Despite primarily being a creative player, who was renowned for his passing, vision, and playmaking ability, Ronaldinho was an accurate finisher with either foot, both from inside and outside the penalty area, as well as being a free-kick and penalty kick specialist; although he was primarily known for his ability to bend the ball from set pieces, he was also capable of striking the ball with power underneath the wall, and also occasionally used the knuckleball technique, which was popularised by his compatriot Juninho Pernambucano. His versatility and prowess from set pieces made him one of the most prolific free kick takers in history, and also influenced his former teammate Messi, who went on to become a free kick specialist himself. Considered to be one of the most talented and technically accomplished players of all time, throughout his career, Ronaldinho was praised by pundits in particular for his technical skills, flair, and creativity, as well as his exceptional first touch; due to his pace, acceleration, agility, athleticism, balance, ball control, and dribbling ability, he was capable of beating players when undertaking individual runs, while he often used a vast array of tricks and feints to get past opponents in one on one situations, including step overs and nutmegs. He was also known for incorporating flashy moves such as back–heels, bicycle kicks, and no–look passes into his general gameplay. Among his repertoire of moves, is the "elastico", a move he learned by watching videos of one of his idols, the 1970s Brazilian star Rivelino. Ronaldinho came to be known as one of the best exponents of the feint, and in parts of Africa – especially Nigeria – this move is now called 'The Gaúcho' after him, due to his role in popularising the use of this particular skill.
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