5 million. It was from here with the help of BrazilianAloísio, midfielder Jay-Jay Okocha and striker Nicolas Anelka that he would adapt to the new environment and would go all the way to make 55 appearances and score 17 goals before he departed for Barcelona in 2003 after the team failed to secure a champion league spot.

Ronaldinho was purchased by Barcelona in 2003 for a fee of €30 million where he would make his debut with a goal against Milan in a friendly match in Washington D.C. he scored 15 goals in his first season at Barcelona. In total, he made 145 appearance scoring 40 goals. In the process he would win 2 La Liga titles, 1 Supercopa de Espana, 1 champions league.

He left Barcelona in 2008 and would later sign for Ac Milan on July 2008 for a fee of €22.05M plus €1.05M bonus each season for three year contract. Between 2008 and 2010, Ronaldinho would be a key player for his new team making 76 appearances with 20 goals to his name. He helped the team to scoop the Seria A title in 2010-11 season.

Ageing Ronaldinho would later return to his native country in Brazil where he signed a contract with Flamengo in January 2011. Before he canceled his contract with the club on 31st May 2012, he had won Taca Guanabara, Campeonato Carioca and Taca Rio titles.

He made a surprise move to Athletico Mineiro in June 2012 for a contract of 6 months. It is in this club that he won the Brazilian Golden Ball and helping the club finish second in the Brasileirao as well as qualifying for 2013 Copa Libertadores. Later, the team won the Campeonato Mineiro as well as Copa Libertadores. He left the club in July 2014 before joining Basingstoke town of English Conference South as a free agent and later played for Chennai Titans of Indian Super League. He signed a contract with Mexican side Queretaro in September 2014.

In the international platform, Ronaldinho has played for the Brazil under 23 winning South American Under-17 Football Championship and FIFA u-17 World Championship both in 1997. He was recruited in the Under -23 where he won CONMEBOL Men Pre-Olympic Tournament in 1999 and Olympic Bronze Medal in 2008.

Ronaldinho made his international debut on 26th June 1999 against Latvia and went ahead to win 1999 Copa America. In 2002, he was instrumental as his team won the World Cup. Two years later, he played part as Brazil scooped the Confederation Cup in Germany. Later in 2011, he was part of the team that won the Superclasico de las Americas in 2011.

Individually Ronaldinho has achieved the following awards;

FIFA Confederations Cup Golden Ball: 1999, FIFA Confederations Cup Golden Shoe: 1999, Rio Grande do Sul State Championship Top Scorer: 1999, CONMEBOL Men Pre-Olympic Tournament Top Scorer: 2000, FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 2002, FIFA 100, La Liga Ibero-American Player of the Year (1): 2004, FIFA Confederations Cup Bronze Ball: 2005, World Soccer Magazine World Player of The Year (2): 2004, 2005, FIFA World Player of the Year (2): 2004, 2005, Ballon d’Or (1): 2005, Onze d’Or (1): 2005, UEFA Club Best Forward (1): 2004–05, UEFA Club Footballer of the Year (1): 2005–06, UEFA Team of the Year (3): 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, ESM Team of the Year (3): 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06, Don Balón Award (2): 2003–04, 2005–06, FIFPro World Player of the Year (1): 2005, FIFPro World XI (3): 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, Golden Foot (1): 2009,Bola de Ouro (1): 2012 and South American Footballer of the Year (1): 2013