| Riku Handa 半田 陸 | |
| Fullname: | Riku Handa[1] |
| Birth Date: | 1 January 2002 |
| Birth Place: | Yamagata, Japan |
| Height: | 1.76 m |
| Position: | Right back |
| Currentclub: | Gamba Osaka |
| Clubnumber: | 3 |
| Youthyears1: | 2014–2019 |
| Youthclubs1: | Montedio Yamagata |
| Years1: | 2019–2022 |
| Caps1: | 94 |
| Goals1: | 3 |
| Clubs1: | Montedio Yamagata |
| Years2: | 2023– |
| Caps2: | 16 |
| Goals2: | 1 |
| Clubs2: | Gamba Osaka |
| Nationalyears1: | 2018 |
| Nationalteam1: | Japan U16 |
| Nationalyears2: | 2019 |
| Nationalteam2: | Japan U19 |
| Nationalcaps2: | 3 |
| Nationalgoals2: | 0 |
| Nationalyears3: | 2022– |
| Nationalteam3: | Japan U23 |
| Nationalcaps3: | 6 |
| Nationalgoals3: | 0 |
| Club-Update: | 11 June 2023 |
| Nationalteam-Update: | 18 June 2022 |
is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a right back for club Gamba Osaka.[2] [3]
Handa started his career with Montedio Yamagata Youth and was given his first professional contract for Montedio Yamagata in March 2019.[4] He made his first-team debut in May 2019, coming on as a late substitute for Kai Miki in a J2 League game against JEF United Chiba.[5] In July of the same year, he made his first start for the club in the second round of the Emperor's Cup in a 2–1 defeat to Tochigi SC.[6] Handa went on to play six times in his debut season.
In the 2020 season, Handa played 15 times for Montedio Yamagata but 2021 was his breakthrough year – playing in 37 games and being in the starting XI on 36 occasions. He also scored his first goal for the club in a 3–1 defeat to V-Varen Nagasaki and went on to score three goals during the rest of the season.[7] In the 2022 season, Handa was again a key member of the starting XI, playing more than 3000 minutes over 37 games. He made a total of 95 appearances in four seasons with Yamagata.
In January 2023, Handa signed for J1 League club Gamba Osaka.[8] [9]
In March 2023, Handa was called up to the Japan national team for the first time by manager Hajime Moriyasu to play in the 2023 Kirin Challenge Cup.[10]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Montedio Yamagata | 2019 | J2 League | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 6 | 0 | ||
| 2020 | J2 League | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 15 | 0 | |||
| 2021 | J2 League | 37 | 3 | 0 | 0 | – | 37 | 3 | |||
| 2022 | J2 League | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 37 | 0 | |||
| Total | 94 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 95 | 3 | |||
| Gamba Osaka | 2023 | J1 League | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 1 | |
| Career total | 91 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 2 | 108 | 7 | |||
Japan U16
Japan U23