Ricardinho Futsal’s Magician

Portugal's starlet Ricardo Felipe da Silva Braga is futsal's answer to Lionel Messi. The magic left foo, the 1.64m stature, the stunning goals and inspired assists; the dribbling skills you thought only existed in video games, all remind the viewer of the Barcelona star.

In the Futsal ranks he is known as Ricardinho and is possibly the most famous European futsal player of his generation.

But as we meet in a local café in Leyton, East London, talking about his career and future plans the Portuguese maestro is also the most grounded world-class player that is possible to imagine.

“As a 13-year-old, I watched in awe as Brazil’s Alessandro Rosa Vieira [aka Falcao], burst on to the international futsal scene with his subtle skills and amazing goal-scoring ability," says Ricardinho.

“Just his pace, skills and his ability to move past players left me in awe I remember after school practicing his skills in the garden, I used to be the garden from 6pm to 9pm until I knew I perfected everything.”

The Portuguese maestro instantly decided that he wanted to become better than Falcao. And to drive him on in his quest, he got a tattoo on his left leg saying Falcao was ‘The No.1’. Fifteen years later, he has risen through the ranks of with Portugal and racked up an array of achievements.

With a CV boasting four national championships, three domestic cups, three Super Cups with Benfica in the Portuguese Futsal League, best player in the UEFA Futsal Championship in 2007, best futsal player in the world in 2010 and the star of the Euro Futsal Championship in 2012. He is one of the most respected players in the game.

Ricardinho, 28 also enjoyed success abroad with Nagoya Oceans in Japan and in Russia with PFC CSKA Moskva before joining Spanish side Inter Movistar in May Ricardinho is certainly set to be one of the stars of UEFA Futsal EURO 2014 in Belgium.

Laughter comes easily, yet there is also a fiercely combative side to a futsal player that fans warmly call ‘The Magician’. He likes the nickname and it is apt. Ricardinho looks you in the eye when he talks to you, even when he searching for the right word in his adopted language.

Futsal is an exciting, fast-paced small-sided football game that is widely played across the world, "The biggest quality a player needs is thinking fast – and executing fast.

That makes the difference. There are players who have bags of technique and players who defend well. But if they can't think and execute quickly, they normally won't get the better of their opponents. That's the greatest quality." His voice trails off.

The Portuguese was voted best futsal player in the world in 2010, an award that was awarded by Futsal Planet, which made him the first Portuguese futsal player to win the prize, he shares the accolade with his idol Falcao.

"2010 was special for me already, I’d won the league title with Benfica, which was an amazing achievement personally and for the country, that same year I scored the biggest goal of my life, my career, which is to be the best in the world, is fantastic," he said with a smile on his face.

“The award for best player was the icing of cake, becoming the first Portuguese to secure the award was phenomenal.”

The nature of the game places a large emphasis on technical skill and ability in situations of high pressure, and is subsequently an excellent breeding ground for football skill that can be translated into the 11-a-side format of the game.  



“Futsal was important in helping to develop my ball control, quick thinking, passing, also for dribbling, balance, concentration, futsal is important, no doubt in a players career,”

The Magician’s response provides a window into this ostensibly easy-going, gregarious character; a player who, minutes earlier, had been entertaining the room with his singing skills.

"Perhaps in regular football you cannot appreciate the talent. Everything is more physical. But in Futsal you have small details of quality, class and tactical aspects."

“Futsal is an extremely important way for kids to develop their skills and understanding of the game. My touch and my dribbling have come from playing Futsal”.

Over the past 11 years Ricardinho has grown accustomed to packing his bags and finding new adventures in places such as Japan, Russia and Portugal. Yet, having returned to Dubai he hopes to stay for good.

The Mission: He aims to help the sport in United Arab Emirate

There is a sensitive side to 5ft 4in athlete, a marauding, fearless attacking midfielder he also makes jokes about himself.

The magician of futsal believes that United Arab Emirates (UAE) could be a powerhouse on the international futsal scene, he also thinks changes have to be made to raise the profile.

With the heat and humidity, the lack of grass and high temperatures in the means futsal is emerging as a favorite sport in the country. And the 28 year-old would be more than happy in helping the sport rise. 

“UAE need more kids to be involved, the normal thinking has been to have players involved in futsal once they are 18 or 19 years so that they assimilate a separate level of skills from playing futsal. This is no longer true.

“We need children getting involved when they are 11 or 12 years old. If the kids join in when they are five or six years old, then it will be even better. And it would make me even happier to see these kids stay back as futsal players instead of going back to football. You learn much better as a kid.”

With raising the profile certain measurements have to be put in place, “Besides the children getting involved, there has to be sponsors and investors for futsal here. People will need to believe that this country has the potential to make it big.”

Ricardinho’s relaxed demeanor as he talked expansively of his love for Futsal, he is a far cry from the tense character often seen during interviews.

“Organisers who stage tournaments need to invite the big international stars, such as the Brazilians and Spaniards, so that they can improve the standard of futsal here. And the national team will need to work extra hard so that they can prove themselves on the international stage. The UAE needs to believe they are capable of playing in the Futsal World Cup. They need to believe they are capable of taking this next step,”

The UAE has recently been promoting futsal, In 2010, the UAE held its first national futsal league featuring 11 teams, three years on, the league has 12 teams and Dubai held the 2012 Asian Football Confederation Futsal Championship, which featured the UAE’s recently formed national team.

With the heat and humidity, the lack of grass and high temperatures in the means futsal is emerging as a favorite sport in the country. And the 28 year-old would be more than happy in helping the sport rise. “I would be more than happy to help out here provided it is for just a few days at a time. To start with, I would be delighted to organise a clinic for coaches and players so that they understand the proper concept of futsal. Everyone wants to play like a star. Everyone wants to make it big. And now with this window of opportunity.”

Road to Euro 2014

On the international level Ricardinho is unhappy with the lack of achievements, Portugal are yet to win a major competition, even thou they are probably the strongest futsal nation without such an honour, Ricardinho is cautious about their chances. "We can win but we aren't favourites," he said.

"The favourites are Russia and Spain, because they have already won trophies. We haven't, so we have the potential and we have a great reputation, but we have to work step by step to get as far as possible, and only then can we win."

“Portugal has never won so far. Ideally, I would like to play for another seven years at least and, during this time, I want to add these two titles to my name. Of course, I need to be injury-free and I think I can achieve my dream as I have quite a good work ethic.”

With the UEFA Futsal Euro 2014 less than two months away, Ricardinho knows that the key is his fitness, "The small pitch means fitness is underrated. But futsal is all about sudden stopping, changes of direction and explosive acceleration. You need to work on getting a strong pair of legs and being in good physical shape. You try to be better physically than your opponent and have better skills. Then it's possible to gain an advantage."