Retire in Paradise

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Ronaldo de Assis Moreira, born March 21st, 1980 in Porto Alegre, Brazil, has risen to become one of soccer’s greatest players. The 5′11″, 177-lb “Ronaldinho” began wowing spectators back in 1999 with his amazing mastery at the forward position. He began his amateur soccer career by following the path of his father Joao. Here he honed his talents by playing beach and indoor (”futbal”) soccer.

Ronaldinho’s mother Miguelina had to raise her son afer Joao died when Ronaldinho was only eight years old; she was helped by his brother and sisters. Ronaldinho earned his first cap It was with Gremio’s senior team coached by Celso Roth that Ronaldinho won his first cap in 1999. Then in 2001, Arsenal FC got Ronaldinho in their sights, but he couldn’t obtain a work permit and so no deal was struck. But Paris Saint-Germain FC got him signed to a five-year contract. But, an unhappy Ronaldinho returned to Barcelona in 2004 after playing for Paris under allegations that he put more time into the nightlife than he did into soccer practice.

Major success came to Ronaldinho at the Copa America held in Paraguay where he mesmerized audiences playing alongside teammates Ronald and Rivaldo scoring Brazil’s fifth goal in a 7-0 wipeout of Venezuela. Now known as the “wonder goal,” in 2002 during the FIFA World Cup in Japan, Ronaldinho scored the game-winning goal through an amazing 30-yard free kick that surprised the English’s unaware goalkeeper, David Seaman. His team would win this quarterfinal and go on to win the World Cup where Ronaldinho achieved soccer greatness by being named to the all-tournament team.

Winning almost every possible award in soccer, Ronaldinho’s prizes include the FIFA World Player of the Year in 2004 and 2005, and the UEFA’s Champion League Award in 2006 in Barcelona-that year scoring seven goals in just twelve matches. In 2008, Sport Illustrated magazine put Ronaldinho in the top fifth wealthiest athletes at $37.5 million that included earnings, bonuses, endorsements, and appearances. Only Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, David Beckham, and Kimi Raikkonen beat him in earnings-quite the achievement for the twenty-eight year old.

Soccer fans and enthusiasts were saddened in the early summer of 2008 where, in his 200th match, Ronaldinho injured a muscle in his right leg that would bench him for the rest of the 2007-2008 season. Further complicating his injury situation, Ronaldinho’s player situation looked bleak when he and his club fought over his choice to play in Bejing’s Olympic games. After much squabble, Ronaldinho did strike a deal with the Italian Club AC Milan-a deal that would allow him to play in the Olympics alongside his countrymen.

Ronaldinho turned down a $25.5 million contract offer from Manchester City to play for AC Milan for three years. He was getting paid $21 million in Barcelona. The great Italian AC Milan player Clarence Seedorf had also worn Ronaldinho’s #10 and it was retired, so he went with jersey #80 to honor the year of his birth. Milan quickly saw the wisdom of their new player selection when Ronaldinho scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory over Internazionale in September of 2008.

Against Sporting Braga in the November 2008 UEFA Cup, Ronaldinho got Milan inot a 2-2 draw after they had fallen behind 2-0 when he scored a match-winner in the 93rd minute. His brother Roberto has been quite the force as Ronaldinho’s brother Roberto has acted as his brother’s agent and already brought him more endorsements for him that are booked up through 2014. Ronaldinho seems in better spirits these days in Milan, Italy.

Becoming a father in 2005 with the birth of his son Joao, named after his father and mother of Brazilian dancer Janaina Mendes, Ronaldinho’s soccer fate seems to be set in stone-what team he will remain on may be known only to Ronaldinho and Roberto. With fans of soccer everywhere shouting his name and cheering him on, we bet Ronaldinho will be a best bet for any team and some may dream, “what about the US?

Tags: Travel & Leisure