Rafinha (footballer, born 1982)

Last updated

Rafinha
Rafael Scapini de Almeida 2018.jpg
Rafinha with HJK in 2018.
Personal information
Full name Rafael Scapini de Almeida
Date of birth (1982-06-29) 29 June 1982 (age 42)
Place of birth Brazil
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Midfielder, Defender
Team information
Current team
 AC Oulu (assistant coach)
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
0000–2005 Campinas
2005–2007 AC Oulu 67 (13)
2008–2009 Tampere United 48 (8)
2010–2011 HJK 44 (3)
2011–2016 Gent 101 (2)
2016–2019 HJK 95 (4)
2020–2022 AC Oulu 72 (1)
2023– OLS 30 (1)
Managerial career
2023–2024 OLS (assistant)
2024– AC Oulu (assistant)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 9 November 2024

Rafael Scapini de Almeida (born 29 June 1982), commonly known as Rafinha (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʁɐˈfĩɲɐ] ), is a Brazilian football coach and a former professional footballer. He is currently working as an assistant coach of Veikkausliiga club AC Oulu. Besides Brazil, he has played in Finland and Belgium. [1] During his career, Rafinha was deployed on different positions on the field, having started as a winger, moving on to midfield and ending his career as a centre back.

Contents

Rafinha is considered a club legend of AC Oulu, the club he has represented in multiple seasons. [2]

Career

Rafinha started playing football in his native Brazil. He worked as a storage worker and played in lower amateur divisions in Campinas. [3]

In March 2005, he moved to Finland and after a successful trial, he signed with AC Oulu in second-tier Ykkönen. [4] He was named the Ykkönen Player of the Year in 2006. In the 2007 season, Rafinha debuted in Finnish top-tier Veikkausliiga, after AC Oulu had won a promotion in 2006. During 2008–2009, he played in Veikkausliiga for Tampere United, and in 2010 and 2011, he won two Finnish championship titles with HJK, and additionally the Finnish Cup in 2011.

He was acquired by Belgian club Gent in 2011 for an undisclosed fee. [5] In 2016, after five seasons, one Belgian championship title and six UEFA Champions League group stage appearances with Gent, Rafinha returned to Finland and signed with HJK. He went on winning two more championship titles with HJK, in 2017 and 2018, and Finnish Cup in 2017. He also captained the HJK team. [6]

In 2020, Rafinha returned to AC Oulu, his first club in Finland. [7] Three years later, after having helped the club to establish themselves in Veikkausliiga, he announced the ending of his professional career, at the age of 40. [8] However, next 2023 season he played for Oulun Luistinseura (OLS), the reserve team of AC Oulu in third-tier Kakkonen, and worked as an assistant coach on a player-coach contract. [9]

Coaching career

On 26 November 2023, Rafinha was appointed as a full-time assistant coach of the reserve team OLS. [10]

Since 2024, he is working as an assistant coach of AC Oulu. [11]

Personal life

Rafinha has a Finnish wife and two children. [12]

Career statistics

As of 9 November 2024 [13]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueCupLeague CupOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
AC Oulu 2005 Ykkönen 22600——226
2006 Ykkönen22600——226
2007 Veikkausliiga 22100——221
Total66130000006613
Tampere United 2008 Veikkausliiga22100—4 [a] 0261
2009 Veikkausliiga25700—257
Total478000040518
HJK 2010 Veikkausliiga24140716 [b] 0412
2011 Veikkausliiga20220705 [c] 1343
Total44360141111755
Gent 2011–12 Belgian Pro League 20130—231
2012–13 Belgian Pro League24040—1 [d] 0290
2013–14 Belgian Pro League21040—250
2014–15 Belgian Pro League19140—231
2015–16 Belgian Pro League17030—7 [e] 0270
Total101218000801272
HJK 2016 Veikkausliiga13110—141
2017 Veikkausliiga31271—4 [d] 0423
2018 Veikkausliiga24161—6 [f] 0362
2019 Veikkausliiga27150—6 [f] 0381
Total955192001601307
AC Oulu 2020 Ykkönen21131——242
2021 Veikkausliiga26030——290
2022 Veikkausliiga2503020—300
Total721912000832
OLS 2023 Kakkonen 20010——210
2024 Ykkönen10120——121
Total301300000331
Career totals4553355316140156637
  1. ↑ Appearance in the UEFA Champions League
  2. ↑ Four Appearances in the UEFA Champions League, Two Appearances in the UEFA Europa League
  3. ↑ Three Appearances in the UEFA Champions League, Two Appearances in the UEFA Europa League
  4. 1 2 Appearance(s) in the UEFA Europa League
  5. ↑ Six Appearances in the UEFA Champions League, One Appearance in the Belgian Super Cup
  6. 1 2 Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League

Honours

HJK
K.A.A. Gent
Tampere United
AC Oulu
Individual

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AC Oulu</span> Finnish football club

AC Oulu is a Finnish professional football club based in Oulu, currently playing in Finland's premier division, Veikkausliiga. Formed in 2002, the club have played six seasons in Finland's highest football league Veikkausliiga and 16 seasons in the second highest league. They currently play their home games at Raatti Stadium, and the club colours are navy blue, and white.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Markus Heikkinen</span> Finnish sporting director and former football player (born 1978)

Markus Heikkinen, nicknamed Mako, is a Finnish former professional footballer who played as a centre back or defensive midfielder. He is currently working as a sporting director of Veikkausliiga side AC Oulu.

The 2010 Veikkausliiga was the 80th season of top-tier football in Finland. It began on 16 April 2010 and ended on 23 October 2010.

The 2011 Veikkausliiga was the 81st season of top-tier football in Finland. It began on 2 May 2011 and ended on 29 October 2011. HJK were the defending champions and successfully defended their title.

Rasmus Karjalainen is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a winger for SJK. He began his senior career in 2014, at age 18, with OLS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Niklas Jokelainen</span> Finnish footballer (born 2000)

Niklas Jokelainen is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder and captains AC Oulu in Veikkausliiga.

Joni Mäkelä is a Finnish professional footballer who plays for KTP as a right winger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anselmi Nurmela</span> Finnish footballer (born 1996)

Anselmi Mikael Nurmela is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for OLS.

The 2024 Veikkausliiga was the 94th season of top-tier football in Finland, which takes place from April to November. Veikkaus was the league's sponsor.

Otso Urho Eemil Liimatta is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Primeira Liga club Famalicão and the Finland under-21 national team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noah Pallas</span> Finnish footballer (born 2001)

Noah Pallas is a Finnish professional football player who plays as a left back for Veikkausliiga club HJK and the Finland national team.

Jere Kallinen is a Finnish professional football player. He most recently played as a defensive midfielder for Veikkausliiga club AC Oulu and the Finland U21 national team.

Onni Suutari is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Veikkausliiga club AC Oulu.

Julius Körkkö is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Veikkausliiga club AC Oulu.

Otso-Pekka Parkkila is a Finnish professional footballer playing as a full back for Veikkausliiga club AC Oulu.

Lasse Ikonen is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Ykkösliiga club TPS.

Tuomas Silvennoinen is a Finnish football coach who is the head coach of Espoon Palloseura (EPS) in Ykkönen.

Ville Nylund is a Finnish former professional footballer, who played as a right back. He was capped 21 times for Finland national football team during 1996–2004.

Mikko Mannila is a Finnish football manager of Ykkönen club OLS and a former player.

Mikko Isokangas is a Finnish football coach and a former player, who played as a midfielder. He is currently a manager of Veikkausliiga club AC Oulu.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.