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Home Fitness and Sports Sport Ronaldinho - One of Soccer's Greatest
Ronaldinho - One of Soccer's Greatest PDF Print E-mail
Written by Denise I Smithson   
Ronaldo de Assis Moreira, born March 21st, 1980 in Porto Alegre, Brazil, has risen to become one of soccer's greatest players. The 5'11", 177-lb "Ronaldinho" began wowing spectators back in 1999 with his amazing mastery at the forward position. He began his amateur soccer career by following the path of his father Joao. Here he honed his talents by playing beach and indoor ("futbal") soccer.
by DeniseISmithson


Ronaldo de Assis Moreira, born March 21st, 1980 in Porto Alegre, Brazil, has risen to become one of soccer's greatest players. The 5'11", 177-lb "Ronaldinho" began wowing spectators back in 1999 with his amazing mastery at the forward position. He began his amateur soccer career by following the path of his father Joao. Here he honed his talents by playing beach and indoor ("futbal") soccer.

Ronaldinho was raised by his mother, Miguelina, and his brother and sisters after his father died when the boy was only eight years old. Ronaldinho earned his first cap with Brazilian club Gremio's senior team led by coach Celso Roth in 1999. Two years later, Arsenal FC began heavily recruiting Ronaldinho, but his inability to obtain a work permit thwarted this draft. Ronaldinho went on to sign a five-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain FC. Unfortunately, he seemed overwhelmed by his new success at his young age and was often said to pay more attention to the Parisian nightlife than to soccer practice. An unhappy Ronaldinho returned to Barcelona in 2004.

Major success came to Ronaldinho at the Copa America held in Paraguay where he mesmerized audiences playing alongside teammates Ronald and Rivaldo scoring Brazil's fifth goal in a 7-0 wipeout of Venezuela. Now known as the "wonder goal," in 2002 during the FIFA World Cup in Japan, Ronaldinho scored the game-winning goal through an amazing 30-yard free kick that surprised the English's unaware goalkeeper, David Seaman. His team would win this quarterfinal and go on to win the World Cup where Ronaldinho achieved soccer greatness by being named to the all-tournament team.

Ronaldinho has won a great array of soccer's greatest prizes. Among these are the FIFA World Player of the Year for 2004 and 2005, as well as the UEFA's Champion League Award in 2006 in Barcelona (he scored seven goals in only 12 matches in that year). "Sports Illustrated" magazine named Ronaldinho the fifth wealthiest athlete of 2008 for his earnings of $37.5 million that year (salary, bonuses, product endorsements, and live appearances). This put the 28-year-old soccer star in group that included Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, David Beckham, and Kimi Raikkonen.

Soccer fans and enthusiasts were saddened in the early summer of 2008 where, in his 200th match, Ronaldinho injured a muscle in his right leg that would bench him for the rest of the 2007-2008 season. Further complicating his injury situation, Ronaldinho's player situation looked bleak when he and his club fought over his choice to play in Bejing's Olympic games. After much squabble, Ronaldinho did strike a deal with the Italian Club AC Milan-a deal that would allow him to play in the Olympics alongside his countrymen.

Ronaldinho turned down a $25.5 million contract offer from Manchester City to play for AC Milan for three years. He was getting paid $21 million in Barcelona. The great Italian AC Milan player Clarence Seedorf had also worn Ronaldinho's #10 and it was retired, so he went with jersey #80 to honor the year of his birth. Milan quickly saw the wisdom of their new player selection when Ronaldinho scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory over Internazionale in September of 2008.

Ronaldinho drove Milan into a 2-2 draw after they had fallen behind 2-0 against Sporting Braga in November 2008's UEFA Cup and then scored a match-winner in the 93rd minute of the match. Ronaldinho's brother Roberto has been driving his brother as his agent, and has gotten him endorsement after endorsement so that his great soccer playing sibling is booked up with them through 2014. And Ronaldinho apparently enjoys his current home of Milan, Italy much more than he did Paris.

In 2005 Ronaldinho named his and Brazilian dancer Janaina Mendes' newborn son Joao was born. Only the soccer star and his brother the agent know where Ronaldinho is going to wind up next. However, many are already thinking, "If Beckham can go to the United States, why not Ronaldinho?

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