With tears in his eyes, Ronaldinho inducted into the World Soccer Hall of Fame

With tears of joy, and presented by Rafael Marquez, one of his best friends at Barcelona who won the 2005 UEFA Champions League final in Paris against Arsenal, Ronaldinho led the tenth induction into the World Soccer Hall of Fame held after two years of cancellation due to COVID-19 in Pachuca, Mexico on Tuesday night.

Joining the Brazilian star were Italian defender Fabio Cannavaro, Spanish striker Raul Gonzalez, Brazilian midfielder Roberto Carlos and Swedish coach Pia Mariane Sunhage.

Ronaldinho

Ronaldinho won practically everything in his career as a footballer in which he played for eight clubs from 1998 to 2015, among his most outstanding achievements were winning the 2002 World Cup in South Korea/Japan with the Canarinha, the Copa America in Paraguay 1999, the Confederations Cup in 2005 and the aforementioned Champions League in 2005, year in which he won the Golden Ball.

However, he stands out for his smile and unique talent that made teammates and rivals admire him.

Fabio Cannavaro

Fabio Cannavaro’s career lasted from 1991 to 2011 and he is mostly remembered at club level for his time with Juventus and Real Madrid.

His greatest achievement was winning the 2006 World Cup in Germany with the Italian national team, being the captain of that team and also being recognized with the Golden Ball award that year.

Raúl

To talk about Raúl González Blanco is to talk about a glory of Real Madrid and the Spanish national team, being the player with the most games played in the history of the team that has won the most UEFA Champions League with 741 from 1994 to 2010.

Another great achievement of Raúl’s career that distinguishes him from the rest is that he never received a red card in his entire career.

Roberto Carlos

Roberto Carlos is one of the best full backs in the history of soccer, playing 370 of his 593 club level games for Real Madrid.

He is remembered for a fantastic free kick goal with a never-before-seen lob in a friendly game between Brazil and France in 1997, however, his greatest achievement came five years later when he and Ronaldinho won the 2002 World Cup in South Korea/Japan.

Pia Sundhage

Finally, Swedish coach Pia Mariane Sundhage received this well-deserved recognition after leading the USWNT to gold medals at the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Olympic Games.

She was named FIFA Coach of the Year in 2012 and was a finalist for the same award in 2010, 2011 and 2013.

Credit: Marca