Ricardinho Rodrigues

A midfielder with a knack for venturing into the adventurous side of creative football, Ricardo Luis Pozzi Rodrigues, popularly known as a Ricardinho, is a professional football player from Brazil. Ricardinho made his professional debut with Parana Clube in 1995. Over the next two seasons, he would slowly come to terms with the pace and power in the professional game, picking up almost 30 caps and scoring a goal as well. He was instrumental in helping the team win the Paranaense championships three seasons in a row, in 1995, 96 and 97.

That Ricardinho was talented, was there for all to see. In 1997, he was picked by FC Girondins de Bordeaux, in the French first division. His move didn’t work out too well as Ricardinho failed to establish himself as a strong first team player and after 18 appearances, was sent back to Brazil.

He signed up with the Corinthians, in 1998, and enjoyed the first good spell of football that he had in his entire career so far. He played over 80 games with the first team, scoring 16 goals and was also picked to be a part of the Brazilian national team in 2000. Ricardinho stayed with the Brazilian team throughout the 2002 World Cup and came back home with the World Cup winner’s medal.

This went well with his Brasileiro Serie A titles, won with the Corinthians, in 1998 and 1999. He also helped the team win the 1999 and 2001 Paulista championship as well as the massive FIFA World Club Cup in 2000. In his final season with the club, he would help the team win the 2002 Brazilian Cup, before moving onto Sao Paulo.

Over two seasons, hit by injury, Ricardinho would play just 39 games and score four times as Sao Paulo became just a transition side in his career. The world cup winner signed up with Middlesborough, in 2004, but the move failed and Ricardinho was sent back without making an appearance.

Ricardinho signed up with Santos, upon returning to Brazil, and played 72 games in two seasons, scoring 20 goals and even winning the Silver Ball award for being the second best player, for 2004, in the league.

After these two fantastic seasons, Ricardinho’s career would go into a decline. He signed with the Corinthians in 2006, but only played 8 games before moving to Besiktas in Turkey. From 2006 to 2008, he would play quite regularly for the Turkish side, although his in-game contribution was steadily decreasing. He would also, after the 2006 world cup, never play again for the Brazilian national team.

He moved to the Al-Rayyan Sports Club in Qatar, in 2008, and over the next season, would play regularly to notch up 24 caps and 9 goals. Ricardinho returned to Brazil in 2009 and signed up with Atletico Mineiro for two seasons, playing 41 games and scoring 7 goals. In 2011, he signed a contract with Esporte Clube Bahia and is struggling to find a place with the first team.