Brazilian superstar Ronaldinho dreamt at the start of the season that he would win three titles and he believes it's his destiny to make the World Cup the final leg of his personal triple crown.
KONIGSTEIN: Brazilian superstar Ronaldinho dreamt at the start of the season that he would win three titles and he believes it's his destiny to make the World Cup the final leg of his personal triple crown.
Having wrapped up the Spanish league as well as the Champions League title with Barcelona, 26-year-old Ronaldinho is now determined to ensure Brazil's successful World Cup defence.
"At the start of the season, it was the greatest challenge to win all the tournaments in which I was taking part," said Ronaldinho, who was named world and European player of the year for 2005.
"It was something I dreamt about and now it's all going well. After a great year, this would be the perfect way to end the season."
Brazil got their campaign off to a winning start with a 1-0 win over Croatia although, like many teams here, they looked a long way from the finished article.
"We started well with three points," said Ronaldinho, who made his debut for the 'auriverde' in 1999.
"The aim is to get stronger game by game and reach our peak by the final. I didn't start too badly. We had a good rhythm against Croatia but there are things that can be improved.
"We need to close down spaces and, in attack, push more and do more one-twos when we approach goal. That's our intention."
Part of that attacking plan is supposed to centre around Ronaldo who has been dogged by fitness and health problems and was substituted in the second-half against Croatia.
But Ronaldinho has backed his teammate to recover and show his class in the next Group F game against Australia in Munich on Sunday.
"He's a quality player. We have confidence in him and we are certain that he'll do all he can do to help us beat Australia."
Many in the game believe that the stage is set for Ronaldinho to join the ranks of the great number 10s like Pele and Diego Maradona who have graced the World Cup stage.
"I have always dreamt of following in the footsteps of the legends, the great players," he said.
"I am happy to have achieved the level of success that I have but I want to go further. I will have to keep working. Wearing the number 10 is very special since most of my idols also had that number."
Ronaldinho also hit back at those who believe that his style is more restricted when he plays with the national team compared to his free-roaming role with the Spanish champions.
"Brazil is a team of 11 players at a super high level and I do my best for my teammates to help them be the best scorers in the tournament.
"The coach (Carlos Alberto Parreira) and I speak all the time. I have a different function with Brazil. Here I play just behind the two strikers while at Barca I play more forward.
"I also have more obligations when I don't have the ball. Parreira talks to me so that I know what I must do when we don't have the ball.
"I try not to get too worried about the tight marking," added Ronaldinho.
"It's up to me to find a way out of it and help the team. Everyone knows the way we play so we have to put in more effort to escape the tight marking."
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