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Naldo
Personal information
Full name	Ronaldo Aparecido Rodrigues
Date of birth	10 September 1982 (1982-09-10) (age 27)
Place of birth	Londrina, Brazil
Height	1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)[1]
Playing position	Central Defender
Club information
Current club	Werder Bremen
Number	4
Senior career1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2004–2005 2005–	Juventude Werder Bremen	036 0(8) 131 (16)
National team2
2007–	Brazil	004 0(0)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22 October 2009. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 17 October 2007. * Appearances (Goals)

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Ronaldo Aparecido Rodrigues, also known as Naldo (born 10 September 1982), is a Brazilian football player who plays for Werder Bremen in the German Bundesliga.

[edit] Career

He plays as a versatile two-footed central defender, signing in the summer of 2005, to replace Valérien Ismaël who left for FC Bayern Munich. However, he is capable of playing right across the back line.

He played in all but two of Bremen's Bundesliga games in 2005–06 and in seven of their eight UEFA Champions League fixtures. He stands at 1.98 m tall and this height, combined with his jumping and heading ability, make him a big threat in aerial contests. He is also well known for his set piece skill and according to Brazil national team manager Dunga Naldo can hit the ball in excess of 60 mph using the cannonball free kick method associated with other pros such as Roberto Carlos, Alexsandro de Souza, Juninho Pernambucano and Adriano.

In the 2006–07 season, he scored a hat-trick against Eintracht Frankfurt. The match ended 6–2.

He recently broke into the Brazilian national team and has earned himself several caps, along with some great performances. Coach Dunga has reported to have been very happy with Naldo's games, which has earned him a place in the first XI.

He scored in the 2009 UEFA Cup Final to level the game at 1–1, however his team went on to lose the game 2-1 to Shakhtar Donetsk after extra time.

[edit] Nicknames

During his first few weeks at Bremen fans likened him to an Ox due to his immense height and athletic build, as a result he was nicknamed the beast a name also shared by players Julio Baptista, Mamady Sidibe and Jon Parkin.

[edit] References

[edit] Quotes

• Thomas Schaaf: “He is probably the most talented defender in Brazil.”

[edit] External links

• Official website (German) (English) (Portuguese)
• Career statistics at fussballdaten.de (German)

v • d • e Brazil squad – Copa América 2007 Winners (8th Title) 1 Helton • 2 Maicon • 3 Alex • 4 Juan • 5 Mineiro • 6 Gilberto • 7 Elano • 8 Gilberto Silva • 9 Vágner Love • 10 Diego • 11 Robinho • 12 Doni • 13 Daniel Alves • 14 Alex Silva • 15 Naldo • 16 Kléber • 17 Josué • 18 Fernando • 19 Júlio Baptista • 20 Anderson • 21 Afonso Alves • 22 Fred • Coach: Dunga

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