“Come on, come on! We can do it!” screams TKU soccer team captain, Ricardo B. Abrego Abrego, to encourage team members while on the soccer field. As the talisman of the Tamkang team line up, his presence on the pitch always settles the nerves of his fellow teammates. When asked of their opinion of the team captain, his teammates immediately turn their thumb up, smile, and exclaim “he’s the perfect person for the job”.

This year, the TKU soccer team claimed first place in the Taiwan University Soccer League. Ricardo was nominated by the team coach as the most valuable player. Faced with the honor of being the season MVP, Ricardo politely declined, and instead recommended that one of the other teammates should receive the recognition. The coach was astounded and extremely impressed by the humility displayed by Ricardo.

Ricardo believes that “responsibility” is the most important quality that a captain should possess. Despite the fact that the players come from various countries and speak a range of different languages, whenever any of the player’s experience difficulties on the pitch, Ricardo is always there to help them improve their technique or discuss game strategies. Now a 4th year student in the TKU Department of International Business, Ricardo has been playing soccer since he was just a child. When asked what his life would be like without soccer, he candidly responds “I would die!”