Ronaldinho Gaucho | | | I doubt there's a part of the World where the name Ronaldinho doesn't spark a light bulb, but nevertheless, many people don't know the player before he became a world class superstar. It's this side of the FC Barcelona attacking midfielder that I'll try to focus on in this Ronaldinho and you're bound to find some interesting and probably unknown facts about him by reading the remainder of the article.
Ronaldinho Biography – Early Career
Ronaldo de Assis Moreira by his full name, Ronaldinho was often called Ronaldinho (or little Ronaldo) by his friends, even from his younger days.
Raised in Porto Alegre, in the Rio Grande do Sul state of Brazil, he was also given a secondary nickname in Gaucho, which is how Brazilians call people from that particular area (later on he would use the name Ronaldinho Gaucho to distinguish himself from Ronaldo, who was also referred to as Ronaldinho at times).
Following the footsteps of his older brother, Roberto, who was playing professional soccer for local club Gremio, Ronaldinho's skills drew a lot of eyes, even during his early days as a soccer player. When he joined Gremio's youth team, he already had some experience with different branches of the game, such as futsal or beach soccer.
At age 13, he managed to get the first media praises, as he scored all 23 goals in one of his futsal team's game.
Afterwards, a string of good games for Gremio's youth squads brought him in the Brazil national squads, his brightest performance being the one in Egypt 1997 for the Brazilian Under-17 team, where he scored 2 goals and assisted a few more.
Ronaldinho Biography – The Big Move – Paris Saint Germain
Since he already made a name for himself at the 1997 Under 17 World Championships and at the same time, managed to get promoted in Gremio's first squad, it was expected that a big European club would move in to sign a deal with the young Ronaldinho Gaucho.
Despite having several offers from big Premiership clubs like Arsenal or Manchester United, the work permit complications and the style of soccer played in England turned Ronaldinho to sign with a slightly smaller team, but one that could still offer an opening to world class soccer: Paris Saint Germain.
Ronaldinho earned a first squad place at Paris Saint Germain, under the whip of coach Luis Fernandez, however he was criticized for not having a focused lifestyle. Being still at a raw age (and let's face it, any Brazilian likes to party!) Ronaldinho was constantly tempted by the Parisian night life and had some incident that he would later regret.
Nevertheless, getting back on track, he managed to get more and more solid performances and was raising the crowds with his dribbling quality. It's at Paris Saint Germain that he made himself known as simply Ronaldinho, the soccer player with the best technique in the game!
Ronaldinho Biography – FC Barcelona
His awesome performances in the 2001-2002 season for PSG already meant that the big European clubs started renewing their interest for Ronaldinho, but it was his great performance at the 2002 World Cup (and his already legendary goal against England's David Seaman) that made them throw contracts at the Brazilian player.
When Barcelona offered him a deal, I doubt he looked twice on the sum on the contract and signed immediately, since it's not every day that you get the chance to play in one of the World's most important clubs.
Many thought Ronaldinho would lose his charm in a star-studded Barcelona team, since here he would not be the main player anymore. He proved his critics wrong, as he became that main player again and most of Barcelona's game now relies on Ronaldinho’s skills and genius.
During his time with the blau-grana squad, he managed to achieve an impressive goal/match ratio, at the end of his 3rd full season at Barca, having a 60 goal tally, in just 126 matches (considering he’s not a pure striker, even more so a midfielder, that is an outstanding record).
He also managed to be crowned king of Europe in 2006 with Barcelona, as they won the Champions League and the La Liga trophy and Ronaldinho won the FIFA Player of the Year award twice while he was here, namely in 2004 and 2005. Despite several offers from other European giants, FC Barcelona will probably not release its key player in the near future, or at least not until his contract expires in 2010.
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