João Leithardt Neto (6 January 1958 – 3 October 2015), nicknamed Kita, was a Brazilian

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

. He competed in the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

with the

Brazil national football team The Brazil national football team ( pt, Seleção Brasileira de Futebol), nicknamed ''Seleção Canarinho'' (‘Canary Squad’, after their bright yellow jersey), represents Brazil in men's international football and is administered by the B ...

. Kita died on 3 October 2015 at the age of 57 due to a generalized infection aggravated by

liver cancer Liver cancer (also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy) is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary (starts in liver) or secondary (meaning cancer which has spread from elsewhere to th ...

References

1958 births 2015 deaths Deaths from cancer in Rio Grande do Sul Association football forwards Brazilian footballers Olympic footballers of Brazil Footballers at the 1984 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Brazil Olympic medalists in football Sport Club Internacional players CR Flamengo footballers Associação Portuguesa de Desportos players Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense players Club Athletico Paranaense players Deaths from liver cancer Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics {{Brazil-footy-forward-1950s-stub