Rikarudo Higa facts for kids
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Rikarudo Higa | ||
| Date of birth | May 4, 1973 | ||
| Place of birth | Campinas, Brazil | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1992 | Rio Branco | ||
| 1994 | Santa Helena | ||
| 1995 | Roma Apucarana | ||
| 1998 | Yaita SC | ||
| 1999 | Albirex Niigata | 34 | (6) |
| 2000 | Okinawa Kariyushi FC | ||
| 2003–2006 | FC Ryukyu | ||
| National team | |||
| 2004–2008 | Japan Futsal | ||
| 2009 | Japan Beach Soccer | ||
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Rikarudo Higa (比嘉 リカルド, Higa Rikarudo, born May 4, 1973) is a talented Brazilian-born Japanese football player. He was born in Brazil but later became a Japanese citizen in August 2003. When he became a Japanese citizen, he changed his first name from Ricardo to "Rikarudo" to sound more Japanese.
Playing Football
Rikarudo Higa was born in Campinas, Brazil, on May 4, 1973. He started his football journey playing for different clubs in Brazil. In 1997, he moved to Japan. In 1998, he joined a team called Yaita SC, which played in the Japanese Prefectural Leagues, a lower division of Japanese football. A year later, in 1999, he moved to Albirex Niigata. This team had just been promoted to the J2 League, which is a professional football league in Japan. He played 34 games for them and scored 6 goals. In 2000, he played for Okinawa Kariyushi FC. Later, in 2003, he joined FC Ryukyu. This club moved up through different leagues, first to the Japanese Regional Leagues in 2005, and then to the Japan Football League in 2006. Rikarudo Higa stopped playing football at the end of the 2006 season.
Playing Futsal
After becoming a Japanese citizen in 2003, Rikarudo Higa was chosen to play for the Japan national futsal team. Futsal is a type of indoor football played on a hard court, smaller than a regular football pitch. He represented Japan in the 2004 FIFA Futsal World Cup and again in the 2008 FIFA Futsal World Cup, which are big international tournaments for futsal.
Playing Beach Soccer
In 2009, Rikarudo Higa was also selected to play for the Japan national beach soccer team. Beach soccer is a version of football played on sand. He played for Japan in the 2009 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, another important international competition.
