is a Brazilian-born

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player. He obtained Japanese citizenship in August 2003 and promptly changed his given name from Ricardo to the more " Japanized" pronunciation Rikarudo.

Football career

Higa was born in Campinas, Brazil on May 4, 1973. He played for some Brazilian club until the middle of 1990s. In 1997, he moved to Japan and joined Prefectural Leagues club Yaita SC in 1998. In 1999, he moved to newly was promoted to

J2 League The or simply J2 is the second division of the and the second level of the Japanese association football league system. The top tier is represented by the J1 League. It (along with the rest of the J.League) is currently sponsored by Meiji Yas ...

club, Albirex Niigata. In 2000, he moved to Prefectural Leagues club

Okinawa Kariyushi FC was a Japanese football club from the Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. History In 1999, it was established as the football club of "Kariyushi Hotel Group", the largest hotel group in Okinawa Prefecture. Show a good fight to win second place in th ...

and played in 1 season. In 2003, he joined Prefectural Leagues club

FC Ryukyu are an Association football club from the Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. In 2022, after spending four years in the J2 League, the club was relegated. They will play on J3 League from the 2023 season. The team derive their name from Ryukyu, the hist ...

. The club was promoted to Regional Leagues from 2005 and Japan Football League from 2006. He retired end of 2006 season.

Futsal career

Higa obtained Japanese citizenship in August 2003. In 2003, he was selected

Japan national futsal team The represents Japan in international futsal competitions and is controlled by the Japan Football Association. It is one of the strongest futsal teams in Asia, the champions in the 2006, 2012, 2014 and 2022 AFC Futsal Asian Cup. Japan has also pl ...

. He played at

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

and 2008 Futsal World Cup.

Beach soccer career

In 2009, Higa was selected Japan national beach soccer team for 2009 Beach Soccer World Cup.

Club statistics

References

External links

* *
futsal.jfa.or.jp
1973 births Living people Brazilian footballers Japanese footballers Japanese men's futsal players J2 League players Albirex Niigata players FC Ryukyu players Naturalized citizens of Japan Brazilian emigrants to Japan Brazilian people of Japanese descent Association football midfielders Japanese futsal coaches Sportspeople from Campinas {{Japan-footy-midfielder-1970s-stub