FIFA U17 World Cup: Ronaldinho says the tournament helps build career

Bengaluru, September 24: World football legend Ronaldinho praises the impact of U17 World Cup tournament which will commence from the next month in India across six cities.

The Brazilian also stated that the tournament gave him platform in his younger days to showcase his talents and in the same way the World Cup can be crucial for many young players involved.

Till now as many as 12 players who have played in FIFA U-17 World Cup have also appeared for their countries in a FIFA World Cup Finals and Ronaldinho is one of the biggest names among all of them.

The Brazilian legend who was named FIFA World Player of the Year in 2004 and 2005 is the only player to win two World cup, one FIFA U-17 World Cup (1997) in Egypt and one senior FIFA World Cup Finals (2002) in South Korea and Japan.

And during an interaction with fifa.com, the 37-year-old claimed that he still cherishes his U17 world Cup memory and winning the first ever U17 trophy for Brazil was special.

"The U-17 World Cup is a very special tournament for me. It opened the door for my professional career. I was lucky enough not only to take part in the competition but to win it too. I can honestly say that it opened the door for my professional career," said Ronaldinho,

"The U-17 World Cup can be crucial as for many players it marks the start of their careers. Young players dream of making it big, and this competition gives them a fantastic opportunity to make that dream come true. It got my career off to a wonderful start and will always be close to my heart."

"The most wonderful moment of the tournament was when we became world champions and I got to lift the trophy. It was something Brazil had never done before and experiencing something like that was wonderful," Ronaldinho recalled.

India hosts the 17th edition of the FIFA U-17 World Cup and the opening match will be on 6th October where two giants Ghana and Colombia will inaugurate the tournament.