第三篇 Pretty Good

　　When Spanish football club Barcelona paid US$35 million for Ronaldinho last summer, they weren’t buying a pretty face. “I am ugly ,” admits the Brazilian superstar. “But everyone has got a different kind of beauty. What I do have is charm.”

　　Indeed he has. His buck teeth1, flowing hair2, big smile, and of course his amazing skills are always eye-catching3 on the pitch. The 23-year-old striker scored two goals in a 3-2 win over Deportivo La Coruna on March 1. It was Barcelona’s sixth win in a row and, thanks to their Brazilian’s 10-goal contribution, what looked like a poor season could now end a success.

　　Ronaldinho—full name Ronaldo De Assis Moreira—is one of many South Americans who learned their skills playing in the backstreets before showing them off4 on the world stage.

　　Great things were expected when Gremio signed him as a seven-year-old5, and he soon became friends with Ronaldo, who was then the other young star of Brazilian football. It was Ronaldo who first called him Ronaldinho, which means Little Ronaldo, and the name stuck.

　　He first played for his country in 1999 but it was at the 2002 World Cup where he showed his real worth, scoring an unbelievable free-kick in Brazil’s quarter-final victory over England.

　　“I have never failed to deliver in big matches,” Ronaldinho says. “My game is based on improvisation. Often a forward does not have the time to decide whether to shoot or pass. It is instinct that gives out the orders.”

　　While he may not have David Beckham’s good looks, Ronaldinho has a playboy reputation off the pitch. At former club Paris Saint Germain, which sold him to Barcelona, he broke club rules by going out and enjoying the city’s nightlife.7

　　“Without doubt, Ronaldinho is the most difficult player I have ever come across,” says former PSG coach Luis Ferdandez. “The main problem for any coach is that one player without discipline can hurt the whole team.”

　　But Ronaldinho doesn’t think he has done anything wrong. “I am just a young person who enjoys life ,” he says.