Ronaldinho (Ronaldo de Assis Moreira) was born on March 21, 1980 in Porto Alegre, Brazil and would rise to be one of soccer's greatest. The five-foot eleven, one-hundred seventy-seven pound forward would wow audiences with his mastery as early as 1999, beginning amateur play following in his father Joao's footsteps, becoming skilled in 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.
Ronaldinho and his talented teammates Ronald and Rivaldo mesmerized onlookers at the Copa America in Paraguay. Ronaldinho scored Brazil's fifth goal in their 7-0 trouncing of rival Venezuela. When Ronaldinho scored the game-winning goal off of an astounding 30-yard free kick which completely baffled England's goalie David Seaman at 2002's FIFA World Cup in Japan, he had made what has hence been known as the "Wonder Goal". Having taken the quarterfinal, his team eventually won the World Cup. Ronaldinho was rewarded by being named part of the all-tournament team.
Soccer's greatest prizes seem magnetized to Ronaldinho. He was won: the FIFA World Player of the Year (2004 and 2005); the UEFA's Champion League Award (2006, a years when he put in seven goals in only12 matches) in Barcelona; and numerous others. "Sports Illustrated" magazine declared that Ronaldinho was the athlete with the fifth highest income in the world for 2008; his earnings of $37.5 million included his salary and bonuses on top of product endorsements and pay for making live appearances. The 28-year-old was now in the company of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, David Beckham, and Kimi Raikkonen.
During his 200th match in the summer of 2008, Ronaldinho dismayed his fans and spectators of soccer by going down with a right leg injury--an injury that got him sitting the bench for the rest of the season. Then to complicate matters, Ronaldinho and his club got into an argument over his decision to play in the Bejing Olympic games. Nevertheless, Ronaldinho eventually got a deal with the Italian Club AC Milan and went on to play in the Olympics alongside his countrymen.
Manchester City offered Ronaldinho a contract for over $25 million to play for them at a time when he was getting paid $21 million in Barcelona; however, he turned down this offer but instead when with AC Milan on a three-year deal. However, he gave up his #10 because it had been retired for Italian AC Milan player Clarence Seedorf. He replaced it with #80 for 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.
As the 2008 soccer season continued, Ronaldinho pushed Milan to a 2-2 draw (they were 2-0 at the time) by scoring a 93rd minute match-winner against Sporting Braga in the UEFA Cup in November. His brother Roberto has been quite the force as Ronaldinho's agent fetching him more and more endorsements that will continue until the year 2014. Residing in Milan, Italy, Ronaldinho seems happy these days.
Becoming a father in 2005 with the birth of his son Joao, named after his father and mother of Brazilian dancer Janaina Mendes, Ronaldinho's soccer fate seems to be set in stone-what team he will remain on may be known only to Ronaldinho and Roberto. With fans of soccer everywhere shouting his name and cheering him on, we bet Ronaldinho will be a best bet for any team and some may dream, "what about the US?
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.
Ronaldinho and his talented teammates Ronald and Rivaldo mesmerized onlookers at the Copa America in Paraguay. Ronaldinho scored Brazil's fifth goal in their 7-0 trouncing of rival Venezuela. When Ronaldinho scored the game-winning goal off of an astounding 30-yard free kick which completely baffled England's goalie David Seaman at 2002's FIFA World Cup in Japan, he had made what has hence been known as the "Wonder Goal". Having taken the quarterfinal, his team eventually won the World Cup. Ronaldinho was rewarded by being named part of the all-tournament team.
Soccer's greatest prizes seem magnetized to Ronaldinho. He was won: the FIFA World Player of the Year (2004 and 2005); the UEFA's Champion League Award (2006, a years when he put in seven goals in only12 matches) in Barcelona; and numerous others. "Sports Illustrated" magazine declared that Ronaldinho was the athlete with the fifth highest income in the world for 2008; his earnings of $37.5 million included his salary and bonuses on top of product endorsements and pay for making live appearances. The 28-year-old was now in the company of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, David Beckham, and Kimi Raikkonen.
During his 200th match in the summer of 2008, Ronaldinho dismayed his fans and spectators of soccer by going down with a right leg injury--an injury that got him sitting the bench for the rest of the season. Then to complicate matters, Ronaldinho and his club got into an argument over his decision to play in the Bejing Olympic games. Nevertheless, Ronaldinho eventually got a deal with the Italian Club AC Milan and went on to play in the Olympics alongside his countrymen.
Manchester City offered Ronaldinho a contract for over $25 million to play for them at a time when he was getting paid $21 million in Barcelona; however, he turned down this offer but instead when with AC Milan on a three-year deal. However, he gave up his #10 because it had been retired for Italian AC Milan player Clarence Seedorf. He replaced it with #80 for 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.
As the 2008 soccer season continued, Ronaldinho pushed Milan to a 2-2 draw (they were 2-0 at the time) by scoring a 93rd minute match-winner against Sporting Braga in the UEFA Cup in November. His brother Roberto has been quite the force as Ronaldinho's agent fetching him more and more endorsements that will continue until the year 2014. Residing in Milan, Italy, Ronaldinho seems happy these days.
Becoming a father in 2005 with the birth of his son Joao, named after his father and mother of Brazilian dancer Janaina Mendes, Ronaldinho's soccer fate seems to be set in stone-what team he will remain on may be known only to Ronaldinho and Roberto. With fans of soccer everywhere shouting his name and cheering him on, we bet Ronaldinho will be a best bet for any team and some may dream, "what about the US?
About the Author:
When you want a question answered about sports, be sure to visit http://nothingbutsports.info. Here you will find sports trivia, tips, quotations, and resources about all kinds of sports activities. Visit us today at Nothing But Sports.
No comments:
Post a Comment