"[191] Another one of his former Barcelona teammate, Henrik Larsson, echoed this view. That's not something you say about a player of his calibre. [84] The Estado De So Paulo newspaper declared, "Ronaldinho revives his golden years. [106] In his next match, however, against Guadalajara, he had a much better game, setting up Camilo Sanvezzo to score as well as scoring himself from a penalty kick in a 41 win. Porto Alegre. "[189] In 2010, his former Barcelona teammate, Edgar Davids, said of him: "For the skills and tricks, Ronaldinho was the best player that I ever played with. Above all he had one, very special ability: he made you smile. Brazil and Barcelona icon Ronaldinho made his return to the pitch over the weekend despite hanging up his boots back in 2018 and issued a strong message to his . 342,187 talking about this. It's not in everybody's forte to excel as the Brazilian did. [99] After winning the 2014 Recopa Sudamericana, Ronaldinho left the club in July, reaching an agreement to cancel his contract by mutual consent. [8] After Ronaldo's older brother Roberto signed with Grmio, the family moved to a home in the more affluent Guaruj section of Porto Alegre, which was a gift from Grmio to convince Roberto to stay at the club. [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. 2. In Barcelona he wore shirt number 10, but that shirt is currently held by Dutch midfielder Clarence . At just 17-years-old he was part of the World Cup winning squad at the 1994 tournament in the United States. Still, Roberto's career was ultimately cut short by injury. 2012. Choose editorial collections > Embeddable images. "Ronaldinho: Football's Flamboyant Maestro". Ronaldinho spent five seasons with Barcelona between 2003-2008 and played a huge part in lifting the club to dominance between 2004-2006 when Barca won back-to-back La Liga titles and the . [203] In 2011, he was recruited by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS to promote awareness among young people of the disease and how to avoid it. [131] The World Cup was held in South Korea and Japan, and Ronaldinho appeared in five matches during the tournament and scored two goals, as well as contributing with three assists. Human highlight reel Ronaldinho was more talented than both", "Why Ronaldinho football's great libertine should be considered the best player ever over Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo", "Ronaldinho: One of the greatest entertainers of all time", "Ronaldinho, sei un "trecante" Praticamente un nove e mezzo", "Ronaldinho deserves FIFA player of the year", "Ronaldinho the boy genius grows into a full-scale marvel", "Bruised Feelings and a Shaky Knee for F.C. p. 172. Ronaldinho made his career debut for Grmio, in 1998. "[114], On 11 July 2015, Ronaldinho announced his return to Brazil and signed an 18-month contract with Fluminense,[115] but on 28 September, Ronaldinho reached a mutual agreement with the club to terminate the deal. p. 81. He has made us smile again. Upon his arrival in Paris, Ronaldinho was given the number 21 shirt and inserted into a lineup that included fellow Brazilian Alosio and midfielders Mikel Arteta and Jay-Jay Okocha. [137], Ronaldinho's next international tournament was the 2003 Confederations Cup, in which he went scoreless as Brazil were eliminated in the group stage. With Kaka and Ancelotti both gone ahead of the 2009/10 campaign, Milan were clearly expecting more from Ronaldinho, with La Gazzetta dello Sport reporting that then-owner Silvio Berlusconi made . After he sealed the match with his second goal, Madrid fans paid homage to his performance by applauding, so rare a tribute only Diego Maradona had ever been granted previously as a Barcelona player at the Santiago Bernabu Stadium. The Brazil icon had spent 32. ', "Esttua de Ronaldinho queimada em Santa Catarina", "Decepo da Copa, Ronaldinho "festeja" com comida, dana e balada", Tired Ronaldinho asks to skip Copa America, "Ronaldinho and Robinho dropped by their Primera Liga teams", "Milan's Ronaldinho excited to play with Kaka", "World Cup 2010: I Am A Better Player At Milan That What I Was At Barcelona Ronaldinho", "England v Brazil: Ronaldinho surprised by recall to Seleao after year in the international wilderness", "Ronaldinho reckons Brazil will ruin England's 150th anniversary celebrations", "Felipo confirma Ronaldinho como capito; Jean e Cavalieri escalados", "Brazil names 23-man World Cup roster; Ronaldinho, Kaka left out", "Ronaldinho: a player so good he made you smile", "Messi or Ronaldo? Ronaldinho called time on his illustrious football career more than seven years ago. In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is de Assis and the second or paternal family name is Moreira. [29], Ronaldinho made his league debut for the club on 4 August 2001, appearing as a substitute in a 11 draw with Auxerre. "Ronaldinho: Football's Flamboyant Maestro". Ronaldinho's 30-yard kick that ended inside the net remains one of the greatest highlights of the game to-date. [9][12][169][177] Physically strong in possession of the ball, Richard Williams writes "slender in build, the Brazilian has a strength belying the cartoonish smile". In the Olympics, however, Brazil were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Cameroon, who later won the gold medal. [54][195] One of the world's highest paid players, in 2006 he earned over $19million from endorsements. Thank you very much the Nation Gallos Blancos, which made me very proud to wear this shirt and defend this club. [71] A perceived lack of dedication in training and a lifestyle of late night partying not befitting of an athlete saw him receive criticism, with Carlo Ancelotti, his coach at Milan in his first season in Italy, commenting, "The decline of Ronaldinho hasn't surprised me. [20] Ronaldinho endorsed presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro in the 2018 Brazilian presidential election. However, we will update this page once we have the exact number. After debuting with the Seleo by winning the 1999 Copa Amrica, 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. [201], A wax sculpture of Ronaldinho was unveiled at Madame Tussauds Hong Kong in December 2007. [93], Ronaldinho made his debut for Galo on 9 June 2012, playing for 90 minutes in a 10 away win against Palmeiras,[94] and scored his first goal for the club on 23 June 2012 against Nutico, from the penalty spot. place of birth. PHOTOGRAPHERS COLLECTIONS. Ronaldinho was suspended for the semi-final, but returned to Brazil's starting lineup for the 20 victory over Germany in the final as Brazil won its record fifth World Cup title. 28 Feb 2023 08:31:00 This statistic shows which kit numbers the player already wore during international caps. [132] His first goal came in the group stage match against China PR, which Brazil won 40. [67] Although Ronaldinho scored his career-best 21 league goals, the team lost the title to Real with a worse head-to-head record, as both teams finished the season with the same number of points. Newly appointed coach Leonardo changed his role from a central attacking midfielder to the left side of midfield, with Alexandre Pato on the right, in an offensive 433 formation. His talent though has never been in question. Ronaldinho took a different path one that led to the nightclub rather than the training ground. Before the winter break, he made 16 appearances, scored one goal, and made several assists. Tim Vickery on Ronaldinho being six years past his prime, and being mobbed by opposition players at the 2013 FIFA Club World Cup. [23] 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. 21.5M Followers. David Goldblatt (2009). 'Quadraginta novem' means forty-nine in Latin, the number of Ronaldinho's jersey at Atltico Mineiro, his former team in Brazil. He played in the eighth round of the seven-a-side league founded last year by fellow Barcelona legend Pique, who enlisted a number of other football personalities and . He then had solid performances in back to back friendlies against Argentina in the same month. Robson. [17] Ronaldinho is the father of a son, Joo, born on February 25, 2005, to Brazilian dancer Janana Mendes and named after his late father. D Kindersley Ltd. Jethro Soutar (2006). In the eyes of many, Ronaldinho peaked at Barcelona before steadily going downhill after leaving, but that's not entirely accurate. The team was full of superstars as Thierry Henry arrived, giving a boost to the star-studded team which already contained Ronaldinho, Samuel Eto'o and a 20-year old Messi. For his performance, Ronaldinho was given a standing ovation by the Parisian supporters. "[9], Ronaldinho has had endorsements with many companies, including Nike, Pepsi, Coca-Cola, EA Sports and Danone. [145] Displaying a passivity to Brazil's poor showing, the 2006 World Cup is now seen as the turning point in Ronaldinho's career, with his time at the summit of the game almost up. Jethro Soutar (2006). [71][72] On 19 May 2008, Barcelona club president Joan Laporta stated that Ronaldinho needed a "new challenge", claiming that he needed a new club if he were to revive his career.[73]. Most goals after 10 games: Haaland breaks Champions League record, Most penalty goals since 2000: Cristiano Ronaldo first - Rooney least effective, From Ronaldinho to Ronaldo to Mbapp: The rise of record market values since 2004, Mar 21, 1980 (42). [108], On 18 April 2015, Ronaldinho scored twice against Liga MX title-holders Amrica in an away game at the Estadio Azteca, in which his team won 40. Upon his arrival in Paris, Ronaldinho was given the number 21 shirt and inserted into a lineup that included fellow Brazilian Alosio, midfielder Jay-Jay Okocha and striker Nicolas Anelka. "[110][111], Ronaldinho scored two penalties in consecutive matches, the second giving Quertaro the classification to the Liga MX playoffs. [134] With Brazil trailing after Michael Owen's 23-minute strike, Ronaldinho turned the game around. [149] Barcelona initially blocked the move because of his then-upcoming Champions League commitments with the club, but the decision was later nullified following Ronaldinho's transfer to Milan, who in turn permitted him to make the trip to Beijing, China. He then returned to Brazil to play for Flamengo in 2011 and Atltico .