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 lea ...

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) ** Smal ...

. He competed in the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly 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 ...

with the

Brazil national football team The Brazil national football team (), nicknamed ''Seleção Canarinho'' ("Canary Squad", after their bright yellow jersey), represents Brazil in men's international Association football, football and is administered by the Brazilian Football Co ...

. 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 in which the cancer starts in the liver, or it can be liver metastasis, or secondar ...

References

1958 births 2015 deaths Deaths from cancer in Rio Grande do Sul Men's association football forwards Brazilian men's footballers Olympic footballers for Brazil Footballers at the 1984 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Brazil Olympic medalists in football SC Internacional players CR Flamengo footballers Associação Portuguesa de Desportos players Grêmio FBPA players Club Athletico Paranaense players São Paulo state football team players Deaths from liver cancer in Brazil Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics 20th-century Brazilian sportsmen {{Brazil-footy-forward-1950s-stub