Rui Pedro Coimbra Chaves (born 11 September 1990), known as Ruca, is a Portuguese professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

for Liga 3 club

São João de Ver São João de Ver is a Portugal, Portuguese parish, located in the municipality of Santa Maria da Feira Municipality, Santa Maria da Feira. The population in 2011 was 10,579, in an area of 15.37 km2. Landmarks *Casa da Torre or Quinta da Tor ...

Club career

Born in Tondela,

Viseu District The Districts of Portugal, District of Viseu ( ) is located in the Central Inland of Portugal, the District Capital is the city of Viseu. Municipalities The district is composed by 24 municipalities: * Armamar Municipality, Armamar * Carregal d ...

, Ruca moved to S.C. Beira-Mar's youth system at the age of 16 from local Clube de Futebol Repesenses. After winning the second-division juniors championship in 2009, he signed with Gil Vicente FC. In his first season as a senior, Ruca was loaned to hometown's C.D. Tondela. He made his competitive debut against Amarante F.C. on 30 August 2009, in a

match A match is a tool for starting a fire. Typically, matches are made of small wooden sticks or stiff paper. One end is coated with a material that can be ignited by friction generated by striking the match against a suitable surface. Wooden matc ...

for the

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; ) is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Generali Tranquilidade since the 2024–25 seaso ...

. He continued to be loaned the following years, to Vilaverdense FC, Oliveira de Frades (two spells) and again Tondela. Ruca joined yet another club in the third division in the summer of 2013,

SC Mirandela Sport Clube de Mirandela ''(Mirandela)'' is a Portuguese football club based in the city of Mirandela, in northeast Portugal (Trás-os-Montes region). Background Mirandela currently plays in the Segunda Divisão Zona Norte, which is the third ...

. He had been previously deployed as a

left winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

, but switched to

at his new team. On 1 July 2014, Ruca signed for C.D. Mafra as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

after his contract with Gil expired. Starting in all his league appearances, he contributed seven goals to help the side win the championship and subsequently promote to the Segunda Liga. Ruca agreed to a two-year deal with

Vitória F.C. Vitória Futebol Clube (), popularly known as Vitória de Setúbal, is a Portuguese professional Association football, football club based in Setúbal that used to compete in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football league system ...

from the

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...

, on 11 June 2015. He scored on his debut in the competition on 16 August, putting the hosts ahead 2–0 in an eventual 2–2 draw against Boavista FC. On 30 August 2016, Ruca was linked to Cypriot club

Apollon Limassol FC Apollon Limassol FC (, ''Apollon Lemesou'') is a Cyprus, Cypriot sports club, based in Limassol. It has Association football, football, Apollon Limassol B.C., basketball and volleyball teams. Founded in 1954, Apollon FC currently plays in the Cyp ...

, but Vitória manager José Couceiro vetoed his departure due to lack of options in his position. On 30 December he left by mutual consent due to lack of playing time and, two days later, returned to Tondela. Ruca continued to compete in the Portuguese second tier in the following seasons (a brief loan spell in the

Cypriot First Division The Cypriot First Division (), also known as the Cyprus League by Stoiximan for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Cyprus and the highest level of the Cypriot football league system. Operated by the Cyprus Fo ...

notwithstanding), representing Mafra, C.D. Feirense and F.C. Penafiel. He moved abroad again in July 2022, joining

PFC Beroe Stara Zagora Professional Football Club Beroe Stara Zagora, better known as just Beroe (), is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Stara Zagora, that competes in the Bulgarian First Professional League, First League, the top division o ...

of the

First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) The First Professional Football League (), commonly known as Parva Liga or Bulgarian First League (currently known as the efbet League for sponsorship reasons), is a professional association football league in Bulgaria and the highest level of t ...

. Ruca subsequently returned to Portugal, representing in the lower leagues Académica de Coimbra and

SC São João de Ver SC São João de Ver is a professional association football club based in the parish of São João de Ver, municipality of Santa Maria da Feira, Aveiro District, District of Aveiro Portugal. The team competes in Liga 3 (Portugal), Liga 3, the th ...

Career statistics

Honours

Vilaverdense * Braga Football Association: 2010–11 Mafra * Campeonato de Portugal: 2014–15

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruca 1990 births Living people 21st-century Portuguese sportsmen Portuguese men's footballers Footballers from Viseu District Men's association football fullbacks Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players Segunda Divisão players Liga 3 (Portugal) players Campeonato de Portugal (league) players Gil Vicente F.C. players C.D. Tondela players Vilaverdense FC players SC Mirandela players C.D. Mafra players Vitória F.C. players C.D. Feirense players F.C. Penafiel players Académica de Coimbra (football) players SC São João de Ver players Cypriot First Division players Alki Oroklini players First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players PFC Beroe Stara Zagora players Portuguese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus Expatriate men's footballers in Bulgaria Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Bulgaria