This is the full version I think, although the relevent stuff were picked out in the reports earlier today though:
'I want a big club playing big games all the time'
The Interview - Ronaldinho: Behind the samba image is a dedicated footballer yearning to stretch his talents. Old Trafford could be his stage. Alex Hayes meets him in Paris
01 June 2003
They say one man's dream is another one's nightmare, and in the case of Ronaldo de Assis Moreira and David Seaman, that may soon be true. Should the Brazilian known as Ronaldinho get the move to Manchester United that he says "makes me dream", he will not just come face to face with the possibly City-bound Englishman next season, he could also be his neighbour. Talk about being too close for comfort.
Seaman, who was so famously lobbed by Ronaldinho's devastating long-range free-kick during last summer's World Cup quarter-final, can at least sleep easy for a few more nights, because no official transfer has yet been ratified between the English champions and Paris Saint-Germain. However, the former national goalkeeper should be left in no doubt that his Brazilian nemesis is extremely keen to come to the Premiership.
In an exclusive interview with the Independent on Sunday, Ronaldinho has indicated for the first time that he has a "burning desire to play for Manchester United". That is hardly the news Seaman wanted to hear, although the much-criticised 39-year-old might find some solace in Ronaldinho's admission thatthat goal in Shizuoka was "never meant quite like that".
But first the nightmare - and it won't just be Seaman's, but that of every Premiership keeper. It is no secret that Sir Alex Ferguson sees Ronaldinho as the perfect foil for his prolific Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy. United's manager has been back and forth to France since the Premiership season ended, sweet-talking the new PSG chief executive, Francis Graille, and trying to persuade him to part with his prize asset.
What no one was really sure about was whether the player himself was keen on a switch to Manchester. Until now. "I admire Manchester United," says Ronaldinho, who last week met with Vahid Halilhodzic, the man who will replace the departing PSG manager, Luis Fernandez, and told him that he wanted to leave. "And I love watching them play. Of course I would like to be at a great club like that - anybody would. The idea of joining Manchester United makes me dream, because they are a big, successful club and play my kind of football. I have a burning desire to be involved with a club that plays in big games all the time."
No match was more important in creating Ronaldinho's current image than last summer's World Cup quarter-final against England. That day, Ronaldinho experienced every emotion imaginable: going a goal behind relatively early on, creating the opening for the equaliser, scoring the winner and then being sent off. "It was a real roller-coaster of a game," he recalls, "and one that I won't forget in a hurry."
Nor, of course, will Seaman, whose entire career seems to have been tarnished by that one aberration in the second half. So was it a shot or a cross? Ronaldinho, who, at 6ft, is taller in the flesh than one would expect from the television screen, sits up: "Definitely a shot," he says before adding cheekily, "although if I'm being totally honest I was aiming for the other side of the net."
In other words, it was a fluke. "No, no, you cannot say that, because I was aware of the keeper's position and went for the shot at goal. The fact that it did not go in exactly how I planned is secondary to the fact that I was having a go.
"What basically happened is that I hit my shot too hard and, as it travelled through the air, it swerved more and ended up looping Seaman. There was nothing he could do about it, and I suppose there was an element of luck involved, but a goal is a goal. It's irrelevant how it goes in, and I'm just really pleased I got it. Had I not scored that goal, I doubt whether any of the big clubs would be showing such keen interest in me now."
Those clubs are Juventus, Internazionale and, of course, Manchester United. The English champions have spent big before, but few of their transfers have generated comparable excitement. Perhaps this is because few of their previous purchases were truly world-renowned before their arrival. Ronaldinho, though, is different: the Brazilian is a World Cup winner who is instantly recognisable on all five continents. Ronaldinho is a genuine superstar.
It is this status that makes one wonder whether United can pull off the transfer. Big money, very big money, will be needed to lure the 23-year-old, as will an in-depth understanding of the player. Ronaldinho is not, as has been reported in some quarters, a brat or a prima donna. He is represented by two of his siblings, but the comparisons with another former PSG youngster, Nicolas Anelka, end there. Throughout our interview he was charming and cheerful, and no question was off-limits.
That said, Ronaldinho's bonhomie should not detract from the fact that he is an exceptional and mercurial talent who requires astute man-management. Fernandez, his former coach at PSG, could never accept or understand Ronaldinho's ways. Sir Alex, though, has an excellent track record when it comes to coaxing the best out of temperamental players. Eric Cantona, Roy Keane and Paul Ince are just three of the Scot's success stories over the past 17 years at Old Trafford.
Whether Ferguson will tolerate a young Latin male with a penchant for late-night clubs remains to be seen, although most would argue that a little off-field titillation is a small price to pay for on-field magic. Any attacking player who manages to create a role for himself in the World Cup-winning side of 2002 has to be special.
"But also prepared to work hard," interjects Ronaldinho, who insists he could play for United as a wide player or in his preferred role, behind the front man. "If you want to play for Brazil, you cannot be lazy. Despite the image that some people seem to have forged for themselves, representing Brazil is a tough thing to do. It's not all fun and games."
Perhaps not, but last summer's group of players gave the impression they were thoroughly enjoying their time in Japan and South Korea. Led by the divine trinity of the three Rs - Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho - they swept all before them.
"It was a wonderful experience," says the man christened Ronaldo but called Ronaldinho (little Ronaldo) because of the older player with the same name in the team. "When I was growing up, I never could have imagined that I would be at a World Cup, let alone win one. It is every schoolboy's dream, and I feel very privileged it has come true for me. There were times when I would look at the players around me and really have to pinch myself."
Ronaldinho, who has come a long way since he was a prodigy at Gremio Porto Alegre in his native Brazil, adds: "When I was told I'd be in the squad I was really excited, but then I got to the Far East and thought to myself: 'Go for it. Prove to the manager that you deserve to be in the starting XI'. I worked hard in training and was given my chance. Thankfully, I took it and haven't really looked back since. I think I can safely say that the World Cup was the making of me."
On the world stage, Ronaldinho has gone from strength to strength; but at club level, he has had a poor season. As World Cup hangovers go, the Brazilian's has been a stinker: out of favour with Fernandez and out of the Paris first team for long periods as a result, the last nine months in the French capital have been anything but pleasant. "I think it is quite normal for a player to have ups and downs during a career," is Ronaldinho's polite verdict, but the common consensus is that he has grown tired of PSG's lack of ambition, not to mention results.
Ronaldinho wants to be competing for trophies and rubbing shoulders with the best players in the world. "I often watch my great friend Gilberto Silva on TV," says Ronaldinho, who will not be linking up with the rested Arsenal man for the Confederations Cup in France later this month, "and I'm really proud of him, because he has proved that Brazilian players can adapt to the rigours of the Premier League. When I see him with Brazil, he tells me of all the great times he is having in England." Better still, Gilberto shares his Champions' League tales. "I must admit that I look at that competition and it makes me desperate to get involved," Ronaldinho says. "It's like being a kid by a pool: you just want to jump in."
Truth be told, Ronaldinho has already taken the plunge. Moments before our interview, the Brazilian was playing his best friend Tiago at Playstation football. "I am often Brazil," he jokes, "because I know all the team's players and moves pretty well. But I also enjoy trying to win the Champions' League."
With which club he would not say, but the pause and smile that followed the obvious question told you that Ronaldinho has already played for Manchester United in the fantasy world. It may not be long before he does so for real.
Biography: Ronaldo de Assis Moreira
Born: 21 March 1980 in Porto Alegre.
Height: 1.8m. Weight: 76kg.
Club: Paris Saint-Germain.
For Brazil: 31 caps, 12 goals. Debut v Latvia (26 June 1999).
Family background: Father was a footballer, brother Roberto had long career with Gremio Porto Alegre.
Ronaldinho's rise: Top scorer at the Fifa U17 World Championship in 1997. At the Copa America in 1999, he scored an unforgettable goal against Venezuela. Signed for Gremio in 1998, then joined Paris Saint-Germain in 2001. Top-scorer in 2000 Fifa Confederations Cup and in qualifying for 2000 Olympics.
-------------------------------------------------
<a href="http://sport.independent.co.uk/football/news/story.jsp?story=411345" target="_blank">http://sport.independent.co.uk/football/news/story.jsp?story=411345</a>
'I want a big club playing big games all the time'
The Interview - Ronaldinho: Behind the samba image is a dedicated footballer yearning to stretch his talents. Old Trafford could be his stage. Alex Hayes meets him in Paris
01 June 2003
They say one man's dream is another one's nightmare, and in the case of Ronaldo de Assis Moreira and David Seaman, that may soon be true. Should the Brazilian known as Ronaldinho get the move to Manchester United that he says "makes me dream", he will not just come face to face with the possibly City-bound Englishman next season, he could also be his neighbour. Talk about being too close for comfort.
Seaman, who was so famously lobbed by Ronaldinho's devastating long-range free-kick during last summer's World Cup quarter-final, can at least sleep easy for a few more nights, because no official transfer has yet been ratified between the English champions and Paris Saint-Germain. However, the former national goalkeeper should be left in no doubt that his Brazilian nemesis is extremely keen to come to the Premiership.
In an exclusive interview with the Independent on Sunday, Ronaldinho has indicated for the first time that he has a "burning desire to play for Manchester United". That is hardly the news Seaman wanted to hear, although the much-criticised 39-year-old might find some solace in Ronaldinho's admission thatthat goal in Shizuoka was "never meant quite like that".
But first the nightmare - and it won't just be Seaman's, but that of every Premiership keeper. It is no secret that Sir Alex Ferguson sees Ronaldinho as the perfect foil for his prolific Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy. United's manager has been back and forth to France since the Premiership season ended, sweet-talking the new PSG chief executive, Francis Graille, and trying to persuade him to part with his prize asset.
What no one was really sure about was whether the player himself was keen on a switch to Manchester. Until now. "I admire Manchester United," says Ronaldinho, who last week met with Vahid Halilhodzic, the man who will replace the departing PSG manager, Luis Fernandez, and told him that he wanted to leave. "And I love watching them play. Of course I would like to be at a great club like that - anybody would. The idea of joining Manchester United makes me dream, because they are a big, successful club and play my kind of football. I have a burning desire to be involved with a club that plays in big games all the time."
No match was more important in creating Ronaldinho's current image than last summer's World Cup quarter-final against England. That day, Ronaldinho experienced every emotion imaginable: going a goal behind relatively early on, creating the opening for the equaliser, scoring the winner and then being sent off. "It was a real roller-coaster of a game," he recalls, "and one that I won't forget in a hurry."
Nor, of course, will Seaman, whose entire career seems to have been tarnished by that one aberration in the second half. So was it a shot or a cross? Ronaldinho, who, at 6ft, is taller in the flesh than one would expect from the television screen, sits up: "Definitely a shot," he says before adding cheekily, "although if I'm being totally honest I was aiming for the other side of the net."
In other words, it was a fluke. "No, no, you cannot say that, because I was aware of the keeper's position and went for the shot at goal. The fact that it did not go in exactly how I planned is secondary to the fact that I was having a go.
"What basically happened is that I hit my shot too hard and, as it travelled through the air, it swerved more and ended up looping Seaman. There was nothing he could do about it, and I suppose there was an element of luck involved, but a goal is a goal. It's irrelevant how it goes in, and I'm just really pleased I got it. Had I not scored that goal, I doubt whether any of the big clubs would be showing such keen interest in me now."
Those clubs are Juventus, Internazionale and, of course, Manchester United. The English champions have spent big before, but few of their transfers have generated comparable excitement. Perhaps this is because few of their previous purchases were truly world-renowned before their arrival. Ronaldinho, though, is different: the Brazilian is a World Cup winner who is instantly recognisable on all five continents. Ronaldinho is a genuine superstar.
It is this status that makes one wonder whether United can pull off the transfer. Big money, very big money, will be needed to lure the 23-year-old, as will an in-depth understanding of the player. Ronaldinho is not, as has been reported in some quarters, a brat or a prima donna. He is represented by two of his siblings, but the comparisons with another former PSG youngster, Nicolas Anelka, end there. Throughout our interview he was charming and cheerful, and no question was off-limits.
That said, Ronaldinho's bonhomie should not detract from the fact that he is an exceptional and mercurial talent who requires astute man-management. Fernandez, his former coach at PSG, could never accept or understand Ronaldinho's ways. Sir Alex, though, has an excellent track record when it comes to coaxing the best out of temperamental players. Eric Cantona, Roy Keane and Paul Ince are just three of the Scot's success stories over the past 17 years at Old Trafford.
Whether Ferguson will tolerate a young Latin male with a penchant for late-night clubs remains to be seen, although most would argue that a little off-field titillation is a small price to pay for on-field magic. Any attacking player who manages to create a role for himself in the World Cup-winning side of 2002 has to be special.
"But also prepared to work hard," interjects Ronaldinho, who insists he could play for United as a wide player or in his preferred role, behind the front man. "If you want to play for Brazil, you cannot be lazy. Despite the image that some people seem to have forged for themselves, representing Brazil is a tough thing to do. It's not all fun and games."
Perhaps not, but last summer's group of players gave the impression they were thoroughly enjoying their time in Japan and South Korea. Led by the divine trinity of the three Rs - Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho - they swept all before them.
"It was a wonderful experience," says the man christened Ronaldo but called Ronaldinho (little Ronaldo) because of the older player with the same name in the team. "When I was growing up, I never could have imagined that I would be at a World Cup, let alone win one. It is every schoolboy's dream, and I feel very privileged it has come true for me. There were times when I would look at the players around me and really have to pinch myself."
Ronaldinho, who has come a long way since he was a prodigy at Gremio Porto Alegre in his native Brazil, adds: "When I was told I'd be in the squad I was really excited, but then I got to the Far East and thought to myself: 'Go for it. Prove to the manager that you deserve to be in the starting XI'. I worked hard in training and was given my chance. Thankfully, I took it and haven't really looked back since. I think I can safely say that the World Cup was the making of me."
On the world stage, Ronaldinho has gone from strength to strength; but at club level, he has had a poor season. As World Cup hangovers go, the Brazilian's has been a stinker: out of favour with Fernandez and out of the Paris first team for long periods as a result, the last nine months in the French capital have been anything but pleasant. "I think it is quite normal for a player to have ups and downs during a career," is Ronaldinho's polite verdict, but the common consensus is that he has grown tired of PSG's lack of ambition, not to mention results.
Ronaldinho wants to be competing for trophies and rubbing shoulders with the best players in the world. "I often watch my great friend Gilberto Silva on TV," says Ronaldinho, who will not be linking up with the rested Arsenal man for the Confederations Cup in France later this month, "and I'm really proud of him, because he has proved that Brazilian players can adapt to the rigours of the Premier League. When I see him with Brazil, he tells me of all the great times he is having in England." Better still, Gilberto shares his Champions' League tales. "I must admit that I look at that competition and it makes me desperate to get involved," Ronaldinho says. "It's like being a kid by a pool: you just want to jump in."
Truth be told, Ronaldinho has already taken the plunge. Moments before our interview, the Brazilian was playing his best friend Tiago at Playstation football. "I am often Brazil," he jokes, "because I know all the team's players and moves pretty well. But I also enjoy trying to win the Champions' League."
With which club he would not say, but the pause and smile that followed the obvious question told you that Ronaldinho has already played for Manchester United in the fantasy world. It may not be long before he does so for real.
Biography: Ronaldo de Assis Moreira
Born: 21 March 1980 in Porto Alegre.
Height: 1.8m. Weight: 76kg.
Club: Paris Saint-Germain.
For Brazil: 31 caps, 12 goals. Debut v Latvia (26 June 1999).
Family background: Father was a footballer, brother Roberto had long career with Gremio Porto Alegre.
Ronaldinho's rise: Top scorer at the Fifa U17 World Championship in 1997. At the Copa America in 1999, he scored an unforgettable goal against Venezuela. Signed for Gremio in 1998, then joined Paris Saint-Germain in 2001. Top-scorer in 2000 Fifa Confederations Cup and in qualifying for 2000 Olympics.
-------------------------------------------------
<a href="http://sport.independent.co.uk/football/news/story.jsp?story=411345" target="_blank">http://sport.independent.co.uk/football/news/story.jsp?story=411345</a>
