Ronaldinho: A Dog Helped Me Learn To Play

Ronaldinho has revealed that a dog helped him to learn to play football and to develop the silky skills and tricks that made him into one of the best players ever.

The Brazilian explained that a pooch in his neighbourhood in Porto Alegre, Brazil would keep him company after the other boys int he area had gone home and would chase the ball around with him.

With Ronaldinho's future up in the air at Barcelona and his fitness and form being questioned, it is no surprise that he became nostalgic when interviewed by British magazine My Free Sport.

When asked about the dog in question, the former PSG star said: “Sure, Bon Bon. I learned to play football on the street back in Porto Alegre. We had no pitches, just a street, but I’d play for so long that the other boys would go home, leaving just me and Bon Bon. So I’d play with him.”

“For a dog, he was good. He could keep hold of the ball, but he didn’t know the rules because he was a dog. He was the best dog in the area, though – he had a very good right foot!”

Growing up playing football, Ronaldinho never dreamt about anything else, but now he combines his love of the beautiful game with his enjoyment of music.

“When I was a little boy, I didn’t imagine that I would do anything different. My brother Roberto was a footballer, and he was my idol. He played in Brazil, for Gremio, and then in Switzerland with Sion. I wanted to follow him and stayed with him each summer in Europe," he explained.

"My father worked as a security guard at the stadium of Gremio, and my family still supports them. It was always football, football, football, although music is my other love, so maybe I would have liked to have been involved in that. I love samba and Pagode, which comes from samba and is popular in the south of Brazil.

"I have played in bands, and sometimes I practise with friends in a group in Barcelona. I wear a mask, though, to make sure people don’t recognise me!”

Lucas Brown, Goal.com