Ronaldinho Born: Football's Smiling Genius

Before the tricks, the no-look passes, and two FIFA World Player of the Year awards, Ronaldo de Assis Moreira was a barefoot kid playing futsal on the streets of Porto Alegre, Brazil. Born on March 21, 1980, in the working-class neighborhood of Vila Nova, Ronaldinho grew up in a family where football was everything. His father had been a footballer at Gremio, and his older brother Roberto played professionally. Ronaldinho joined Gremio's youth academy, and by 17 he was electrifying Brazilian football with dribbling that looked like it violated physics. His performances at the 1999 Copa America and 2002 World Cup made him one of the most coveted players on Earth. At the World Cup quarterfinal against England, he scored a free kick from 40 yards that sailed over David Seaman's head, a goal that seemed simultaneously deliberate and impossible. Barcelona signed him in 2003, and within two years he had transformed the club. His 2005-2006 season ranks among the greatest individual campaigns in football history: he won the Ballon d'Or, led Barca to the Champions League title, and earned a standing ovation from Real Madrid fans at the Bernabeu after a virtuoso performance. That standing ovation from a rival crowd had happened only once before, for Maradona. His decline was as dramatic as his rise. Nightlife and a lack of discipline eroded his fitness by his late twenties, and Barcelona sold him to AC Milan in 2008. But Ronaldinho's legacy was never about longevity. At his peak, he played football with a joy so infectious that opponents forgot to be angry, and audiences forgot they were watching a sport rather than art.