Goodbye to the smile of football
Ronaldinho Guacho's brother announced his retire of the sport
The career of one of the greatest, most talented, and loved football player will conclude. Roberto de Assis, the brother and manager of Ronaldinho Gaucho, assured to UOL Esporte that his sibling "doesn't want to play professional anymore, that's what we have talked".
The "Smile of Football", as is known in the football planet, played his last official match in 2015, with Fluminense. In his last team, he only played 9 matches: 2 in the Brazileirao and 2 in the Cup. However, his departure was lonely and through the back door, due to the poor performance.
De Assis announced that there would be an official farewell match; nevertheless, it is just an idea. "He doesn't have anything (the match) yet, we might make it after the world cup" explained the manager of Ronaldinho.
The 37-year-old player won 19 official titles during his career. Some of the most important were the Champions League in 2006 and 2 Spanish Leagues with F.C. Barcelona; 1 Serie A title with AC Milan in 2011; and the Copa Libertadores with Atletico Minero in 2013.
With Brazil, the player won the World Cup in 2002 in South Korea and Japan, the Copa America in 1999, and a Under 17 World Cup in 1997.
In his personal account, the Porto Alegre native won the Ballon D'Or in 2005 while he played in Barcelona, the King of America as the best player in the continent in 2013, and the World Soccer's the best player during the decade 2000-2010.
Ronaldinho is the only player in history who won the World Cup, the Champions League, the Copa Libertadores, and the Ballon D'Or.
Despite his amazing track, Ronaldinho will be always remembered as a magician in the pitch. His skills with the ball, his capacity to have fun while playing and doing tricks in the pitch are the most important characteristic of the player.
Therefore, he might be the icon of the "Jogo Bonito" era in the Brazilian team. Next to Roberto Carlos, Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Cafu, they represented an amazing show that won the World Cup.
A track of glory
Ronaldinho de Assis Moreira was born in March 21st of 1980 in Porto Alegre, (South) Brazil. His first steps in the football career started during his fist years playing indoor football and showing his talent with a ball. Then, the player signed his first contract in 1997 with Gremio de Porto Alegre, where he won the state tournament.
When he was 20 years old, Ronaldinho signed for Paris Saint Germain. Despite his talent, the team didn't win any title in two years. However, after his participation in the World Cup in Asia, where Brazil won his 5th title, the F. C. Barcelona decided to hire his magic.
It was there, where Ronaldinho became immortal. His tricks, his talent and his joy place him in the Olympus of football. In the Catalan team, the Brazilian won the Champions League, 2 League titles, and the Ballon D'Or.
Nonetheless, after reaching the top of the mountain, the career of the player went down. He joined the AC Milan, where he showed some of the skills and let him win the Serie A tournament. According to the media, Ronaldinho started to hang out in the bars and clubs regularly and his performance dropped.
Gaucho then returned to his natal Brazil. Ronaldinho signed with the Flamengo of Rio de Janeiro, one of the two biggest teams in the country. In Fla, he recovered some of his performance, but his nightlife and controversial statements of the economy of the club, made him to leave the Mengao.
In 2012, the smile of football joined Atletico Minero, where he tasted again the glory. During his stay in the club, Mineiro won its first Libertadores Cup, the most important title in the continent. The title was obtained with the help of Ronaldinho. He became the sixth player who won the Champions and the Libertadores (with Cafu, Dida, Roque Junior, Tevez, Walter Samuel, Ronaldinho and Neymar recently).
In 2014, Ronaldinho showed his last demonstrations of talent in Mexico (Queretaro) and back in Brazil (Fluminense). After his last official match, the Brazilian star played friendly matches, some of them, organized by himself.
Latin American Post | Santiago Gómez
Copy edited by Marcela Peñaloza