THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAO PAULO, Brazil — Ronaldinho is hoping his return to Brazilian football will help him regain a place in the national team so he can play in the World Cup in Brazil in 2014.
A day after signing with popular club Flamengo, Ronaldinho said Tuesday on the team’s website that he expects his stint in Brazil will help him reach his goal to thrive with the national team again.
"(The fans) can expect the most from me," the 30-year-old Ronaldinho said. "I returned to Brazil to play for Flamengo and give (my best). And of course, I hope that my work here will put me back in the national team."
Ronaldinho helped Brazil win the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan, but disappointed in the 2006 tournament in Germany and didn’t even make the team for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
He played sparingly under coach Dunga after 2006, but new coach Mano Menezes brought Ronaldinho back to the national team for Brazil’s latest friendly, a 1-0 loss to Argentina in Qatar.
The two-time FIFA player of the year is ending a 10-year period in Europe, transferring from AC Milan to sign a four-year contract with Flamengo, Brazil’s most popular club.
"I can already imagine these fans in a packed stadium," he said. "They can expect a lot of devotion from me."
Ronaldinho is expected to be officially introduced to the team’s supporters on Wednesday, but his debut will not likely occur before February in the Rio de Janeiro state championship.
The team’s site went off the air for several minutes when the deal with Ronaldinho was announced late Monday night, and the club said that it received three times more traffic than when Flamengo won its sixth national championship in 2009.
Flamengo jersey’s with Ronaldinho’s name and the No. 10 on the back are already on sale at the club.
Good performances with Flamengo may help Ronaldinho regain his status as a top player in Brazil, just as it happened to Ronaldo, Adriano and Roberto Carlos — his teammates in the 2002 World Cup — when they successfully returned from Europe.
Ronaldinho sealed his deal with Flamengo after days of negotiations that also involved his former club Gremio and Palmeiras, which eventually dropped from the race to sign the player after the demands from Ronaldinho and from AC Milan increased too much.
Coached by former Brazil and Real Madrid coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo, Flamengo is putting together one of the strongest teams in country. It also has Chilean midfielder Claudio Maldonado and recently signed Argentine midfielder Dario Bottinelli.
Another newly acquired player announced by the club is playmaker Thiago Neves, a member of Brazil’s Olympic team in 2008, and it also has defensive midfielder Kleberson, Ronaldinho’s teammate in the 2002 World Cup.
Flamengo will begin playing the Rio championship later this month. It also will play the Brazilian Cup, the national league and the Copa Sudamericana.