World Cup Player Profile: Ronaldinho Gaucho

What do superstar atheletes Ronaldinho, Roger Federer, LeBron James, and Tiger Woods have in common?

Nothing. Believe it or not, Ronaldinho is in his own class above the rest.

All eyes will be on Ronaldinho as the 2006 World Cup moves forward with the group stage matches. No other player will attract as much attention as the Brasilian midfielder during the month long tournament in Germany - thanks to his nasty skills and buck moves courtesy of Bombom, his childhood dog that Ronaldinho says he learned all his moves from. Today he is the best soccer player in the world, praised by Pele and Diego Maradona. Bombom and a soccer ball were by Ronaldinho's side at all times as he grew up in a poor family in the hoods of Brasil, at a time when playing in the World Cup wasn't even a dream.

"He loved to play with me," Ronaldinho said. "When all my friends got bored, I would go play with him. We would stay battling for the ball all day. I had to work hard on my moves to keep him from getting the ball."

Now 26 and in his prime, Ronaldinho will enter the World Cup as the tournament's biggest star. He has won the last two FIFA player of the year awards, and has led FC Barcelona to two consecutive Spanish league titles and to the Champions League title.

Ronaldinho enchants everyone with his tricks from the no-look pass to the "elastic" dribble, in which he fakes moving the ball in one direction and suddenly pulls it back the other way.

Ronaldinho will be integral as the Brasilians go for a second consecutive world title. He was a member of the squad that won the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea, playing five matches and scoring two goals, including a spectacular free kick against England in the quarterfinals. It was Ronaldinho's first World Cup, before he moved to Barcelona and into the elite of world soccer. He knows everyone will be expecting more from him this time around.

"It's normal, everyone's responsibility has increased because Brasil is the defending champion," Ronaldinho said. "But we are prepared, we'll do whatever is needed to win the Cup again."