Ronaldinho Biography

Ronaldinho started playing football on the beaches of Brazil, playing futsal in Brazil. Making a name for himself as the top scorer at the under-17 world championship in Egypt, Ronaldinho began his professional career at Grêmio, and played there from 1998-2001. In his Brazilian national team debut on June 26, 1999, he scored his first international goal, against Venezuela, to win the Copa América. To date, he has won 62 caps for Brazil, scoring 27 goals.
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In 2001, Ronaldinho signed a five-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and started playing at the beginning of the season. However, even though Ronaldinho was a free agent from July 1, 2001, Grêmio demanded compensation from PSG and received $4.5 million. During his time at PSG, the manager, Luis Fernandez, thought that Ronaldinho was too focused on the Parisian nightlife rather than on his football.

In 2002, Ronaldinho helped Brazil win the World Cup. One of the highlights of the tournament was a spectacular 35-metre lob he scored against England in the quarter-finals in Shizuoka, although he was sent off soon after scoring for a foul on Danny Mills.

In 2003, Ronaldinho made it known he wanted to leave PSG after they failed to qualify for European cups. That set off a bidding war among the elite clubs for his services. On July 19, FC Barcelona snapped him up for 27 million Euro, beating Manchester United to his signature. Ronaldinho justified their purchase, leading them to a second-place finish in La Liga during the 03/04 season.

Together with Samuel Eto'o, Deco, Ludovic Giuly, Lionel Messi and Henrik Larsson, he comprises part of an awesome strike force which has already reaped the 04/05 La Liga title for FC Barcelona

On December 20, 2004, Ronaldinho was named FIFA World Player of the Year over Arsenal's Thierry Henry and AC Milan's Andriy Shevchenko. On June 29, 2005, Ronaldinho played a pivotal role as the captain of the Brazilian squad which won its second FIFA Confederations Cup title, in a 4-1 victory over Argentina. Pelé named Ronaldinho in his 125 Top Living Footballers in March 2004. In 2005 Ronaldinho was named as both the European Footballer of the Year and the best Striker in the UEFA Champions League tournament of 2004/2005. Ronaldinho is the third Brazilian to win the European Footballer of the Year Award.[1]. On December 19, 2005, he was named for the second time FIFA World Player of the Year over Chelsea's Frank Lampard and Barcelona F.C.'s Samuel Eto'o.

Profile:

Preceded by:
Ronaldinho FIFA World Player of the Year
2005 Succeeded by:
current holder
Preceded by:
n/a FIFPro World Player of the Year
2005 Succeeded by:
current holder
Preceded by:
Andriy Shevchenko European Footballer of the Year
2005 Succeeded by:
current holder

RONALDINHO PICTURES

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RONALDINHO BIOGRAPHY