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Ronaldinho expects to face tough defense at World Cup
Ronaldinho knows being the best player in the world has its burdens. One of them is to face defenders extra motivated trying to stop him at the World Cup.
- Indo-Asian News Service
- Updated: February 25, 2007 10:34 AM IST
Read Time:2 min
Koenigstein, Germany:
Ronaldinho knows being the best player in the world has its burdens. One of them will be to face defenders extra motivated trying to stop him at the World Cup. "I've been facing tough defense for quite some time with Barcelona and the national team. It's not going to be any different in the World Cup," Ronaldinho said before one of Brazil's practice sessions in Koenigstein. Ronaldinho, named FIFA player of the year for the last two consecutive times, will be leading Brazil on its quest to win its second straight World Cup title - and sixth overall. "All nations try to set up the best defense in the world when they are facing Brazil. We know we will face a lot of difficulty because of that. Everybody plays very defensively against Brazil," he said. The striker, who helped FC Barcelona win the Spanish title and the Champions League earlier this year, said he doesn't want extra pressure because of his status of best in the world. "I think everybody in the team has the same responsibility. What I have is a lot of motivation to play my best. I'm going through a wonderful moment and I hope to get to the World Cup at the same level." Ronaldinho, 26, also said he's not worried about his scoring drought during the team's pre-World Cup preparation. He netted no goals in the three warm-up matches in which Brazil outscored its opponents - Swiss club FC Lucerne, Fluminense's under-20 squad and New Zealand - by 25-1. Ronaldinho said that his job in the national team was to help the forwards score. Ronaldinho will be playing in his second World Cup. He was a member of the squad that won Brazil's fifth title at the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea. Ronaldinho has 46 goals in 88 matches for Brazil. Ronaldinho on Tuesday proudly distributed to teammates the first issue of the Brazilian comic book in which he is a toothy, boyish character possessing the soccer wizardry of his namesake, the Brazilian Soccer Confederation said. The deal for the player's comic book series was closed last year in Brazil. (AP)Topics mentioned in this article
Football Brazil
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