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Ronaldo de Assis Moreira as known as “Ronaldinho” was one of the greatest footballers with technical skills, agility and dribbling skills. Ronaldo de Assis Moreira was an attacking midfielder, but able to play as a forward also.
Ronaldinho was born in Porto Alegre on March 21, 1980. Ronaldo de Assis Moreira started playing futsal, which help him improve his ball control skills.
Club Career
After playing with the youth squad of Grêmio, Ronaldinho moved to the senior side of the club in 1998. His debut came during 1998 Copa Libertadores, as they lost to Vasco da Gama in the quarter finals.
He became the top scorer of 1999 Campeonato Gaúcho with 15 goals. Ronaldinho drew attention especially on June 20, 1999; scoring 2 goals against Internacional in the final of the tournament.
The glory didn’t stop for him; after scoring 21 goals in the season, Ronaldinho went on winning Copa Sul-Minas.
He transferred to Paris Saint-Germain in 2001 and played as a substitute on his debut on August 4, 2001. His 1st goal for the club came in a 2-2 draw on October 13.
Ronaldinho showed great performance when he came back from winter break; scoring in 4 sequential matches.
He also joined 2001–02 Coupe de la Ligue and helped the club advance to the semi-finals.
Although his performance wasn’t as good as it was in the previous season, Ronaldinho succeeded also in 2002-03 season.
On October 26, 2002, he scored 2 goals in the 3-1 victory over Marseille, with the 1st one being a perfect free kick.
Ronaldinho then scored a goal against Guingamp on February 22, 2003, which was voted the “goal of the season”.
He helped PSG reach the 2002-03 Coupe de France final, as he scored the both goals against Bordeaux in the semi-finals. Although Ronaldinho received a standing ovation for the great performance, they got defeated 2-1 by Auxerre in the final.
As they finished in the 11th place despite his effort, Ronaldinho decided to leave the club for the next season.
Barcelona signed him after the 2002-03 season, since they needed a successful footballer to change the club’s bad fate.
Ronaldinho made his 1st appearance for Barça in a friendly match against Juventus on July 27. He got injured in the 1st half of the season and Barça dropped to the 12th place. After Ronaldinho came back, he took the club to the 2nd place in La Liga, scoring 15 goals.
He showed great performance during 2004-05 UEFA Champions League, scoring the both goals of his side in a 4-2 loss. However, Ronaldinho couldn’t save Barça from losing in the 2 legs and getting eliminated in the 1stknockout round.
After he provided a great assist for Messi’s goal, Ronaldinho ended the season winning La Liga, his 1st league title.
The 2005-06 season was one of the best seasons of his career. He won personal awards such as Ballon d’Or, La Liga Top Assist Provider and UEFA Club Forward of the Year.
When Ronaldinho scored 2 goals in the 3-0 win over Real Madrid, even the Madrid fans gave him applause.
Ronaldo de Assis Moreira helped Barcelona win the 2005-06 UEFA Champions League, scoring a total of 7 goals during the tournament.
After the 2005 Supercopa de España victory, he went on winning La Liga, which led him to his 1st double.
The 50th Goal
Ronaldinho scored the 50th goal of his great career against Villarreal on November 25, 2006. In the 4-0 victory; he scored another goal, a glorious scissors kick.
He managed to score a goal in the 4-0 victory over América during 2006 FIFA Club World Cup semi-finals and win a Bronze Ball award. Despite the success, Barça lost 1-0 to Internacional in the final of the competition.
Ronaldinho played his last match with Messi on June 28, 2008 as a Barça player, which was an exhibition game.
He unfortunately failed to keep his fit due to his partying life style and injuries. Because of his lack of discipline; Ronaldinho had to leave Barça, where he scored 70 goals and won several awards.
Ronaldinho then transferred to AC Milan on a 3-year contract in July 2008.
His 1st goal for the club came on September 28, 2008, in a 1-0 win over Internazionale.
Ronaldinho joined 2008-09 UEFA Cup and scored the only goal against Braga in the group stage, on November 6, 2008.
Although he had a good start scoring 10 goals in 32 matches, Ronaldinho got criticized for his lack of fitness.
The following season, things got better for Ronaldinho, since he managed to get into form again.
He scored a brace in the 3-0 victory over Juventus on January 10, 2010. Ronaldinho went on winning the game against Siena on January 17, scoring his 1st hat-trick for Milan.
During 2009-10 Champions League, Ronaldinho scored a goal against Manchester in the 1st leg of round of 16. However, after losing 3-2 in the 1st leg and 4-0 in the 2nd leg, Milan got eliminated from the competition.
Ronaldinho finished the 2009-10 season as the Serie-A top assist provider. Also in the next season he helped the 2010-11 Serie A victory with his assists and goals.
He left the club in the mid-season, after scoring 20 goals and providing numerous assists for Milan.
Ronaldinho signed with Flamengo on January 11, 2011.
His 1st goal came on February 6, 2011 in the 3-2 win over Boavista.
Ronaldinho won 2011 Taça Guanabara, scoring the only goal of the final match against Boavista. After winning Taça Rio 2011 also; Flamengo earned the 2011 Campeonato Carioca title.
Ronaldinho scored a total of 15 goals during his tenure and then terminated his contract on May 31, 2012.
Atlético Mineiro
He joined Atlético Mineiro on June 4, 2012 and made his 1st appearance 5 days after the transfer.
He helped Mineiro finish 2012 Brasileirão runners-up to Fluminense and qualify for the 2013 Copa Libertadores. Ronaldinho earned the Bola de Ouro award, being the best player in the league.
After the 2013 Campeonato Mineiro victory, they went on winning the 2013 Copa Libertadores. Ronaldinho scored 4 goals in the latter and got named the 2013 South American Footballer of the Year.
Winning the tournament, Mineiro qualified for 2013 FIFA Club World Cup and 2014 Recopa.
During the 2013 FIFA Club World Cup Minerio advanced to semi-finals and faced Casablanca. Ronaldinho scored the only goal of his side in the 3-1 loss.
In the 3rd place match, Ronaldinho scored another goal, which made him one of the top scorers. They won the game 3-2 over Evergrande and finish the competition in the 3rd place.
Ronaldinho joined the two-legged competition, 2014 Recopa. Mineiro managed to win 5-3 over Lanús; even though Ronaldinho was substituted in both legs of the tournament.
He left the club after the tournament and then transferred to Querétaro.
Querétaro
Ronaldo de Assis Moreira ‘s as known as “Ronaldinho” was one of the greatest footballers with technical skills, agility and dribbling skills. He1st appearance was against Tigres, where he missed his penalty shot and lost 1-0.
After that, things got better for Ronaldinho. He scored a penalty kick and set up another one in the 4-1 win over Chivas.
Ronaldinho had the chance to get a standing ovation twice, on April 18, 2015. In the match against América, Ronaldinho led his team to a 4-0 victory, scoring a brace.
He helped the team advanced to Clausura during 2014-15 Liga MX. Providing a total of 4 assists and scoring a free kick in the semi-finals; Ronaldinho managed to reach the final.
In the 2-legged final, Gallos Blancos faced Santos and unfortunately lost 5-3 on aggregate.
Fluminense
Ronaldinho returned to Brazil and signed a 18-month contract with Fluminense on July 11, 2015.
However, he ended his deal on September 15, 2015, announcing that he wouldn’t be able to perform well.
Ronaldinho couldn’t score any goals during his short spell at Fluminense and decided to play for a futsal club in India.
He left the club after 2 games, and then started playing for Delhi Dragons. Ronaldinho played for them until October 2017, scoring 16 goals in the Premier Futsal League.
Ronaldinho announced his retirement on January 16, 2018 and joined the World Cup 2018 closing ceremony on July 15.
International Career
U17 Squad
Ronaldinho joined the U17 squad in 1996 and participated in 1997 FIFA U-17 World Championship victory. Scoring 2 goals during the tournament, he earned the Bronze Ball award.
U20 Squad
Ronaldinho joined 1999 South American Youth Championship and helped the U20 squad finish in the 3rdplace, scoring 3 goals. Doing so, they qualified for 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship.
During the U20 World Cup round of 16, Ronaldinho scored 2 goals against Croatia as they won 4-0. However, the U20 squad lost to Uruguay in the quarter finals and Ronaldinho finished the competition with 3 goals.
After helping the team win 1999 Copa América, scoring a goal; Ronaldinho got selected for 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup.
Ronaldinho showed great performance and won the Golden Ball best player award, also the Golden Boot top scorer award with 6 goals.
He joined 2000 CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament with the U23 squad. As Ronaldinho became the top scorer with 9 goals, the national team qualified for the 2000 Summer Olympics.
Despite his amazing performance in Pre-Olympic Tournament, Ronaldinho appeared only 4 times during the Summer Olympics. They got knocked out by Cameroon in the quarter finals of the tournament, in which Ronaldinho scored his only goal.
Brazil National Team “Seleção”
In 2002, Ronaldinho got selected for his 1st World Cup. He contributed to the victory, scoring 2 goals and providing many assists.
Although he got banned from the semi-final match, Brazil managed to reach the final and win their 5th title.
Ronaldinho couldn’t score in 2003 Confederations Cup as Brazil got knocked out in the group stage and didn’t get selected for 2004 Copa América.
After that, he became the team’s captain and led Brazil to the 2005 Confederations Cup victory.
Ronaldinho scored 3 goals, with one being their last goal in the 4-1 win over Argentina in the final.
Even though the expectations were quite high for World Cup 2006; Ronaldinho performed poorly during the tournament. He couldn’t score any goals as Brazil lost to France in the quarter final.
The fans severely criticized Ronaldinho for not making an effort, since he gave a party after the tournament.
Ronaldinho captained the team which lost to Argentina in the semi-finals and won a bronze medal in 2008 Summer Olympics.
After that, he got left out for World Cup 2010 and 2014, also for the 2013 Confederations Cup competitions.
Ronaldinho stopped playing for the national team, after he earned 97 caps and scored 33 goals.
#Brazil,#PSG,#Barcelona,#Milan,#1999-Campeonato-Gaúcho,#1998-Copa-Libertadores,#Copa-Sul-Minas,#2001–02-Coupe-de-la-Ligue,#2002-03-Coupe-de-France,#2004-05-UEFA-Champions-League,#2005-06-UEFA-Champions-League,#La-Liga,#2005-Supercopa-de-España,#2006-FIFA-Club-World-Cup,#2008-09-UEFA-Cup,#2011-Taça-Guanabara,#Taça-Rio-2011,#2011-Campeonato-Carioca,#2012-Brasileirão,#Mineiro,#2013-Campeonato-Mineiro,#2013-Copa-Libertadores,#2014-Recopa,#1997-FIFA-U17-World-Championship,#1999-South-American-Youth-Championship,#1999-FIFA-World-Youth-Championship,#1999-Copa-América,#World-Cup-2002,#2005-Confederations-Cup
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