FCBARCELONA.CAT

16.07.2008 09:14

The smile and the magic

www.fcbarcelona.cat

On 19 July 2003 FC Barcelona officially announced it had signed Ronaldo de Assis Moreira, “Ronaldinho”, from Paris Saint Germain.

Ronaldinho needed a club like Barça and Barça needed a footballer like Ronaldinho. Young, with as yet untapped talent and eager for titles and glory, the Brazilian was the new Barça number 10 and brought excitement back to the Camp Nou.

His magic spread to members, fans and his team-mates: the away match at Real Madrid in the 05/06 season, his bicycle kick goal against Vila-real in the Camp Nou last season, his free kicks, a Golden Ball, twice being FIFA World Player and his smile are just some of the things that have set Ronaldo de Assis Moreira apart over the last five seasons.

His debut

Ronaldinho’s first competitive match for Barça was on 30 August 2003, at San Mamés against Athletic de Bilbao. Ronnie played all 90 minutes and helped to get the first League victory for the season as Barça ran out winners by 0-1.

Just four days later the Brazilian made his competitive Camp Nou debut in the ‘midnight game’ against Seville in which he scored the first of many spectacular goals.

His numbers

Ronaldinho has played in 207 competitive matches for FC Barcelona: 145 in the League; 13 in the King’s Cup; 7 in the UEFA Cup; 35 in the Champions League; 4 in the Spanish Super Cup; 1 in the UEFA Super Cup; and 2 in the World Club Championship.

Ronnie has scored 94 goals in these official games. He found the net most times in the 2006/07 season, notching 29 in all competitions and achieving his League record of 21 in 31 games.

Last season

Injuries meant that Ronaldinho was not able to play to his full potential last season as a series of muscle problems after Christmas kept him off the pitch. Even so, he scored 9 times in the 07/08 campaign (8 in the League and 1 in the Champions League) while playing in 26 competitive games in three