Ronaldo Aparecido Rodrigues (born 10 September 1982), commonly known as Naldo, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a centre back.

[2] At the start of the 2004 season, Naldo joined Juventude and made his debut on 2 May 2004, coming on as a substitute, in a 4–0 win against Paraná Clube.

[38][39] Naldo returned to the starting line–up against FC Köln on 11 December 2005 and scored his second goal of the season, a free kick from 30 meters out in a 4–1 win.

[41] Naldo then helped the club keep three consecutive clean sheets between 25 March 2006 and 8 April 2006, including a 3–0 win against Bayern Munich.

[42][43][44] Unfortunately, Werder Bremen ended up finishing second place behind Bayern Munich, but helped the club qualify for the UEFA Champions League next season.

[50][51][52] He then helped Werder Bremen keep three clean sheets in three matches between 30 September 2006 and 18 October 2006, and scored two goals against Bochum and Levski Sofia along the way.

[62] He then helped Werder Bremen keep six consecutive clean sheets between 14 March 2007 and 8 April 2007, including two UEFA Cup matches against Celta de Vigo and AZ Alkmaar.

[76][77][78][79][80] Naldo played in both of the UEFA Champions League Play–Off Rounds against Dinamo Zagreb, as Werder Bremen won 5–3 on aggregate.

[81][82] During a 3–0 loss against Borussia Dortmund on 14 September 2007, he was involved in a legal action by the opposition team after he was kicked Jakub Błaszczykowski, but avoided consequences.

[86][87][88][89] However, he was sent–off in the 70th minute for a professional foul on Stanislav Šesták, as Werder Bremen lost 2–1 against VfL Bochum on 3 February 2008.

[citation needed] At the start of the 2008–09 season, Naldo continued to remain in the first team spotlight, where he formed a partnership with Mertesacker.

[119] After the match, newspaper Der Spiegel praised his performance and even calling him "one of the best central defenders in Europe.

[124][125] Amid to his future at Werder Bremen, he helped the club win the German Supercup against VfL Wolfsburg by beating the opposition team 2–1.

[151][152] Two weeks later on 25 February 2010, he scored his thirteen goal of the season to help the club beat Twente in the return leg of the UEFA Europa League Round of 32, having overturned the deficit.

[180][181][182] In an interview with Kreiszeitung Syke, Naldo said that he was pleased with overcoming his injury nightmare, and felt happy on his return.

[183] After missing one match due to a flu, Naldo returned to the starting line–up against Stuttgart on 27 November 2011 and scored his first goal of the season from a free kick, in a 2–0 win.

[186][187][188] During the recovery, Naldo was linked with a return to Brazil, as supposedly Internacional and Porto Alegre Futebol Clube were interested in signing him.

[198] After missing one match due to a torn muscle fibre, he scored on his return, in a 2–2 draw against Borussia Mönchengladbach on 10 April 2012.

[265][266] After Benaglio's return from his absence and resumed his captain duty, he helped Wolfsburg keep four clean sheets between 28 August 2015 and 19 September 2015.

[277][278][279] Two weeks later on 8 December 2015, Naldo scored two goals, in a 3–2 win over Manchester United, which saw the opposition team eliminated from the Champions League.

[284][285][286] But he made a recovery from his injury and returned to the starting line–up against Real Madrid in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter–finals, winning 2–0.

Following this, the club's sporting director Klaus Allofs revealed that he offered the player a two–year contract and a guarantee of him being appointed as a new captain.

[302][303][304] Despite suffering a back problem, Naldo was able to make his 300th Bundesliga appearance against Bayern Munich on 9 September 2016, as the club lost 2–0.

[305][306][307] He helped Schalke 04 keep four clean sheets between 20 October 2016 and 3 November 2016, including two against Krasnodor in the UEFA Europa League matches.

[308][309][310][311] After missing one match due to a muscular problem, Naldo returned to the starting line–up against Bayer Leverkusen on 11 December 2016, only to be sent–off for a 4th minute for a foul on Javier Hernández, as the club lost 1–0.

[332][333] Naldo scored a header in the last minute of the game to help Schalke 04 drew 4–4 against rivals, Borussia Dortmund on 25 November 2017.

[396] In March 2007, Naldo was called up to the Brazil squad for the first time by his then the national team's manager Dunga, but did not play.

He stands at 1.98 metres tall and this height, combined with his jumping and heading ability, made him a big threat in aerial contests.

[414][415] He was also well known for his set piece skill and according to Dunga, who coached him at the 2007 Copa América, he could hit the ball in excess of 60 mph using the cannonball free kick method, associated with other fellow Brazilians such as Roberto Carlos, Alex, David Luiz and Adriano.

[418] 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 shared with players Júlio Baptista, Jonathan Parkin, Brian Jensen and Adebayo Akinfenwa.