Roberto De Assis Moreira
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Roberto de Assis Moreira (born 10 January 1971), commonly known as Assis, is a Brazilian former
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
er who is also the brother, manager, agent and adviser of footballer
Ronaldinho Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980), commonly known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho () or simply Ronaldinho, is a Brazilian former professional Association football, footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or left winger. Widely reg ...
. He is also the owner of
Porto Alegre Futebol Clube Porto Alegre Futebol Clube, usually known simply as Porto Alegre, was a Brazilian football club from Porto Alegre, Brazil. It is owned by former footballer Roberto Assis, Ronaldinho's brother. On 30 January 2012 the club closed its activities. ...
.


Biography

Roberto de Assis Moreira was born 10 January 1971, in
Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, ; , ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian Federative units of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of roughly 1.4 million inhabitants (2022) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, 11th-most p ...
, Brazil. Assis was born to Miguelina de Assis, a cosmetics saleswoman who later became a nurse, and João Moreira a ship welder and former professional player for Cruzeiro-RS. While growing up his family lived in poverty, residing in a wooden house within a
favela Favela () is an umbrella name for several types of impoverished neighborhoods in Brazil. The term, which means slum or ghetto, was first used in the Slum of Providência in the center of Rio de Janeiro in the late 19th century, which was b ...
of Porto Alegre. Assis grew up around soccer, with his father not only being a former player, but also working as a game day doorman for Gremio while his uncles played as well. Assis was an inspiration for his brother
Ronaldinho Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980), commonly known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho () or simply Ronaldinho, is a Brazilian former professional Association football, footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or left winger. Widely reg ...
, nine years his younger, as his talents landed him a position with Gremio's youth team and led to a notable athletic career. Assis brought his family out of the favela with his first contract, having Gremio pay for a new house in a wealthy neighborhood with a swimming pool. His father drowned in the pool in 1989. Assis was the one to discover his father's body while returning home to celebrate his eighteenth birthday. After this death, Assis had to act as the head of the household, managing his career and later his brother's as well. His mother went on to remarry another man who died of a heart attack in 2012.


Football career

At the age of 16 Assis was already showing potential on Gremio's youth team and would gain the attention of
Torino Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
, who would try to steal the player in what would be dubbed 'the Assis Kidnap,' ultimately forcing Gremio to act quickly and sign on Assis by offering his family a sign on bonus of a new house with a swimming pool, where his father would drown. Assis made a name for himself early on at Gremio, winning three consecutive state titles between 1988 and 1990. Despite this success, and interest for him to play on Brazil's national team in 1992, hardship would again find him as Assis suffered a serious knee injury in 1991, sidelining him for 8 months. Gremio would sell Assis to Swiss team
FC Sion Football Club Sion, commonly known as simply FC Sion or Sion, is a Swiss Association football, football club from the city of Sion, Switzerland, Sion. The club was founded in 1909 and play their home matches at the Stade Tourbillon. They have wo ...
in 1992 who he would play with until 1995, where he would win his first
Swiss Cup The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup competition that has been organised annually since 1925–26 season by the Swiss Football Association. The Swiss Cup final is usually the most important game of the year with a high attendance. The co ...
in 1995; before being loaned out to several teams, helping
Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,
win the Portuguese Super Cup in 1995, before returning in 1996. He would stay through the 1997 season, helping his team win another cup and becoming Swiss Champions. Then he went to stints in Portugal, Japan, Mexico, and returning to Brazil before finishing his athletic career with
Montpellier HSC Montpellier Hérault Sport Club (; ), commonly referred to as Montpellier HSC, is a French professional association football, football club based in the city of Montpellier in Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie. The original club was ...
in France.


Manager and agent

Assis's younger brother Ronaldo, now known as
Ronaldinho Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980), commonly known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho () or simply Ronaldinho, is a Brazilian former professional Association football, footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or left winger. Widely reg ...
, would emerge as a similarly desired talent at Gremio's youth team. Assis, who had experience in the world of association football as a negotiator and player and had taken on a paternal role for his brother, would act as manager for Ronaldinho throughout his career, until its end. Assis would keep in touch with his brother while he played in Brazil, witnessing Gremio decline numerous offers for Ronaldinho until Assis would negotiate a transfer to
Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...
, seen by some as revenge for being sold off to Sion years earlier. His reputation as a negotiator would become infamous as he managed all his brother's affairs and kept pressure on sponsors, with some going so far as to claim that he was controlling his brother's every action. Assis would also be pivotal in the Nike deal which saw his brother join the list of athletes who would be part of the
Nike Tiempo Nike, Inc. (stylized as ''NIKE'') is an American athletic footwear and apparel corporation headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon. It is the world's largest supplier of athletic shoes and apparel and a major manufacturer of sports equipment, wi ...
shoe line.


Other Roles

While Assis agent career was given focus on due to his brother and client, Ronaldinho, he also served the interests of several other players including
Rodrigo Gral Rodrigo Gral (born 21 February 1977) is a Brazilian former professional footballer. Career Gral has played in Japan and made his J1 League debut for Júbilo Iwata against Consadole Sapporo on 17 March 2002, and marked the occasion in front of th ...
as president of the Assis Moreira Group. Assis also owns Brazilian club
Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, ; , ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian Federative units of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of roughly 1.4 million inhabitants (2022) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, 11th-most p ...
, which currently plays the
Campeonato Gaúcho The Campeonato Gaúcho (English: Gaúcho Championship), officially named as Campeonato Gaúcho de Futebol Série A and commonly known as the Gauchão or the Gauchão Ipiranga (company), Ipiranga for sponsorship reasons, is the top-flight profess ...
.


Personal life


Relationship with Ronaldinho

Today, Assis acts as his brother's agent and adviser, and is credited by many, including
Ronaldinho Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980), commonly known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho () or simply Ronaldinho, is a Brazilian former professional Association football, footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or left winger. Widely reg ...
himself, as a major influence and guiding force for his brother. Assis has been described as an idol to his younger brother by some onlookers. Ronaldinho described his brother in January 2020 as a "brother, father, partner, ndfootballer" while onlookers, like Brazilian footballer Walter Casagrande, claimed Ronaldinho was simply being childish for relying too much on his older brother. During his acceptance speech after receiving the
FIFA World Player of the Year The FIFA World Player of the Year was an association football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA, between 1991 and 2015 at the FIFA World Player Gala. Coaches and captains of international teams and media representative ...
award for a second consecutive year in December 2005, Ronaldinho paid tribute to his brother: "He's my idol. He's been through a lot and has helped me every step of the way. He has encouraged me never to stop trying."


Son

Assis has also fathered a son who attempted to make a career in the sport like Assis and his uncle. His son, Diego Assis, joined
Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; ), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian multi sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea. It was founded and named after the Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro, Flamengo n ...
's youth team while Ronaldinho was playing for them and would leave alongside his uncle. Assis's son would go on to join Cruzeiro-RS for a short period in 2014 like Assis's father had previously done.


Legal troubles

Assis began having legal troubles in 2003 when he was arrested and sentenced to 5 years and 5 months under a 'semi-open regime' for
money laundering Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...
. He would later be fined roughly 1.5 million dollars, alongside his brother, for building a fishing platform along the
Guaíba River Guaíba is a city located in the Metropolitan Porto Alegre of Porto Alegre, in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. The city is on the shores of the Guaíba Lake. History In the current territory of the municipality of Guaíba there ha ...
in a 'heritage-protected' zone. They would ultimately lose their passports for not paying the fine in full. In March 2020 he was questioned by police in Paraguay, along with his brother and Brazilian businessman Wilmondes Sousa Lira, after the two were alleged to have used fake passports to enter the country while coming for a charity event and book promotion. The brothers would go on to be jailed in
Asunción Asunción (, ) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of Asunción in the north ...
although the fake passport charges would be dropped. The investigation evolve into allegations of the brothers being tied to a money laundering scheme connected to entrepreneur Dalia Lopez, who allegedly gave them the fake passports with help from businessman Wilmondes Sousa Lira, who had been traveling with the two brothers. They would be moved from jail to being placed under house arrest in a hotel, although their appeal to end house arrest would be denied due to them being a flight risk. They would eventually be released with a $110,000 fine for Assis and $90,000 fine for Ronaldinho after spending 5 months in custody.


Career statistics


Honors

* Grêmio **
Campeonato Gaúcho The Campeonato Gaúcho (English: Gaúcho Championship), officially named as Campeonato Gaúcho de Futebol Série A and commonly known as the Gauchão or the Gauchão Ipiranga (company), Ipiranga for sponsorship reasons, is the top-flight profess ...
: 1988, 1989, 1990 **
Copa do Brasil The Copa do Brasil () is a knockout football competition played by 92 teams, representing all 26 Brazilian states plus the Federal District. It is the Brazilian domestic cup and it is the Brazilian equivalent of the FA Cup, Taça de Portugal, ...
:
1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...
* Sion **
Swiss Super League The Super League (also known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a professional association football league in Switzerland and the highest level of the Swiss football league system. It has been played in its current fo ...
: 1997 **
Swiss Cup The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup competition that has been organised annually since 1925–26 season by the Swiss Football Association. The Swiss Cup final is usually the most important game of the year with a high attendance. The co ...
: 1995, 1997 *
Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,
** Portuguese Super Cup 1995


References


External links

*
Portrait of Roberto de Assis
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Assis 1971 births Living people Brazilian men's footballers Brazil men's under-20 international footballers Brazil men's youth international footballers Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Brazilian football agents Brazilian businesspeople Grêmio FBPA players FC Sion players Sporting CP footballers Fluminense FC players C.F. Estrela da Amadora players Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo players Tecos F.C. footballers Sport Club Corinthians Paulista players Montpellier HSC players Expatriate men's footballers in France Expatriate men's footballers in Japan Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland J2 League players Ligue 1 players Primeira Liga players Swiss Super League players Men's association football midfielders Footballers from Porto Alegre Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Japan