Ricardinho, Legends burnish skills, stats

Like Pele, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho before him, Las Vegas Legends midfielder Ricardinho is a Brazilian who goes by one name on the soccer field.

While Ricardinho doesn't possess the same advanced skill set as the aforementioned greats, he quickly has established himself as a Las Vegas fan favorite and one of the leading scorers in the Professional Arena Soccer League.

The 5-foot-7-inch, 130-pound Ricardinho - whose full name is Ricardo Sobreira - scored four goals, one in each quarter, and had three assists Friday to lead the expansion Legends (8-1) to their seventh straight victory, 15-6 over the Tacoma Stars at the Las Vegas Sports Park.

"He's probably one of the best players, technically, in the entire league," said Las Vegas coach Greg Howes, a former three-time league Most Valuable Player. "His footwork is amazing. He's just a Brazilian football player. He's unbelievably skillful with the ball.

"He's the most electric, entertaining player to watch on our team, for sure."

Ricardinho, who turns 24 on Sunday, moved from Sao Paolo, Brazil, to Salt Lake City a few years ago with his family, and earned a spot on the Legends in an open tryout in Las Vegas.

"It was a no-brainer. No one can touch him," Howes said. "He dances on the ball. He's a magician with the ball."

Ricardinho, who has a team-leading 16 goals and 14 assists in nine games, has a loyal corps of fans. They chant his name and wear his jersey during games, and pose for pictures with him afterward.

"I love it, how the fans cheer for me," he said. "I'm so happy. I didn't expect it."

Brazilian Rodrigo Barbirato scored three goals, and Enrique Tovar, who leads the Legends with 32 points (15 goals, 17 assists), had a goal and five assists.

While the Legends also feature players from Argentina, Cameroon, Guatemala, Mexico and Kosovo, and coaches from Ireland and Jamaica, they're led by several local products as well - including the Tayou brothers, Franck and Uzi, who attended Valley High School, Edgar Nava (Cimarron-Memorial), and 19-year-old Eric Guzman (Cheyenne).

Despite being the youngest player, along with Nava, Guzman has quickly impressed Howes. The speedy 5-8 defender had two goals and two assists Friday and is the team's No. 3 scorer with 20 points (seven goals, 13 assists).

Howes said Guzman has the potential to play Major League Soccer and secured a recent tryout for him with the Seattle Sounders.

"I had him go out and train with them, and they said he did a great job," Howes said. "He has a little bit of time in front of him. He's got a good set of tools."

Guzman and his teammates have made a smooth adjustment to the faster pace of indoor soccer, which features four 15-minute quarters and no offsides.

Las Vegas' next home game is Jan. 18 at Orleans Arena against the San Diego Sockers, who have won 45 straight games.

"That's a game we've had circled since the beginning of the season," Legends president and general manager Meir Cohen said. "We want to show everybody Vegas is for real."

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354.