Rafa Alcântara
Encyclopedia
Rafael Alcântara do Nascimento (born 12 February 1993), aka Rafinha, is a Brazil
ian-Spanish
footballer who plays for FC Barcelona B
as an attacking midfielder.
, Brazil
, Rafinha joined FC Barcelona
's youth ranks at the age of 13. On 8 January 2011, he made his professional debuts with the B team
, replacing Jonathan dos Santos
in the 55th minute of a 1–2 home loss against Girona FC
.
Rafina made his debut with the Catalans
' main squad on 9 November 2011, taking the place of Cesc Fàbregas
for the last 15 minutes of a 1–0 away win against CE L'Hospitalet, for the season
's Spanish Cup
.
, was also a footballer and a midfielder, notably winning the 1994 FIFA World Cup
with Brazil
. His mother, Valéria, played volleyball
. Rafinha's older brother, Thiago
, also a midfielder, also emerged through Barcelona's youth ranks, going on to represent its first team and the Spanish national team
.
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian-Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
footballer who plays for FC Barcelona B
FC Barcelona B
Futbol Club Barcelona B is a Spanish football team. They are the reserve team of FC Barcelona. Reserve teams in the Spanish football league system play in the same football pyramid as their senior team rather than a separate league. However reserve teams cannot play in the same division as their...
as an attacking midfielder.
Football career
Born in São PauloSão Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Rafinha joined FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
's youth ranks at the age of 13. On 8 January 2011, he made his professional debuts with the B team
FC Barcelona B
Futbol Club Barcelona B is a Spanish football team. They are the reserve team of FC Barcelona. Reserve teams in the Spanish football league system play in the same football pyramid as their senior team rather than a separate league. However reserve teams cannot play in the same division as their...
, replacing Jonathan dos Santos
Jonathan dos Santos
Jonathan dos Santos Ramírez is a Mexican football who plays as a central or defensive midfielder for FC Barcelona B. He has also been called up to the Mexican national team.-Early life:...
in the 55th minute of a 1–2 home loss against Girona FC
Girona FC
Girona Futbol Club, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Girona, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Founded in 1930, it plays in Segunda División, holding home games at Estadi Montilivi, which has a capacity of 10,000....
.
Rafina made his debut with the Catalans
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
' main squad on 9 November 2011, taking the place of Cesc Fàbregas
Cesc Fàbregas
Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas i Soler is a Spanish footballer who plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club FC Barcelona.Fàbregas started his career as a trainee with Barcelona but was signed by Premier League side Arsenal in September 2003 at the age of 16...
for the last 15 minutes of a 1–0 away win against CE L'Hospitalet, for the season
2011–12 Copa del Rey
The 2011–12 Copa del Rey is the 108th staging of the Copa del Rey. The competition began on August 31, 2011 and will end on May 20 or 25, 2012 with the final, depending on whether any of the finalists qualify for the UEFA Champions League final on May 19, 2012. The winners will qualify for the...
's Spanish Cup
Copa del Rey
The Copa del Rey is an annual football cup competition for Spanish football teams. Its full name is Campeonato de España – Copa de Su Majestad el Rey de Fútbol ....
.
Club statistics
As of 26 November 2011| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe UEFA The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer.... |
Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Barcelona B FC Barcelona B Futbol Club Barcelona B is a Spanish football team. They are the reserve team of FC Barcelona. Reserve teams in the Spanish football league system play in the same football pyramid as their senior team rather than a separate league. However reserve teams cannot play in the same division as their... |
2010–11 2010–11 Segunda División -Personnel and sponsorship:-Managerial changes:-League table:||style="background-color:#F9F9F9;"|||rowspan=11 style="background-color:#F9F9F9;"|-Positions by round:Source: -Results:... |
9 | 1 | — | 9 | 1 | |||||
| 2011–12 | 13 | 5 | — | 13 | 5 | ||||||
| Total | 22 | 6 | |— | 22 | 6 | ||||||
| Barcelona FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.... |
2011–12 2011–12 FC Barcelona season The 2011–12 season is Futbol Club Barcelona's 112th in existence and the club's 81st consecutive season in the top flight of Spanish football. Barcelona will be debuting their new and first paid shirt sponsor Qatar Foundation after an agreement was reached in 2010 with the non-profit organization... |
0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Career totals | 22 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 6 | |
Personal
Rafinha's father, MazinhoMazinho
Iomar do Nascimento, known as Mazinho , is a Brazilian football manager and former player, and the former head coach of Greek club Aris Thessaloniki.-Club career:...
, was also a footballer and a midfielder, notably winning the 1994 FIFA World Cup
1994 FIFA World Cup
The 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 15th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in nine cities across the United States from June 17 to July 17, 1994. The United States was chosen as the host by FIFA on July 4, 1988...
with Brazil
Brazil national football team
The Brazil national football team represents Brazil in international men's football and is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation , the governing body for football in Brazil. They are a member of the International Federation of Association Football since 1923 and also a member of the...
. His mother, Valéria, played volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
. Rafinha's older brother, Thiago
Thiago Alcántara
Thiago Alcântara do Nascimento is a Spanish football player. He currently plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club FC Barcelona.-Early years:...
, also a midfielder, also emerged through Barcelona's youth ranks, going on to represent its first team and the Spanish national team
Spain national football team
The Spain national football team represents Spain in international association football and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain. The current head coach is Vicente del Bosque...
.