Ronaldo De Assis Moreira: The greatest ever

This man has done everything that is possible in the world of club and country football. He has beaten the best of teams, played with the best of players and won the highest awards. It’s regretful, really, that this incredible, true God of football won just one Ballon d’Or. If only it was in my hands. Who is Messi? Sorry, I never heard of him.

For some reason, the name Ronaldo always seems to mean legend. Brazilian Ronaldo, Ronaldo de Assis Moreira and now even Cristiano Ronaldo, all have been lethal in their game.

Ronaldinho was born in Porto Alegre, which is the capital of Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost state in Brazil. By the way, ‘Rio Grande do Sul’ means ‘Great River of the South’.

The great river produced one great player. Ronaldinho is one true Bollywood style success story, coming up from poverty and through his sheer talent and indomitable spirit, he did everything we expect a great player to do. Of course, he is not the only player to have a Rags to Riches story, but the fact that he did it is what matters. He lived in a wooden house in a slum and his family was very poor. He lost his father at the age of eight. His luck turned when his brother Roberto signed with Gremio and they gave him a house in a better part of the city. Then ‘Dinho signed for Gremio and the rest is history.

Dinho’s best form was neither displayed at Gremio nor at PSG. Most people will agree that he was at his prime at Barcelona. I saw him play at Barcelona and since then, I have been an admirer of this man. I followed his progress to Milan as well, even though I didn’t support them. Ronaldinho mesmerized me with is incredible acrobatics, his insane dribbling skills, his vision and ability in the game. His assists, his skills and his control are all unparalleled. His scissor kicks (or bicycle kicks) are still fresh in my mind, and I never get tired of watching them on TV, again and again.

But that is not all. He has the unique ability to create goalscoring passes, solo goals, dribbles, skills; in fact, if anything exists in football, he can do it. Rui Costa had said about Ronaldinho:

There are not many players who can offer goalscoring passes like he can. He is just marvellous. He is a rare case of a player who can provide the ball from anywhere.

Ronaldinho did not limit himself to just club football. He won the FIFA World Cup in 2002 and though he netted only twice, he provided a number of crucial assists. I think he is the most complete player I have seen yet. People call Messi as the next Maradona, Neymar as the next Pele. But no one has ever been called the next Ronaldinho.

What else does a man need to do to be called the greatest ever (in this generation)? Does he need to score for his club? Win World Player of the Year and Ballon d’Or award? Win champions league, domestic league and other club competitions? And country, does he need to win the continental league? And the highest honour ever, World Cup? He has won everything. There can be no denying the fact that he is a great performer. And he is not limited to just netting goals. He scores them with style, elegance and grace. He is definitely the most talented footballer I have ever seen.

He has an unparalleled skill set. He defines the term Joga Bonito – ‘play beautifully’. You have surely seen that Nike advert in which he wears a new set of predator boots and volleys the ball repeatedly against the crossbar and it doesn’t even touch the ground. I don’t think any Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo could ever do that.

In fact, I think Ronaldinho is the only striker I am actually a fan of, ever since I saw him play in Barcelona. I am not really a fan of forwards and my favorite player is Carles Puyol.

But Ronaldinho is surely the greatest player this generation has had the honour to observe. It doesn’t matter which club he plays for, he always brings a moment of sheer magic when he has the ball. This is one man who with the ball, has managed to have the whole world at his feet. Legends bow down to this great phenomenon of football we know as Ronaldinho.