The World of Xiao Luo - The Biography of Ronaldinho

Author: Li Xiangning / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: Talent is born in Brazil, and children will always have a ball to play with. When Jao was young, he and his friends loved to play soccer and always fought for the No. 10 position. But later, he couldn’t prove himself capable of handling it. As he grew older, he had to settle for standing in the goal, becoming a goalkeeper. This position suited him well, at least allowing him to fulfill his dream of becoming a professional player, and later even becoming a goalkeeper for the big club Cruzeiro. That should have been enough, and he could be considered successful, but he always felt a sense of lingering resentment. Until one day, he realized his football dream was destined to end, he chose to retire, hang up his boots, and gloves, and decided to build a star with his lover, Migelina. Their romantic relationship was established around that time, and their method of "building stars" was to have children and teach them to play soccer. He couldn’t be Pelé, so he wanted his son to be Pelé. When his two sons, Assis and Ronaldinho, were born, Jao was overjoyed—the dream of building a Pelé had taken a step forward. "They have football genes," Jao would tell everyone, and having sons made him incredibly proud. Jao and his family lived in the southern Brazilian city of Porto Alegre in Rio Grande do Sul, in a poor town called Caxias do Sul. It was a place where the lower class gathered, and outsiders called them "Gauchos." Gauchos were originally the indigenous nomadic people in Argentine history, but in this context, they were used locally to refer to the people, with little actual connection to the true Gaucho ethnicity. The residents of southern Brazil were primarily of European descent, with a low proportion of Black and mixed-race people, which was another explanation for why Jao’s family, as a minority, was called Gauchos. Since the so-called "Brazilian Miracle" of the 1960s, the country’s economy has not been ideal, with frequent economic crises. After retiring, Jao found it difficult to find a suitable job. Eventually, he landed a small position at the famous Grêmio Club as a parking lot attendant. He was happy because the job was close to football, almost like working in his old profession, and it helped him achieve his goals. He said, "One day, my son will play on this club’s field, and he will become famous here." Under Jao’s strict, family-style training, the initial realization of the dream came according to his timeline. His older son, Assis, made a name for himself and was signed by Grêmio Club. Assis certainly inherited his father’s genes, later becoming a star for Grêmio and even being seen as a hope for Brazilian football. However, when foreign agents came and took him to Switzerland, and then to Portugal, the family attributed this to his failure to become a top star. Jao’s other hope was on his younger son, Ronaldinho, who was called Ad?o at home. Ad?o played soccer with even more passion than his older brother, never getting enough of the game. But he was also obsessed with other things, like samba. He was full of energy and never stopped dancing samba. His mother, Migelina, tried to persuade him to spend more time studying, like reading books or doing homework, but her words had no effect on young Ad?o. P28-29 Ronaldinho quickly made a name for himself in Grêmio’s youth team, joining the club at just 6 years old. His agility and speed were exceptional. When it comes to the youngest footballer to give media interviews, Ronaldinho might hold the record. At just 6, he scored 23 goals in a single match. It was an incredible feat, and the newspapers certainly couldn’t miss this small miracle.