Meet The Players

Ronaldinho Gaucho bio | press

Ronaldo de Assís Moreira (born 21 March 1980 in Porto Alegre) is a Brazilian footballer, also known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho (due to him being from the Rio Grande do Sul state of Brazil), or simply and most commonly Ronaldinho. He became a naturalized Spanish citizen in January 2007.^[1]

Highlights | Free kicks

Ronaldinho (IPA), meaning "little Ronaldo", is better know in Brazil by the nickname Ronaldinho Gaúcho, in order to distinguish him from Ronaldo who was already called Ronaldinho in Brazil. Ronaldo moved first to Europe and started using his real name. When Ronaldinho also moved to Europe, he started using the nickname Ronaldinho (without Gaúcho). In Brazil, he is still called Ronaldinho Gaúcho, since Ronaldo still sometimes gets called Ronaldinho.

Among his many achievements and accolades, Ronaldinho has been awarded the FIFA World Player of the Year award twice (2004, 2005), as well as the European Footballer of the Year award and the FIFPro World Player of the Year award twice (2005, 2006).^[2] He has downplayed suggestions that he is the best footballer in the world, telling FourFourTwo magazine, "I don't even feel I'm the best at Barça." ^[3]

Currently, he plays for FC Barcelona as forward. His contract with FC Barcelona expire in 2010 and his buyout clause is €125M.^[4]

Personal information
Ronaldinho

Full name	Ronaldo de Assís Moreira
Date of birth	March 21, 1980 (1980-03-21) (age 27)
Place of birth	Porto Alegre, Brazil
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position	Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current club	Barcelona
Number	10
Youth clubs
1997–1998	Grêmio
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1998–2001 2001–2003 2003–	Grêmio Paris Saint-Germain Barcelona	110 (37) 055 (17) 126 (60)
National team²
1999–	Brazil	073 (29)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21 January 2007. ² National team caps and goals correct as of 28 March 2007. * Appearances (Goals)

Honors

Club

Rio Grande do Sul State Championship: 1999
Spanish Liga: 2005, 2006
Supercopa de España: 2005, 2006
UEFA Champions League: 2006
FIFA Club World Cup 2006: Runners-up

International

Individual

Pelé named Ronaldinho in his 125 Top Living Footballers in March 2004.
FIFA World Player of the Year: 2004, 2005
World Soccer Player of the Year: 2004, 2005
European Footballer of the Year: 2005
FIFPro World Player of the Year 2005, 2006
FIFPro World XI: 2005, 2006
Onze d'Or: 2005
UEFA Club Footballer of the Year: 2005-06
FIFA All-Star team: 2002
FIFA World Club Cup Bronze Ball Award: 2006

For the full article go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronaldinho_Gaucho

Content from Wikipedia is protected under copyleft. You can reuse this content as long as you directly link back to the original article.