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Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born March 21, 1980 in Porto Alegre), commonly known as Ronaldinho or Ronaldinho Gaúcho, is a Brazilian association football who plays for Italian Serie A club A.C. Milan and the Brazil national football team.

Ronaldinho, Portuguese for "little Ronaldo", is known in Brazil by the nickname Ronaldinho Gaúcho, in order to distinguish Ronaldinho from Ronaldo, who was already called "Ronaldinho" in Brazil. Ronaldo simply went by Ronaldinho first name upon Ronaldinho move to Europe, thereby allowing Ronaldinho to drop the "Gaúcho" and remain simply as Ronaldinho.

Ronaldinho has played for Paris Saint-Germain FC, and FC Barcelona, with whom Ronaldinho won Ronaldinho first UEFA Champions League 2005-06 in 2006. Ronaldinho became a Spanish citizen in January 2007.

Biography and personal life

Ronaldo de Assis Moreira was born in the Rio Grande do Sul capital of Porto Alegre. Ronaldinho mother, Miguelina, is a former salesperson who studied to become a nurse. Ronaldinho father, João, was a shipyard worker and footballer for local club Esporte Clube Cruzeiro (not to be confused with Cruzeiro Esporte Clube), and suffered a fatal heart attack when Ronaldo was eight. After Ronaldo's older brother, Roberto de Assis Moreira, signed with Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense, the family moved to a more affluent home in Porto Alegre, which was a gift from Grêmio to convince Roberto to stay at the club. Roberto's career was ultimately cut short by injury.

Ronaldo's football skills began to blossom at an early age, and Ronaldinho was first given the nickname Ronaldinho because Ronaldinho was often the youngest and the smallest player in youth club matches.
Ronaldinho developed an interest in futsal and beach football, which later expanded to organized football, and Ronaldinho first brush with the media came at the age of thirteen, when Ronaldinho scored all 23 goals in a 23-0 victory against a local team. Ronaldinho was identified as a rising star at the 1997 FIFA U-17 World Championship FIFA U-17 World Championship, in which Ronaldinho scored two goals on penalty kicks.

Today Roberto acts as Ronaldinho's manager, while Ronaldinho sister, Deisi, works as Ronaldinho press coordinator. Ronaldinho became a father for the first time on February 25, 2005, after Brazilian dancer Janaína Mendes gave birth to their son, who was named João after Ronaldinho's father.

Club career

Early career

Ronaldinho's career began with the Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense youth squad under head coach Celso Roth, who only played Ronaldinho due to immense pressure from team supporters. Ronaldinho made Ronaldinho senior side debut during the 1998 Copa Libertadores. In 2001, Arsenal F.C expressed interest in signing Ronaldinho, but the move collapsed after Ronaldinho could not obtain a work permit, because Ronaldinho was a non-European Union player who had not played enough international matches. Ronaldinho considered playing on loan with Scottish Premier League side St Mirren F.C, which never happened due to Ronaldinho involvement in a fake passport scandal in Brazil. Ronaldinho ultimately signed a five-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain FC.

During the 2001-02 season, PSG manager Luis Fernandez claimed that Ronaldinho was too focused on the Parisian nightlife rather than football, and complained that Ronaldinho holidays in Brazil never ended at the scheduled times. Originally, Barcelona president Joan Laporta had promised to bring David Beckham to the club, but following Ronaldinho transfer to Real Madrid C.F., Barcelona entered the running for Ronaldinho and outbid Manchester United F.C. for Ronaldinho signature.

Ronaldinho made Ronaldinho team debut in a friendly against A.C. Milan at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C, scoring one goal in a 2-0 victory. After suffering from injury during the first half of the campaign, Ronaldinho returned and helped lead Barcelona to a second-place league finish.

Ronaldinho won Ronaldinho La Liga season 2004/2005 in 2004-05, and was named FIFA World Player of the Year on December 20, 2004. On March 8, 2005, Barcelona were eliminated from the Champions League by Chelsea F.C in the UEFA Champions League 2004-05 Round of 16, with Ronaldinho scoring both goals in a 4-2 loss.

With Ronaldinho's contract expiring in 2008, Ronaldinho was offered an extension until 2014 that would have net Ronaldinho £85 million over nine years, but Ronaldinho turned it down. In September 2005, Ronaldinho signed a two-year extension that contained a minimum-fee release clause that allowed Ronaldinho to leave should a club make an offer to Barcelona of at least £85 million for him.

By the end of the 2004-05 season, Ronaldinho had started to accumulate a host of personal awards. Ronaldinho won the inaugural FIFPro World Player of the Year in September 2005, in addition to being included in the FIFPro World XI. Ronaldinho was named as both the European Footballer of the Year . Ronaldinho was again named FIFA World Player of the Year with 956 points, more than triple the amount (306) of runner-up Frank Lampard.

On November 19, 2005, Ronaldinho scored twice as Barcelona defeated Real Madrid 3-0 on the road in the first leg of the El Clásico. After Ronaldinho sealed the match with Ronaldinho second goal, Ronaldinho received a standing ovation from the Madrid fans. Ronaldinho was chosen for the UEFA Team of 2005 for the third consecutive year in January 2006.

Barcelona eliminated SL Benfica in the '05-06 CL quarterfinals with a 2-0 home victory, with Ronaldinho scoring one of the goals after missing an early penalty kick. After a 1-0 semifinal aggregate win over AC Milan, in which Ronaldinho assisted the series' only goal by Ludovic Giuly, Barcelona progressed to the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final, which they won on May 17, 2006 with a 2-1 defeat of Arsenal F.C despite Ronaldinho being kept in check for the match. Two weeks earlier, Barcelona had clinched their second straight La Liga title with a 1-0 win over Celta de Vigo, giving Ronaldinho Ronaldinho first career double. Ronaldinho finished the season with a career-best twenty-six goals in all competitions, and was named the 2005-06 Champions League Player of the Year.

On November 25, 2006, Ronaldinho scored Ronaldinho fiftieth career league goal against Villarreal CF, then later scored a second time with an overhead bicycle kick. Ronaldinho later said to reporters that the latter was a goal Ronaldinho had dreamed of scoring since Ronaldinho was a boy. Ronaldinho scored once and set up two others in Barcelona's 4-0 FIFA Club World Cup 2006 win over Mexico's Club América on December 14, but Barcelona were defeated 1-0 by Brazilian club Sport Club Internacional in the final. Ronaldinho was nonetheless the recipient of the Bronze Ball Award for the competition.

The next day, Ronaldinho finished third in the running for the 2006 FIFA World Player of the Year, behind World Cup-winning captain Fabio Cannavaro and Zinedine Zidane. Ronaldinho was named among the UEFA Team of the Year for the third straight time in January 2007, receiving the highest number of votes in over 290,000 nominations. Ronaldinho was forced to miss a charity match on March 13 due to an injury Ronaldinho had picked up several days earlier in Barcelona's 3-3 El Clásico draw with Real Madrid.

Ronaldinho played Ronaldinho 200th career match for Barcelona in a league match against Osasuna on February 3, 2008. However, Ronaldinho 2007-08 campaign as a whole was plagued by injuries, and a muscle tear in Ronaldinho right leg on April 3 prematurely ended Ronaldinho season. On May 19, Laporta stated that Ronaldinho needed a "new challenge," claiming that Ronaldinho needed a new club if Ronaldinho were to revive Ronaldinho career. Manchester City F.C owner Thaksin Shinawatra confirmed on June 6 that Ronaldinho was interested in acquiring him.

Ronaldinho and Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi each captained a team of international stars in an anti-racism exhibition match in Venezuela on June 28, which ended in a 7-7 draw. Ronaldinho finished with a pair of goals and two assists in what would be Ronaldinho last match as a Barcelona player.

Milan

Ronaldinho turned down a £25.5 million offer from Manchester City to join Italian giants A.C. Milan on a three-year contract, after Ronaldinho was purchased from Barcelona for €21 million. With the number 10 already occupied by teammate Clarence Seedorf, Ronaldinho selected 80 as Ronaldinho jersey number, because 1980 was Ronaldinho birth year.
Ronaldinho scored Ronaldinho first goal for Milan in a 1-0 derby victory over F.C. Internazionale Milano on September 28, 2008, and Ronaldinho first brace was in a 3-0 win over U.C. Sampdoria on October 19, 2008. On November 6, 2008 Ronaldinho scored the winner goal against Sporting Braga in the UEFA Cup 2008-09 in the 93 minute of the game with a splendid shot.

International career

Ronaldinho is one of few Brazilian players to have played at every international age level. Ronaldinho was part of the first Brazilian team to win the 1997 FIFA U-17 World Championship in 1997, in which Ronaldinho first goal was a penalty against Austria national football team in the first group match, which Brazil won 7-0. Ronaldinho finished with two goals and was awarded the Bronze Ball award as Brazil scored a total of twenty-one goals while only conceding two.

1999 was a busy year for Ronaldinho in terms of international play. Ronaldinho took part in the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship, scoring Ronaldinho first goal in Brazil's last group match. In the round of sixteen, Ronaldinho scored two first-half goals in a 4-0 win over Croatia national football team, and finished with three goals as Brazil were eliminated by Uruguay national football team in the quarterfinals. On June 26, three days before the start of the 1999 Copa América, Ronaldinho earned Ronaldinho first cap for Brazil in a 3-0 win over Latvia national football team, and Ronaldinho scored one goal during Brazil's victorious Copa América campaign. One week after the conclusion of the Copa América, Ronaldinho was called up for the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup, in which Ronaldinho scored in every match, including a hat-trick in an 8-2 semifinal rout of Saudi Arabia national football team. Ronaldinho missed the final, a 4-3 loss to Mexico national football team, due to injury.

Ronaldinho participated in Ronaldinho first 2002 FIFA World Cup in 2002, as part of a formidable offensive unit with Ronaldo and Rivaldo, scoring two goals. One came in the quarterfinal against England national football team on June 21, before Ronaldinho was sent off for a foul on England defender Danny Mills. Ronaldinho was suspended for the semifinal, but returned to Brazil's starting lineup for the 2-0 victory over Germany national football team in the final.

Ronaldinho captained Brazil to its second Confederations Cup 2005 title in 2005, and was named Man of the Match in a 4-1 victory over archrivals Argentina national football team in the final on June 29. Ronaldinho is tied with Cuauhtemoc Blanco as the tournament's FIFA Confederations Cup goalscorers with nine goals.

2006 World Cup

Ronaldinho started in all five of Brazil's 2006 FIFA World Cup finals matches as part of a much-publicized "magic quartet" of offensive players, alongside Adriano Leite Ribeiro, Robinho, and Kaká. However, the foursome finished with only three goals as Brazil disappointed as a whole in the tournament. Ronaldinho turned in Ronaldinho worst collective performance in Ronaldinho international career, going scoreless with only one assist, which was for Gilberto da Silva Melo's goal in a 4-1 group stage victory over Japan national football team. Ronaldinho was a non-factor as Brazil were eliminated by France 1-0 in the quarterfinal, in which Brazil had only one shot on goal for the entire match.

The team was harshly criticized by Brazilian fans and media following their return home. On July 3, two days after Brazil's elimination, vandals immolated and destroyed a 7.5-meter (23-foot) tall fiberglass and resin statue of Ronaldinho in Chapecó. The statue had been erected in 2004 to celebrate Ronaldinho first FIFA World Player of the Year award.
That same day, Ronaldinho, joined by Adriano, returned to Barcelona and held a party at Ronaldinho home, which was continued into the early morning hours at a nightclub. This aggravated the hard feelings of many Brazilian fans, who believed that they were betrayed by the lack of effort from the squad.

Post-World Cup

Ronaldinho has been fairly inactive under new coach Dunga, earning three caps in a six-month span following the World Cup. On March 24, 2007, Ronaldinho started for Brazil for the first time since September 2006 and netted twice in a 4-0 win over Chile national football team, which marked Ronaldinho first goal since the 2005 Confederations Cup final and thus ended a scoreless streak that lasted nearly two years. Ronaldinho was not called up for the Copa América 2007, which was won by Brazil, and on October 18, Ronaldinho was controversially benched by Barcelona after Ronaldinho was late returning to Spain following Brazil's 5-0 friendly win over Ecuador national football team. Ronaldinho and several Brazil players celebrated the win by partying through the night at a posh Rio de Janeiro nightclub. Ronaldinho left at 11 a.m. the next morning, allegedly in the trunk of a car in order to avoid the media.

Ronaldinho was named to Brazil's Football at the 2008 Summer Olympics squad on July 7, 2008.
Barcelona initially blocked the move because of Ronaldinho then-upcoming Champions League commitments with the club, but the decision was later nullified following Ronaldinho's transfer to Milan, who in turn permitted Ronaldinho to make the trip to Beijing. Ronaldinho scored Ronaldinho only two goals in a decisive 5-0 defeat of New Zealand national football team as Brazil finished with the bronze medal.

Photo: Ronaldinho - Flamengo