Ricardo Jorge Ferreira Pinto da Silva (born 19 August 1980), known simply as Ricardo, is a

Cape Verde Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...

an former professional footballer who played as a central defender and a right-back, currently assistant manager of Primeira Liga club Famalicão.

Club career

Ricardo was born in Azurém, Guimarães, Portugal, and started playing football with amateurs Centro de Cultura e Desporto Desportivo de Ronfe and G.D. Serzedelo. In the following three years he competed in the third division, representing F.C. Famalicão (one season) and S.C. Freamunde (two). In the summer of 2004, Ricardo moved straight to the Primeira Liga, signing with S.C. Beira-Mar. He featured in 29 games in his first season (24 starts), but suffered relegation; he continued to appear regularly for the Aveiro team during his spell, spending two years apiece in each of Portugal's major levels. Ricardo returned to the top flight for 2008–09, joining F.C. Paços de Ferreira. In the following campaign's first round, he scored with his

head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple ani ...

to earn his side a point against FC Porto in a 1–1 home draw. In June 2010, Ricardo signed with Vitória de Guimarães also of the top tier – he had been brought up as a youth at the Minho club. In January 2012, after a brief spell in China, he returned to Portugal and Paços on a three-and-a-half-year contract. Ricardo retired at the end of 2019–20 aged 39, after one-season spells in the LigaPro with Famalicão and C.D. Feirense.

International career

Although born in Portugal, Ricardo opted to represent

through ancestry. He received his first call-up in May 2008, first appearing on 27 May in a friendly with

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

. In June 2010, Ricardo started in the 0–0 draw that the minnows (ranked 117th) managed against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, as the Europeans were preparing for that year's FIFA World Cup.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ricardo 1980 births Living people Portuguese sportspeople of Cape Verdean descent 21st-century Cape Verdean sportsmen 21st-century Portuguese sportsmen Cape Verdean men's footballers Portuguese men's footballers Footballers from Guimarães Men's association football fullbacks Men's association football central defenders Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players Segunda Divisão players G.D. Serzedelo players F.C. Famalicão players S.C. Freamunde players S.C. Beira-Mar players F.C. Paços de Ferreira players Vitória S.C. players C.D. Feirense players Chinese Super League players Shandong Taishan F.C. players Cape Verde men's international footballers Cape Verdean expatriate men's footballers Portuguese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in China Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in China Cape Verdean football managers Portuguese football managers Primeira Liga managers F.C. Famalicão managers