The Eye of Memory. Today: Ronaldinho

"If I have the ball, I forget the world" Ronaldinho

Ronaldo de Assis Moreira, born on March 21, 1980, in Porto Alegre, Brazil, known in the football world as Ronaldinho Gaúcho. Ronaldinho because he arrived at the Brazilian National Team after Ronaldo Nazario de Lima. Gaúcho for the place where he comes from, as those born in that region, among other places, are called that way.

Ronaldinho began his career with Grêmio in 1998. In the year 2000, at 20 years old, he signed for Paris Saint-Germain and arrived at F.C. Barcelona in 2003. In the summer of 2008 he joined A.C. Milan. He returned to Brazil to play for Flamengo in 2011 and Atlético Mineiro in 2012. In 2014 he moved to Querétaro of Mexico and a year later returned to Brazil to retire professionally at Fluminense in 2015. International for Brazil in his golden years.

Besides his numerous titles, he won the FIFA World Player (Best player in the world) twice consecutively in 2004 and 2005.

Playing style

He mastered any kind of dribble, elastic, sombrero, self-pass, bicycles, cow-tail or his famous espaldinha, and any other dribble you can imagine. 

In the end, what made Ronaldinho special: he played as if he were still a kid on the street. And you could tell. Talent impresses, yes, but what really hooks is the joy with which he did it. He always smiled.

Carles Puyol once said that after a very hard training at Barcelona, when everyone was exhausted and just thinking about going home, Ronaldinho asked to stay a little longer… but not out of obligation, but "for fun." He started shooting free kicks, trying very strange things, aiming for impossible angles, shooting at the crossbar of a goal and laughing as if he were on the beach of Porto Alegre. And of course, that attitude was contagious; it completely changed the locker room atmosphere.

And something similar said Deco. He commented that Ronaldinho always trained with a smile, even when the team had just lost. It wasn’t that he didn’t care about losing, on the contrary, but he believed that tension only blocked talent. For him, football had to be enjoyed always, even in the most pressured moments.

One of the few Barcelona players applauded at the Bernabéu 

And maybe one of the most incredible images was at the Bernabéu in 2005. After that great match against Real Madrid, part of the stadium stood up to applaud him. Video footage recorded the gentleman with the mustache, Juan Sánchez is his name, along with his son, who in a more recent interview, said: "Ronaldinho went to the field to have fun, provoked while playing football and I would applaud him again." This is clean and fearless football, that gentleman represented the image of a fan who, far from being guided by colors, even if he has them in his heart, is able to publicly recognize a player who stands out from the rest.

And he, Ronaldinho, responded as always: with that huge smile, almost childlike. Without any cocky gestures. It wasn’t arrogance, it was simply gratitude. When he scored the goal and as always, Ronaldinho ran laughing, with his hands free, thumb and pinky extended (a gesture known as shaka). The gesture originates from Hawaii and its meaning is close to "be happy, enjoy life".

Training and nights out

It was like a wink to his debut at Camp Nou: On September 3, 2003… at 00:05!, against Sevilla. Madness. And he himself remembered it laughing: "It was beautiful, unforgettable... if all the matches had been at midnight, I would have been the best in the world."

Ronaldinho was like that. Over time, his weakness for the night became famous… and his little passion for getting up early to train.

When Massimiliano Allegri arrived at AC Milan, he set a pretty clear condition: that Ronaldinho train at least twice a week. Six months later, he was back in Brazil. 

And his former teammates confirm it. At Paris Saint-Germain, they say he sometimes appeared only for the last training session before a match, took a nap on the massage table… and then on the weekend he went out and caused havoc on the field as if nothing.

But beware, his career did not go downhill because of parties. Simply, he lived football differently. He never turned it into a strict routine.

For him, playing was like going out with friends: having fun, improvising, dancing with the ball… and making people enjoy themselves.

Joga Bonito

He was one of the founders of Brazil’s ‘Joga Bonito’.

He moved as if he were a cartoon character: loose, elastic, always with that happy vibe. And Ronaldinho had something else: a smile that literally lit up any stadium.

He was so special that even rival fans ended up applauding him. It wasn’t just what he did, but how he did it.

Here we pay him a small tribute. We hope life gives him lots of health, wherever Ronaldinho Gaúcho is.

As it could not be otherwise, we leave you a video of goals and plays. Enjoy it, it’s worth it. Don’t forget to comment which player you would like in this section.