| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Riku Handa[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (2002-01-01)1 January 2002 (age 24) | ||
| Place of birth | Yamagata, Japan | ||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position | Right-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Gamba Osaka | ||
| Number | 3 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2014–2019 | Montedio Yamagata | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019–2022 | Montedio Yamagata | 94 | (3) |
| 2023– | Gamba Osaka | 77 | (3) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2018 | Japan U16 | ||
| 2019 | Japan U19 | 3 | (0) |
| 2022– | Japan U23 | 6 | (0) |
Medal record | |||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 15 September 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 18 June 2022 | |||
Riku Handa (半田 陸,Handa Riku; born 1 January 2002) is a Japanese professionalfootballer who plays as aright-back forJ1 League clubGamba Osaka.[2]
Handa started his career with Montedio Yamagata Youth and was given his first professional contract for Montedio Yamagata in March 2019.[3] He made his first-team debut in May 2019, coming on as a late substitute forKai Miki in a J2 League game againstJEF United Chiba.[4] In July of the same year, he made his first start for the club in the second round of theEmperor's Cup in a 2–1 defeat toTochigi SC.[5] 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 toV-Varen Nagasaki and went on to score three goals during the rest of the season.[6] 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 forJ1 League clubGamba Osaka.[7][8]
In March 2023, Handa was called up to theJapan national team for the first time by managerHajime Moriyasu to play in the 2023Kirin Challenge Cup.[9]
On 4 April 2024, Handa was called up to the Japan U23 squad for the2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup.[10]
| Club | Season | League | Emperor's Cup | J.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 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 27 | 2 |
| 2024 | J1 League | 24 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 1 | |
| Total | 47 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 54 | 3 | ||
| Career total | 141 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 149 | 6 | ||
Japan U16
Japan U23
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