Ricardo Filipe da Silva Braga (born 3 September 1985), best known as Ricardinho, is a Portuguese professional futsal player who plays for Latvian club Riga Futsal Club. 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".
Nicknamed O Mágico (The Magician), he was named Best Player of the World a record six times by Futsal Planet, 5 of which he won consecutively from 2014 to 2018 a record as well. He won his first in 2010. Ricardinho is the only player to have won the award more than four times,Histórico: Ricardinho eleito melhor do Mundo pela quinta vez A Bola 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.
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.
In 2021, right after his last FIFA Futsal World Cup match,Ricardinho: This is the greatest moment of my life FIFA.com Ricardinho was awarded with the Golden Ball for the best player throughout the tournament, Ricardinho wins Golden Ball as Ferrao finishes top scorer FIFA.com adding another individual achievement to his World Cup Golden Shoe award for top scorerFIFA Futsal World Cup Colombia 2016 (Awards section) FIFA.com 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. 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.
Style of play Ricardinho is lauded for his defensive quality, in addition to his offensive prowess. He has been regarded by some experts as the greatest futsal player of all time.
Honours Club Benfica Liga Portuguesa: 2004–05, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2011–12 Taça de Portugal: 2004–05, 2006–07, 2008–09, 2011–12 Supertaça de Portugal: 2006, 2007, 2009 UEFA Futsal Cup: 2009–10
Nagoya Oceans F. League: 2010–11, 2012–13 F. League Ocean Cup: 2010, 2012
Inter Movistar Primera División: 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2019–20 Copa de España: 2014, 2016, 2017 Copa del Rey: 2014–15 Supercopa de España: 2015, 2017, 2018 UEFA Futsal Cup: 2016–17, 2017–18
ACCS Asnières Villeneuve 92 Championnat de France de Futsal: 2020–21 Championnat de France de Futsal Division 2: 2021–22
Riga Futsal Club Latvian Futsal Premier League: 2023–24
National team Portugal Futsal Mundialito: 2007 UEFA Futsal Championship: 2018 FIFA Futsal World Cup: 2021
Individual Best Player of the World: 2010, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 Liga Portuguesa Best Player: 2006–07 Liga Portuguesa Top scorer: 2006–07 (49 goals) Liga Portuguesa Best Young Player: 2002–03 F. League Best Player: 2010–11 Primera División de Futsal Best Player: 2013–14, 2014–15 Copa de España Best Player: 2014 UEFA Futsal Championship Best Player: 2007, 2018 UEFA Futsal Championship Top Scorer: 2016 (6 goals, shared), 2018 (7 goals) FIFA Futsal World Cup Best Player: 2021 FIFA Futsal World Cup Golden Shoe: 2016 FIFA Futsal World Cup Bronze Ball: 2012 Best Team of the Year Winger: 2020
Orders Commander of the Order of Prince Henry Commander of the Order of Merit
International goals No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1. 18 November 2007 Porto, Portugal 1–1 5–3 2007 UEFA Futsal Championship 2. 21 November 2007 1–0 3–0 3. 2–0 4. 23 November 2007 2–1 2–2 (3–4 p) 5. 4 October 2008 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 1–3 1–3 2008 FIFA Futsal World Cup 6. 1 February 2012 Zagreb, Croatia 4–1 4–1 UEFA Futsal Euro 2012 7. 7 February 2012 1–1 1–3 8. 4 November 2012 Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand 2–0 5–5 2012 FIFA Futsal World Cup 9. 5–1 10. 11 November 2012 Bangkok, Thailand 3–1 4–1 11. 4–1 12. 14 November 2012 1–0 3–4 13. 2–0 14. 3–0 15. 1 February 2014 Antwerp, Belgium 1–0 4–4 UEFA Futsal Euro 2014 16. 6 February 2014 1–1 3–4 17. 8 February 2014 1–3 4–8 18. 18 March 2015 Călărași, Romania 3–0 7–0 UEFA Futsal Euro 2016 qualifying 19. 5–0 20. 19 March 2015 1–0 1–3 21. 21 March 2015 2–0 4–1 22. 3–0 23. 10 December 2015 Póvoa de Varzim, Portugal 6–2 6–2 2016 FIFA Futsal World Cup qualification 24. 13 December 2015 2–0 5–0 25. 5–0 26. 4 February 2016 Belgrade, Serbia 2–1 6–2 UEFA Futsal Euro 2016 27. 3–2 28. 5–2 29. 6 February 2016 1–1 1–3 30. 8 February 2016 1–3 2–6 31. 2–4 32. 13 September 2016 Cali, Colombia 1–0 9–0 2016 FIFA Futsal World Cup 33. 3–0 34. 5–0 35. 6–0 36. 7–0 37. 9–0 38. 16 September 2016 Medellín, Colombia 1–0 5–1 39. 2–1 40. 3–1 41. 21 September 2016 Cali, Colombia 1–0 4–0 42. 2–0 43. 25 September 2016 3–1 3–2 44. 31 January 2018 Ljubljana, Slovenia 3–1 4–1 UEFA Futsal Euro 2018 45. 4 February 2018 5–2 5–3 46. 6 February 2018 4–1 8–1 47. 5–1 48. 7–1 49. 8–1 50. 10 February 2018 1–0 3–2 51. 27 October 2019 Viseu, Portugal 2–1 4–1 2020 FIFA Futsal World Cup qualification 52. 4–1 53. 2 February 2020 Póvoa de Varzim, Portugal 3–0 4–1 54. 4–0 55. 16 September 2021 Kaunas, Lithuania 2–0 7–0 2021 FIFA Futsal World Cup 56. 24 September 2021 1–0 4–3
References
External links
National team data Expresso interview