10/02/2006
Ronaldinho dropped by Barcelona after missing training session.
Chelsea will have received encouragement for their forthcoming Champions League matches against Barcelona after a falling-out between Ronaldinho and the Spanish club's coach Frank Rijkaard.
Ronaldinho had to watch Barcelona's opening-night 3-2 victory over Celta Vigo on television after being dropped by the Rijkaard, for failing to attend a training session on Saturday. The club claimed that the Brazilian was carrying a slight muscle injury, although it has emerged that the decision was a punishment for missing the training session. The world player of the year was a poor performer in Barcelona's surprise 3-0 defeat in the final of the European Super Cup against Sevilla on Friday.
Despite the fact that Ronaldinho missed a whole series of sessions without being left out during Barcelona's title-winning season two years ago, Rijkaard's policy on the importance of training sessions is now clearer and Ronaldinho was immediately left out of the squad to face Celta. Rijkaard's decision was justified by Barcelona's 3-2 victory, secured with a debut goal from the former Chelsea striker Eidur Gudjohnsen in the dying minutes.
There have also been suggestions that Rijkaard was furious at Ronaldinho's involvement in a commercial endorsement on the morning of the European Super Cup final in Monaco. But Ronaldinho was understood to be equally angry that Rijkaard should single him out when it was a commercial commitment imposed upon him by the club. He has also been frustrated by the club's failure so far to renew the terms of his contract, as promised in the spring. Ronaldinho is likely to be back in the Barcelona team to face Osasuna when the Spanish league resumes after the international break
source :http://ronaldinho-uk.com
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09/26/2006
RONALDINHO WARNS RIVALS
Ronaldinho - warning for Barcelona rivals.
RONALDINHO WARNS RIVALSBarcelona superstar Ronaldinho sounded an ominous warning to the rest of the primera Liga by insisting: "We can still get better."
Frank Rijkaard's side have started the domestic campaign with three wins out of three, scoring nine goals in the process, and thumped Levski Sofia 5-0 in their Champions League opener for good measure.
However, Brazil playmaker Ronaldinho is not getting too carried away just yet.
"This season has started well but we can still get better," he told club website www.fcbarcelona.com.
"There are many teams out there that can create many problems for us in the fight for the title - Sevilla, Valencia and Real Madrid among others."
It is Quique Sanchez Flores' Valencia side who on Sunday travel to the Nou Camp, where they have picked up points in each of the past five seasons.
Ronaldinho is keen to buck that trend.
"We are highly motivated towards getting all three vitally important points," said the 26-year-old.
"We must pay close attention to all their players for there to be no surprises.
"Valencia are an extremely difficult team to beat and they have immense quality in attack."
Ronaldinho insists he has not been distracted by talk of a possible new deal in Catalonia.
"I'm never worried about my contract," he said. "I only worry about playing.
"My brother deals with all the paperwork, the only time I worry is when I'm on the pitch.
"I am very happy with the way things are going at the moment. Since I have come to Barca, things have gone well for me. I hope things continue like this all season and for a long time to come."
The former Paris St German star is even happy to live with Rijkaard's famed rotation policy.
"No player likes to sit out of a game, (but) the boss makes his decisions and we respect them," he said.
"I do not consider myself untouchable."
Argentinian youngster Lionel Messi picked up a thigh problem during last weekend's victory over Racing Santander but resumed full training on Thursday and is in contention.
Santiago Ezquerro has been working in isolation after injuring his left quadriceps, and is unlikely to feature.
Valencia, along with Barca and Sevilla, are the only other Primera Liga team to have a 100% record after three games.
Spain striker David Villa is hopeful that record will be extended on Sunday, although the 24-year-old knows it will be far from easy.
"We are very optimistic about the match," Villa told club website www.valenciacf.es. "We know it will be a very difficult encounter against fantastic opposition.
"Their results speak for themselves - champions of Europe, champions of Spain... they are one of the strongest teams in the world.
"Like our team, theirs is full of quality players. If one does not perform then another will. We will have to be alert until the final whistle."
Villa will come face to face with international colleague Xavi on Sunday, and is relishing the task.
"(Xavi is) a great footballer, very important for the way Barcelona play.
"I have had the pleasure of playing in the same side as him and understand very well the way he plays."
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08/25/2006
Ronaldinho not worried about Chelsea ties
Ronaldinho insists he does not fear Chelsea Football Club.
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The Londoners have been drawn with Barcelona for the third successive season in the UEFA Champions League, yet despite the additions of Michael Ballack and Andrei Shevchenko, Ronaldinho is not losing any sleep.
"We know all about how good Chelsea's signings are," said Barca’s brilliant Brazilian.
"They have an impressive squad and their summer signings can't fail to improve them. But I believe we don't have to worry about the others. There is no such thing as an unstoppable team."
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08/07/2006
Ronaldinho provides his own fireworks
It was surely just a coincidence when Ronaldinho deftly back-heeled the ball onto the foot of an overlapping Barcelona teammate at precisely the moment that fireworks exploded over the rim of the Coliseum.
Or was it?
For someone who played volleyball with the crossbar during a commercial during the World Cup — and turns plenty of other tricks that don't require editing — it's hard to know where choreography ends and serendipity begins.
The Brazilian star, the two-time reigning FIFA World Player of the Year, played only half of FC Barcelona's 1-1 draw with Chivas de Guadalajara, but there wasn't anyone on the field who stirred the crowd of 92,650 — the largest to ever watch soccer at the Coliseum.
He delicately flicked the ball off to teammates, flummoxed Chivas defenders by lifting the ball over, around and between them, and ultimately set up the lone Barcelona goal with a short pass that found Eider Gudjohnsen all alone behind the Chivas defense in 74th minute.
The game was billed as an exhibition, the kickoff to Barcelona's three-game tour of the United States, meant simply to get its star-studded roster into shape for the start of the Spanish League season that begins at the end of the month.
But it meant so much to Guadalajara that it brought all but two starters to Los Angeles, leaving its reserves to lose to Toluca in the Mexican League opener earlier Sunday.
Yet for 45 minutes it felt precisely like the exhibition that it was.
Barcelona forward Samuel Eto'o created some dangerous chances, but little else interested the crowd.
Then Ronaldinho entered — to a standing ovation and a sea of flashbulbs
Almost immediately the tenor the game changed, with Barcelona creating myriad chances — often with Ronaldinho at the center of them.
Midway through the second half, a cross landed at Ronaldinho's feet, but his shot was knocked down by goalkeeper Alfredo Talavera.
“It was great to play in the United States,” said Ronaldinho, who exchanged phone numbers with Kobe Bryant when they met Saturday at the Nike European Club Champion FC Barcelona Rally in Hollywood. “The reception from the crowd was exceptional.”
Strangely, this creativity was absent from Ronaldinho during the World Cup, when he was just as disappointing as Brazil — both looking mostly sluggish and uninspired before being dumped by France in the quarterfinals.
Asked how Ronaldinho could play so well for Barcelona and so poorly for Brazil, Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard danced around the question.
“I have to say that he plays very well for us and he's a very important player,” Rijkaard said. “He can change a lot of things.”
Asked again, he supplied a familiar answer to those who have watched Ronaldinho or tried to stop him.
“I don't know.”
http://www.dailynews.com
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07/23/2006
Brazil ace's keepy-uppy
By ANTONELLA LAZZERI
RAGGED Ronaldinho turned into a World Cup flop because he spent his nights enjoying illicit romps with his French girlfriend, The Sun can reveal.Gorgeous model Alexandra Paressant said the Brazilian ace broke team rules to sneak off most evenings to bed her.
If that wasn’t tiring enough, she said he then liked to play World Cup football game FIFA 2006 on his PLAYSTATION.
Alexandra, 22, said: “The Brazilian coach had banned WAGS from the team’s hotel but we couldn’t bear to be apart.
“So nearly every night he would come to my hotel room and we would make love all night."
“Sometimes we didn’t even make it into the room, we would make love there and then in the corridor. We are mad for each other.
“He missed me too much and I don’t think it harmed him.”
World cup flop ... Ronaldinho
Ronaldinho is famed for his amazing keepy-uppy ball juggling — but is equally skilled OFF the pitch, said Alexandra. She added: “He cannot live without love, he is a very passionate person.
“He is as much a performer in the bedroom as he is on the football pitch."
“One night he made me scream with such pleasure the people on the hotel terrace below heard us because my window was open.”
Alexandra, who watched all Brazil’s games, added: “I know people say he didn’t play so well in the World Cup but I think he played well.
“I made him happy, and when he is happy he plays better football.”
Instead, she says, his habit of playing PlayStation after their romps may have knocked his form.
She said: “He likes to relax afterwards by playing his games. He was playing the FIFA 2006 football game during the World Cup.”
Alexandra also revealed she found it hard to know who to shout for when Brazil played France.
She said: “My heart was torn. I obviously wanted him to win but I am French so I also wanted them to win, it was hard for me.” Buck-toothed Ronaldinho, 26, met Alexandra at a hotel in Barcelona after his £21million move to Spain. She said: “I was with a modelling friend, we were working.
“I saw him but I didn’t approach him because I thought he had the image of a playboy and I don’t like that kind of man.
“But I left my room key on the table by mistake and he very sweetly brought it to me. We started talking and he is actually very shy. I found him cute and so different from what people think he is like.
“He is very cute, very polite. He treats me like a lady. He likes to take me for romantic meals and buy me little presents.”
“We spend all our time together when we can. We spend a lot of time making love, a lot of time in the bedroom. He is the best lover I have ever had. I love him. I love him!” They are planning to go on holiday in Brazil after she finishes her next assignment. Fashion model Alexandra added: “We have a lovely time there, we stay in a little tiny place.
“Sometimes he hires a helicopter so we can go to the capital to shop — he is very thoughtful.”
Brazil thrill ... Alex with Ron
Alexandra is due to come to Britain in September to star in an ITV programme about WAGS.
She said: “I met all the British WAGS and they were very nice. I am looking forward to seeing them again. I don’t think Victoria Beckham is taking part but I am hoping to star with her husband David in a film next year.
“I am filming ‘Asterix 3’ and either he or Zidane is supposed to be a guest star.
“I hope it is Beckham because I don’t like Zidane, he is arrogant.”
Alexandra’s revelations will be little comfort to England fans — still puzzled as to what made OUR BOYS fizzle out in Germany
http://www.thesun.co.uk
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06/08/2006
Ronaldinho expects to face tough defense at World Cup
Wednesday, June 7, 2006 (Koenigstein, Germany):
Ronaldinho knows being the best player in the world has its burdens. One of them will be to face defenders extra motivated trying to stop him at the World Cup.
"I've been facing tough defense for quite some time with Barcelona and the national team. It's not going to be any different in the World Cup," Ronaldinho said before one of Brazil's practice sessions in Koenigstein.
Ronaldinho, named FIFA player of the year for the last two consecutive times, will be leading Brazil on its quest to win its second straight World Cup title - and sixth overall.
"All nations try to set up the best defense in the world when they are facing Brazil. We know we will face a lot of difficulty because of that. Everybody plays very defensively against Brazil," he said.
The striker, who helped FC Barcelona win the Spanish title and the Champions League earlier this year, said he doesn't want extra pressure because of his status of best in the world.
"I think everybody in the team has the same responsibility. What I have is a lot of motivation to play my best. I'm going through a wonderful moment and I hope to get to the World Cup at the same level."
Ronaldinho, 26, also said he's not worried about his scoring drought during the team's pre-World Cup preparation. He netted no goals in the three warm-up matches in which Brazil outscored its opponents - Swiss club FC Lucerne, Fluminense's under-20 squad and New Zealand - by 25-1.
Ronaldinho said that his job in the national team was to help the forwards score.
Ronaldinho will be playing in his second World Cup. He was a member of the squad that won Brazil's fifth title at the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea.
Ronaldinho has 46 goals in 88 matches for Brazil. Ronaldinho on Tuesday proudly distributed to teammates the first issue of the Brazilian comic book in which he is a toothy, boyish character possessing the soccer wizardry of his namesake, the Brazilian Soccer Confederation said. The deal for the player's comic book series was closed last year in Brazil. (AP)
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06/01/2006
Ronaldinho fears the Hiddink effect
Respect … Ronaldinho, right, is wary of the
RONALDINHO has revealed his concern that Australia may beat world champions Brazil at their own game when the two teams meet in groupF in Munich on June 18.
When the Brazilian joined Barcelona three seasons ago he thought he was signing for a team which would be coached by Socceroos maestro Guus Hiddink, and Ronaldinho believes the Dutchman is in the process of converting Australia into the neutral supporter's "other" favourite team.
Brazil have long enjoyed the position of being loved by everyone in the world apart from Argentina, but Ronaldinho thinks that the remarkable Australian qualifying story has begun to push Hiddink's team into the hearts and minds of neutrals everywhere.
"Even though Australia looks a formidable team and they are our key group rivals, I have to admit that I'm fascinated by them from a purely personal point of view," FIFA's world player of the year told the Herald. "Apart from appointing one of the top four or five coaches in the world, what Australia did when they signed Hiddink was drag world attention onto themselves.
"Anyone with an interest in soccer understands that Hiddink is a magnificent achiever and someone whose names stand for perpetual success. So I think that focused people's attention, all around the world, on how Australia might do in qualifying.
"Then if you take the drama and the romanticism of the win over Uruguay it seems to me that Australia has become an easy team for the neutrals to support. Everyone I speak to seems to have a good word for Australia in a sporting sense and lots of decent judges have identified them as a team which could make a surprising impact in Germany.
"I can't claim to know the first-choice team player by player, yet, but I know about the majority of top players and I'm aware that most of Australia's key men play in leagues scattered all around the world.
"Given the difficulties we in Brazil face with that same problem and travelling to and from qualifying matches or friendlies, I do find it remarkable that a slightly smaller soccer nation like Australia can achieve all that they have done.
"Generally when the players follow their careers in a very wide geographical spread one of the most difficult things to achieve is that 'feeling' between them when they are called together in a squad.
"Yet the evidence is that Hiddink has achieved a unified and winning mentality in his team. That's impressive and it's a little dangerous, too."
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05/25/2006
Ronaldinho admits he's feeling tired
Ronaldinho won the Spanish title and Champions League in a long, tough season with FC Barcelona.
"It was already expected for me to arrive feeling a bit tired," Ronaldinho said. "It's normal because of the season I had with Barcelona."
The two-time FIFA World Player of the Year believes, however, there's enough time to find his best condition and be ready for Brazil's tournament opener against Croatia on June 13.
Brazilian team doctors said that Ronaldinho is one of the players who may be rested in some training sessions before the monthlong competition in Germany.
He participated in the team's first day of practice at the lakeside resort town of Weggis, where Brazil is based until moving to Germany in early June to defend its title.
He skipped some physical drills in the morning only to conduct prearranged physical examinations, along with other seven players at a clinic in nearby Weggis.
Ronaldinho said he is already focused on the World Cup.
"Things are different in the national team, but I hope to continue playing well during the World Cup too," Ronaldinho said.
Ronaldinho is playing in his second World Cup. He helped Brazil win its fifth title in 2002 in South Korea and Japan.
Ronaldinho and Brazil will spend two weeks in the small town of Weggis, where a 5,000-seat arena and several other facilities were built exclusively to accommodate the national team.
The town is home to only about 4,000 people, but several thousand fans have flocked to the region to watch the Brazilian stars.
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05/23/2006
Ronaldinho up for world award
Ronaldinho is the reigning FIFA World Player of the Year
Ronaldinho up for world award
Barcelona and Brazilian footballer Ronaldinho has been nominated for a prestigious world sport award.
The 26-year-old is on a shortlist of six for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year honour.
Ronaldinho's main rival for the award will be last year's winner Roger Federer.
The pair will be up against cyclist Lance Armstrong, Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso, Golf sensation Tiger Woods and Motor Cycling's Valentino Rossi.
"I am very happy. When I was told that I was selected among the nominees I felt very excited," said Ronaldinho.
"I already know the Laureus Awards because Ronaldo told me about them. He received an award after the last World Cup. It is a great honour to be present there."
Ronaldinho is only the third player to have been voted FIFA World Player of the Year more than once, following Ronaldo and France's Zinedine Zidane, who have both won the award three times
Swedish golfer Annika Sorenstam will be a strong contender for the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year award.
She will face competition from Kim Clijsters, Tirunesh Dibaba, Yelena Isinbayaeva, Carolina Kluft, Janica Kostelic and Paula Radcliffe for the accolade.
Nominated for the World Team of the Year are La Liga and Champions League winners Barcelona.
Also shortlisted are last year's Champions League winners Liverpool, the All Blacks rugby union team, the all-conquering Renault Formula 1 team, Croatia's Davis Cup team and NBA champions San Antonio Spurs.
Argentine international Lionel Messi is nominated in the best newcomer category along with Rafael Nadal, Andrew Murray, Paula Creamer, Danica Patrick and Ben Roethlisberger.
Ronaldinho: "I am very happy. When I was told that I was selected among the nominees I felt very excited."
The Laureus World Comeback of the Year nominees include Martina Hingis, Jonah Lomu and Colin Montgomerie.
The winners will be announced at a ceremony in Barcelona on May 22.
Laureus is a joint venture between DaimlerChrysler and Richemont, represented by the founding partner brands IWC and Mercedes-Benz.
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05/21/2006
Socceroos will need all their tricks against magical Ronaldinho
Four years ago, in a quiet Japanese town, Matthew Hall had a close shave with a master Brazilian now known all over the world
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05/16/2006
Ronaldinho Hopes For Happy Time In Paris
Ronaldinho left Paris St Germain in 2003 after two frustrating and unsettled seasons with the Ligue 1 side during which he failed to live up to his billing as one of the most exciting prospects in the game.
Three years on, he returns to the French capital for the Champions League final against Arsenal on Wednesday as the undisputed king of world football and the inspirational leader of a Barcelona side who are determined to cap a brilliant season by winning a second European Cup.
The effervescent Brazilian has rightly been given credit for transforming the Catalans from Primera Liga also-rans into one of the dominant clubs in Europe.
The Spanish champions have also fulfilled their part of the bargain by providing an environment in which the Brazilian's prodigious talent has been able to thrive. For both player and club it has been a marriage made in heaven.
"My future is Barcelona," Ronaldinho told Reuters recently. "I'm not thinking of anything that's not Barcelona. I have all that I could wish for and the club have made a great effort to make sure I'm happy."
It was very different, though, when Ronaldinho first arrived in Europe to sign for PSG from his home-town club Gremio in March 2001. A protracted legal argument over the size of the transfer fee delayed his debut for five months until the start of the following season.
He had a moderately successful first campaign in France, ending the season as PSG's top scorer with nine goals while the team finished fourth in the league.
It was enough for the forward to win back his place in the national team in time for the World Cup where he played a crucial role in Brazil's record fifth victory.
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Bid for a night in Ronaldinho's bed
ZURICH (Reuters) - Do you fancy spending a night in the same hotel room that Ronaldinho, star of Brazil's World Cup squad, has just slept in?
If so, make your bid in an eBay online auction launched by a luxury hotel in central Switzerland where the Brazilian team will set up training camp next Monday before the World Cup in neighbouring Germany.
"We just hit on the idea by chatting among ourselves in the hotel management," assistant manager Philipp Musshafen at the Park Hotel Weggis said on Tuesday.
The highest bid so far for Ronaldinho's double room is 502 Swiss francs ($415) -- with much lower bids of 51 francs apiece being made for the rooms of fellow players Ronaldo, Kaka, Adriano and Roberto Carlos.
The auction (www.ebay.ch) runs until May 29.
Winners will spend the night of June 3 at the hotel, just hours after the Brazilians move out at the end of a two-week stay. They will also be given signed Brazilian football shirts. Normal rates for the five rooms on offer range from 480 to 780 Swiss francs each.
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05/15/2006
Henry link-up would please Ronaldinho
Henry link-up would please Ronaldinho
Brazilian superstar Ronaldinho insists the door is open for Arsenal striker Thierry Henry to join him at Barcelona.
Ronaldinho revealed he and Henry have spoken recently and exchanged text messages, as the Frenchman agonises over whether to commit himself to the Gunners or make a fresh start in Spain after the sides meet in next week's Champions League final
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05/14/2006
Laureus World Sports Awards, Barcelona 2006 Ronaldinho:Laureus Awards Are Very Important
Laureus World Sports Awards, Barcelona 2006
Ronaldinho:Laureus Awards Are Very Important
"It Is An Honor to Be on the Nominees List"
 | |
| Ronaldinho |
BARCELONA — Brazil and FC Barcelona playmaker Ronaldinho has just days to wait to see if he is acclaimed as Laureus World Sportsman of the Year, after a brilliant 2005 in which he was named FIFA's World Player of the Year for the second straight time.
Ronaldinho, one of the world's great footballers, who is expected to be the star of this summer's FIFA World Cup, said: "I am very happy. When I was told that I was selected among the nominees I felt very excited. I already know the Laureus Awards because Ronaldo told me about them. He received an award after the last World Cup. It is a great honour to be present there."
Also nominated for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award is Spain's Fernando Alonso (Formula 1), Lance Armstrong (cycling), Roger Federer (tennis), Valentino Rossi (motor cycling) and Tiger Woods (golf).
The Laureus World Sports Awards is unique. It is the only global sports awards honouring the greatest sportsmen and women across all sports each year. The winners are selected by the ultimate sports jury - the 42 members of the Laureus World Sports Academy, a collection of the world's greatest sportsmen and women. The living legends of sport honouring the great athletes of today.
The names of the winners will be announced during a televised Awards Ceremony staged at the Parc del Fòrum, Barcelona, Spain, on the evening of May 22, 2006.
Ronaldinho is only the third player to have been voted FIFA World Player of the Year more than once, following Ronaldo and France's Zinedine Zidane, who both won the award three times, Ronaldinho has demonstrated his ability to change the course of a match with brilliant solo skills which has made him the creative force of the Brcelona and Brazil attack.
Ronaldinho, who some weeks ago posed next to one of the Laureus Academy members, the legendary England football player Bobby Charlton, at Barcelona's Nou Camp Stadium, is very excited with his nomination. Now he is waiting to see if Charllton, and his fellow Academy members, vote for him to win the prestigious Laureus Award.
It is only the second time a football player has been nominated for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award. In 2003, as a consequence of his success in the FIFA World Cup in Japan and South Korea, Real Madrid star Ronaldo was on the short list, but he lost to cyclist Lance Armstrong. However he was rewarded with the Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award that year after his return to Brazil's team after a long term injury.
Laureus is a joint venture between DaimlerChrysler and Richemont, represented by the founding partner brands IWC and Mercedes-Benz.
Last year's Awards Ceremony, in the presence of His Majesty, The King of Spain, was attended by the legends of the Laureus World Sports Academy and Hollywood stars Jackie Chan, Morgan Freeman, Teri Hatcher and Marcia Gay Harden. Among the award winners present were Roger Federer, Kelly Holmes and Greece football coach Otto Rehhagel.
Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia, is a city with an enormous sporting tradition which has staged the most important sports events. The immensely successful 1992 Olympic Games gave a new impulse to sport in the city. Sport is a part of everyday life in Barcelona and during the past few years the number of high-level international championships staged in the city has multiplied. Therefore it is no surprise that Barcelona was chosen to host the Laureus World Sports Awards in 2006.
Barcelona is a Mediterranean and metropolitan city with the most modern facilities. Its unique architecture, artistic ambience and many tourist attractions have made Barcelona one of the most visited cities in the world. A business and leisure city, it is the ideal place to organise such an important moment of the sporting year - the Laureus Awards Ceremony.
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05/12/2006
Ronaldinho is man to watch at World Cup
All eyes will be on Ronaldinho when the 2006 World Cup begins next month.
No other player will attract as much attention as the Brazilian midfielder during the monthlong tournament in Germany — thanks to his nifty skills and dazzling moves, and to Bombom.
"He loved to play with me," Ronaldinho said. "When all my friends got bored, I would go play with him.
"We would stay battling for the ball all day. I had to work hard on my moves to keep him from getting the ball."
Bombom — and a soccer ball — were by Ronaldinho's side at all times as he grew up in a poor family in the southern Brazilian city of Porto Alegre, at a time when he didn't even dream of playing in a World Cup.
"We were inseparable, he was my great companion," Ronaldinho said of Bombom, which means "chocolate candy" in Portuguese.
And when Bombom wasn't available, Ronaldinho would find other opponents to test his skills.
"When it was raining, I would stay inside the house dribbling past chairs and tables," he said. "I always spent most of my time as a kid with a soccer ball. That helped me become good at it."
Now 26 and in his prime, Ronaldinho will enter the World Cup as the tournament's biggest star.
He has won the last two FIFA player of the year awards, and has led FC Barcelona to two consecutive Spanish league titles and to the Champions League final.
Few dispute his status at the best player in the world.
Maradona said recently that Ronaldinho is in a different class from other players, and that it's "fun to watch him play."
Pele celebrates his countryman just as highly, saying Ronaldinho is the player who gives fans "the most joy."
Ronaldinho enchants everyone with his impressive skills and nifty tricks — from the no-look pass to the "elastic" dribble, in which he fakes moving the ball in one direction and suddenly pulls it back the other way.
"I'm always trying to invent new things," he said recently. "But my goal is to win the World Cup again, I really don't care about giving a show or scoring a lot of goals."
Ronaldinho will be the focal point as the Brazilians go for a second consecutive world title — and sixth overall. No other country has more than three.
He was a member of the squad that won the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea, playing five matches and scoring two goals, including a spectacular free kick against England in the quarterfinals.
It was Ronaldinho's first World Cup, before he moved to Barcelona and into the elite of world soccer. He knows everyone will be expecting more from him this time around.
"It's normal, everyone's responsibility has increased because Brazil is the defending champion," Ronaldinho said. "But we are prepared, we'll do whatever is needed to win the Cup again."
Ronaldinho has 46 goals in 86 matches in Brazil's jersey, including a record 16 with the country's pre-Olympic team.
He led Brazil to titles in the 1999 Copa America and the 2000 pre-Olympic tournament, as well as in last year's Confederations Cup in Germany.
"Ronaldinho is in the best moment of his career," Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira said. "It's impressive how he is able to play well match after match."
The always smiling Ronaldinho began playing professionally not long after his street-ball days in Porto Alegre. He debuted with two-time Brazilian champion Gremio in 1996 as a 16-year-old.
He moved to France's Paris Saint-Germain in 2000, and then to Barcelona in 2003 in a deal worth $37 million. In 2005, he helped Barcelona win the Spanish league for the first time in six years.
Despite all his accomplishments, Ronaldinho thinks he needs to get better.
He recently said he needs to "mature a lot as a player," and improve in some areas of his game, such as left-footed shots.
And to get better, he still relies on an old habit. Bombom is not around any more, but Ronaldinho has found worthy replacements.
"My dogs in Spain also love to play ball," he told the Zero Hora newspaper recently. "I keep dribbling (with) them all the time, too."
from:http://www.usatoday.com/
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FIFA: Ronaldinho was the best of 2005
Ronaldinho earned his second straight FIFA World Player of the Year award for his amazing perfirmance with Brazil and FC Barcelona, beating out England's Frank Lampard and Cameroon's Samuel Eto'o.Ronaldinho Gaucho won the poll of national team coaches and captains with 960 points, easily outdistancing Lampard, who had 306 points. Teammate Eto'o was third with 190.
"It's a great joy to be able to keep up this high level of performance the last years and I hope to be able to come back here over and over again," Ronaldinho said.
The Barcelona striker became the third player to win the award twice since its inception in 1991. Ronaldo of Brazil and Zinedine Zidane of France have taken the prize three times.
Brazilian players have earned the award seven of the 15 times it has been given. On Monday, FIFA honored Brazil as the best team for the fourth year in a row.
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Hand of God touches Ronaldinho's head
Diego Maradona is considering the possibility of coaching Argentina after the World Cup, and believes Ronaldinho is in a different class to other players.
Maradona made the comments shortly after arriving in Brazil late Friday for an indoor soccer friendly between former national team players from Brazil and Argentina.
"Yeah, I'm considering the possibility of coaching Argentina," Maradona said. "But it's hard to talk about this right now, when we have (Jose) Pekerman on the job and just before the Cup. This is something for the future."
Maradona's agent and former player, Alejandro Mancuso, confirmed the star's intentions.
"His name is always mentioned when there's talk about the national team's coach," Mancuso said. "He wants to do it, of course."
However, Maradona said Pekerman would likely secure his job for a long time if Argentina wins the World Cup in Germany. "Then I could become an option for the youth squads, or as a coordinator, we'll see," Maradona said.
The Argentine great hailed Brazil midfielder Ronaldinho as the best player in the world, and said he was playing at a different level to other players.
"It's a lot of fun to watch him play," Maradona said. "He does incredible things with the ball."
Ronaldinho, FIFA's player of the year for the past two seasons, helped Brazil win their fifth world title in 2002.
Maradona joined former national team players Mancuso, Jose Basualdo, Sergio Goycochea and Jorge Burruchaga during the friendly drawn 6-6 with a Brazil side including Dunga, Bebeto, Zetti, Aldair, Careca and Muller.
Maradona was named the game's most valuable player. It was the third match between the squads. Argentina won the first 8-4 in Brasilia, and the teams drew the second 7-7 in Buenos Aires. Another friendly will be played on April 29 in Cordoba, Argentina
from:http://www.hindustantimes.com/
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