Ricardinho (futsal player, born 1985)

For other people named Ricardinho, see Ricardinho (disambiguation).

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Silva and the second or paternal family name is Braga.
Ricardinho
ComIH ComM
Ricardinho playing for Benfica in 2012
Personal information
Full name Ricardo Filipe da Silva Braga
Date of birth (1985-09-03) 3 September 1985 (age 39)
Place of birth Valbom, Portugal[1]
Height 1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)[2]
Position(s) Winger
Team information
Current team
 Riga Futsal Club
Number 10
Youth career
–2002 Gramidense
Miramar
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2003–2010 Benfica 98 (195)
2010–2013 Nagoya Oceans 0 (0)
2011 → CSKA Moscow (loan) 0 (0)
2011–2012 → Benfica (loan) 2 (0)
2013–2020 Inter Movistar 210 (152)
2020–2022 ACCS 8 (5)
2022–2023 Pendekar United 8 (5)
2023–2024 Riga Futsal Club
2024– Ecocity Genzano
International career‡
2003–2021 Portugal 188 (142)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 3 April 2019

Ricardo Filipe da Silva Braga ComIH ComM (born 3 September 1985), best known as Ricardinho, is a Portuguese professional futsal player who plays for Latvian club Riga Futsal Club.[3] He is regarded by many as one of the best futsal players of all time, winning numerous titles and accolades for both club and country, such as the UEFA Futsal Champions League, UEFA European Futsal Championship, FIFA Futsal World Cup, the Best Player of the World awards, and many more. He operates mainly as a flank/winger, and commonly wears his iconic number "10".[4]

Nicknamed O Mágico (The Magician), he was named Best Player of the World a record six times by Futsal Planet in 2010,[5] 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.[6][7] Ricardinho is the only player to have won the award more than four times,[8] being the only Portuguese player to receive it. In 2020 he was awarded a spot in the FutsalFeed's Best Team of the Year Award, the first time this award was conceived.[9]

At international club level, Ricardinho has won the UEFA Futsal Cup, now known as the UEFA Futsal Champions League, thrice, in 2009–10 with Benfica and in 2016–17 and 2017–18 with Inter FS. As a teenager he had already played and lost a final in 2003–04, for Benfica, against Boomerang Interviú. He also lost another final, while at Inter FS, in 2015–16, against Gazprom-Ugra. In European competitions with his country, he won the UEFA Futsal Euro 2018, in which he finished as top scorer and received the award for Best Player. He had already been named the Best Player in the 2007 edition and been joint-top scorer in the 2016 edition. He is now the all-time top scorer of the competition.[10]

In 2021, right after his last FIFA Futsal World Cup match,[11] Ricardinho was awarded with the Golden Ball for the best player throughout the tournament, [12] adding another individual achievement to his World Cup Golden Shoe award for top scorer[13] that he had been awarded with the previous edition in 2016. This distinction was strongly associated with his contributions to help Portugal win the 2021 World Cup.[14] Ricardinho captained his Portuguese national team to the first two of their back-to-back-to-back international trophies during the late 2010s and early 2020s, the country's first major honors: the UEFA Futsal Euro 2018 and the 2021 FIFA Futsal World Cup.

Ricardinho is lauded by his defensive quality and workrate, which is very uncommon for a player of such significant offensive prowess, making him very well-rounded. For all his achievements and quality displays, he has been regarded by some experts as the greatest futsal player of all time.[15][16][17][18][19]

  1. ^ Mundo do futsal rendido a Ricardinho UEFA.com (in Portuguese)
  2. ^ https://www.fpf.pt/pt/Jogadores/Jogador/playerId/534342(in Portuguese)
  3. ^ "Ricardinho volta à Europa para representar letões do Riga". Desporto Sapo. Sapo. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  4. ^ Saffer, Paul; Hunter, Graham (24 August 2012). "Ricardinho on Portugal's Thailand potential". UEFA. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  5. ^ Ranocchiari, Luca (8 June 2011). "UMBRO Futsal Awards 2010 - Best Player of the World". Futsal Planet. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  6. ^ "Best Player of the World". Futsal Planet. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  7. ^ "Ricardinho selected again as futsal best player in the world". Observador. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  8. ^ Histórico: Ricardinho eleito melhor do Mundo pela quinta vez A Bola (in Portuguese)
  9. ^ "WINNERS: FutsalFeed Best Team of 2020 Awards powered by Senda Athletics". FutsalFeed. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  10. ^ [1][dead link‍]
  11. ^ Ricardinho: This is the greatest moment of my life FIFA.com
  12. ^ Ricardinho wins Golden Ball as Ferrao finishes top scorer FIFA.com
  13. ^ FIFA Futsal World Cup Colombia 2016 (Awards section) FIFA.com
  14. ^ "Pany fires Portugal to World Cup glory". FIFA. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  15. ^ "Un remake de Barça-Paris au futsal". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  16. ^ "Ricardinho, MVP del Mundial, completa su palmarés: ¿Es ya el mejor de la historia?". MARCA (in Spanish). 3 October 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  17. ^ "Ricardinho y el Mundial... ¿para ser el mejor de siempre?". AS.com (in Spanish). 1 October 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  18. ^ "Ricardinho: Winning the World Cup would bring the curtain down beautifully".
  19. ^ "Ricardinho: Futsal king who combines the qualities of Ronaldo and Messi". TheGuardian.com. 25 July 2019.