“For me he will always be the best”: Ronaldinho turns 40 years old

Incredible dribbling

At the mention of the name of the legendary Brazilian, everyone will first of all remember his remarkable technique. Thanks to his ability to handle the ball, Ronaldinho made a million fans around fall in love with football. Many fans still consider him one of the dribbler standards.

The filigree technique of the Brazilian child prodigy was visible even during his performances for Gremio. Already then, in the late 90s, Ronaldinho impressed not only fans, but also rivals with incredible football masterpieces.

As a result, they learned about the 20-year-old player in the French Paris Saint-Germain, which became the first European club in the career of an attacking midfielder. In France, Ronaldinho continued to show his incredible arsenal of techniques and immediately became the leader of the team.

Fantastic goals

It is worth noting that not only the amazing technique made Ronaldinho legendary. During his career, the Brazilian midfielder has become the author of many goals that deserve to be considered one of the most beautiful in the history of football. He knew how to execute absolutely any technical element on the field, as a result of which he remembered scored balls for every taste.

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One of the most memorable is his goal in the match with London Chelsea in the 2004/05 Champions League season. Midfielder “Barcelona” was a meter from the blue penalty line, made a couple of deceptive movements and just threw the ball into the upper corner of the goal of Peter Cech.

“From the very beginning it was clear that Leo and Cristiano are the greatest footballers. And in particular because no one thought that they would be able to hold out at such a level for so many years. But it was Ronaldinho who made the greatest impression on me, although he does not enjoy the same widespread recognition. For me, he will always be the best, ”quoted AS Deco.

The midfielder was also famous for acrobatic sketches, some of which turned into beautiful goals. One of these was framed in the Spanish Championship match with Villarreal. Ronaldinho received a pass from the flank in the penalty area, processed the ball and played a shot through himself.

In addition, Ronnie was remembered for branded races with the ball at 50 meters, as well as the ability to implement standard provisions. During his career, he scored a career 39 times with a direct free-kick, and added 66 more from an 11-meter point.

2002 World Cup

For Ronaldinho, the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea can be considered a high point. He came to him in the status of a talented young player, and left in the rank of one of the main stars of the planet. As part of the national team of Brazil, he took the place of the legendary Romario, which theoretically should only have made it difficult for him to speak at the tournament, but the midfielder coped with the role of one of the leaders of Celesão.

Young Ronaldinho immediately began to justify the trust placed in him. First, he distinguished himself in the group stage match against the Chinese team, and then he created one of his main goals in his career. It happened in the game 1/4 finals with the national team of England. At that time, four-time champions earned a free kick 35 meters from the opponent’s goal, and Ronnie volunteered to execute it. Before the strike, he noticed that the English goalkeeper David Seaman moved forward and sent the ball exactly above him, in the upper corner. Luis Filipe Scolari wards got the upper hand 2-1 and reached the semifinals.

The footballer missed the 1/2 final match due to disqualification, but in the final against Germany he entered the field from the first minutes, making a trio of attacking players from Ronaldo and Rivaldo. Brazil managed to beat the Germans, and Ronaldinho already in 22 years raised the main football trophy over his head.

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Barcelona

If the World Cup was the beginning of an athlete’s career, then playing for Barcelona was its crown. The Brazilian joined the Catalan club in the summer of 2003 for a modest by today's standards € 32.25 million. For the next five years, he was a symbol of the team, and an era in the history of blue garnet is still associated with his name.

In the first season, Ronaldinho scored 22 goals and gave 11 assists in 45 matches for the new team and received the prize for the best foreign footballer of the Spanish championship. A year later, he helped Barcelona win Primera, and two years later - to win the Champions League. Moreover, in the final of the main club tournament of the Old World, the Arsenal, which was formidable at that time, was defeated, for which Thierry Henry, Robert Pires and Ashley Cole played.

“Ronaldinho is the one who did the most to restore Barcelona's self-esteem, which at that time was rather low ... He played fantastically for many years, won championships and the Champions League. Ronaldinho is a player of a different level. Until Messi showed up, I didn’t see anyone playing like Ronaldinho, ”quoted Josep Guardiola Goal.

In general, the season 2005/06 can be called one of the brightest in the career of the Wizard. The midfielder showed exorbitant statistics, collecting a collection of 26 goals and 24 assists. However, the highlight of that competition year was the match against Real Madrid in Madrid. In that meeting, the Catalans beat their main rival with a score of 3: 0, and the Brazilian became the author of two goals scored. Fans of the sworn enemy were so impressed with the game of the midfielder that they applauded the rival leader while standing.

“I had to suffer because of you. But as a football fan, I always enjoyed your game, ”- many years later Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas wrote in the match.

Also about the game of the Brazilian spoke Lionel Messi. The Brazilian and the Argentinean were in the team in one year. But while the future owner of six Golden Balls played for the double, the Wizard conquered everyone with his game.

“Ronaldinho helped me a lot. I got into the team when I was 16 - 17 years old, and I had a hard time with all these football stars. But he taught me, helped me to get comfortable, and in the end I stopped getting nervous. I always looked for him on the field, but, unfortunately, we did not have so many years to play together. In addition, we did not play so often then. I would like to play more with Ronaldinho, ”admitted Messi to Eurosport.

"Golden Ball"

It is noteworthy that Ronaldinho was one of the last who managed to win the Golden Ball before the onset of the era of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. The Brazilian footballer was awarded an honorary award in 2005, outstripping the British Frank Lampard from Chelsea and Stephen Gerrard from Liverpool.

The Brazilian’s victory is made even more significant by the fact that in the 2004/05 season he was unable to win the Champions League. Barcelona lost to Chelsea in the 1/8 finals and limited their victory to the national championship. However, even this did not stop Ronaldinho from gaining the upper hand in voting for the title of best European football player.

It is worth noting that the number of individual trophies in the Ronaldinho collection could be more impressive. So, a year earlier, he was one step away from conquering the Golden Ball. The publication France Football made him one of the three main candidates for the award, but the victory went to the Ukrainian striker of Milan Andriy Shevchenko.

In 2006, the midfielder could also claim a trophy, but that year the World Cup was held, which traditionally has a great influence on the formation of the list of award winners. Brazil failed at the World Cup, and Ronaldinho was not even included in the list of nominees. And this despite the successes in the Spanish Example and the Champions League. As a result, the “Golden Ball" went to the Italian Fabio Cannavaro, who, as part of the Italian team, became a triumph of the championship of the planet.

Unchanging smile

Ronaldinho entered the memory of football fans in the image of a brilliant football player, whose smile never left his face. His game was similar, which did not let sad fans of the clubs for which he played, and rivals.

“Cristiano Ronaldo is the best football player in the championship of Spain, and Ronaldinho is the best in history. No one can compare with him. He always smiled, scored brilliant goals, possessed chic technique and did real magic, ”said Portuguese Luis Nani.

At the same time, the former mentor of the athlete Frank Rykard expressed the opinion that Ronaldinho will not be forgotten soon.

“He gave the audience a lot of joy, just playing football, and he enjoyed it. Ronaldinho made the difference between just a good team and a really star squad. He alone could decide the outcome of the meeting. His style, technical equipment and constant smile made him an object of adoration for all true football fans, ”said Frank Rykard, a former Barcelona coach.

However, everyone will also remember the episode when the Brazilian, after a goal scored, could not hold back his tears. It happened in 2012 a few days after the death of the stepfather of the football player. Ronaldinho, then defending the colors of the Brazilian Atletico Mineiro, burst into tears right on the field after a goal scored at the Figueirense goal.

Russia

In recent years, the Brazilian has visited Russia very much and helped in the development of domestic football, as well as drawing attention to the Confederations Cup and the 2018 World Cup. So, in 2017, he took part in the opening of competition parks in Kazan and St. Petersburg, and a year later he took part in the closing ceremony of the mundial.

Also, the Brazilian visited the first match of the Grozny Akhmat after changing the name in the 2017/18 season. He noted that he was always happy to come to Russia. Before the game, he struck a symbolic blow to the ball, and also took a joint photo with the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov.

In October 2017, Ronaldinho once again visited the country and participated in a match dedicated to the 65th anniversary of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The legendary Brazilian entered the field as part of the Russian team, together with Valery Karpin and Alexander Kerzhakov in the match against the Italian team.

“I have come to Russia many times, wonderful people meet me here. In this country I like to be more and more, ”admitted Ronaldinho.