Ricardo Rivera

Ricardo Emmanuel Rivera de León (born 17 April 1997) is a Puerto Rican footballer who plays as a forward for Union Omaha and the Puerto Rico national football team.

For the Argentine tennis player, see Ricardo Rivera (tennis).
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Rivera and the second or maternal family name is de León.
Ricardo Rivera
Personal information
Full name Ricardo Emmanuel Rivera de León
Date of birth (1997-04-17) 17 April 1997
Place of birth San Juan, Puerto Rico
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Union Omaha
Number 19
Youth career
2004–2015 Atlético de San Juan
2015–2016 Racing Algemesí CF
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2018 UPR Mayagüez
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2021 Vilamarxant CF 72 (13)
2021–2022 Union Omaha 20 (1)
2022– Buñol
International career‡
2012 Puerto Rico U17 3 (0)
2016 Puerto Rico U20 3 (0)
2019 Puerto Rico U23 3 (2)
2016– Puerto Rico 21 (13)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16 October 2022
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12 September 2023

Career

Youth and college

Rivera played most of his youth career at Club Atlético de San Juan before moving to Valencia in 2015 where he played one year at Racing Algemesí. From 2016 to 2018, he played college soccer at UPR Mayagüez where he won the championship twice and earned awards including MVP and top goalscorer.[1]

Senior career

In 2018, Rivera tried out and signed with Villamarxant CF of the Tercera División.[2]

International

Ricardo was called up to the Puerto Rico national under-17 football team under manager Jeaustin Campos in 2012 for the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. In 2016 he played for the Puerto Rico national under-20 football team.[3] Same year he was called up and made his debut for the senior national team for friendly matches against Dominican Republic.[4] In July 2019, he was called up for the Puerto Rico national under-23 football team for the 2020 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship qualification. He scored the winning goal in the 93' minute on his debut against Antigua and Barbuda.[5]

Rivera concluded the 2022 World Cup qualifiers as the team’s leader in goals, with four.[6] Puerto Rico finished this stage second in their group, but only Saint Kitts and Nevis advanced.[6]

Career statistics

International goals
As of match played 12 September 2023.
List of international goals scored by Ricardo Rivera
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 28 March 2021Estadio Centroamericano, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico Trinidad and Tobago1–11–12022 FIFA World Cup qualification
2 2 June 2021Estadio Centroamericano, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico Bahamas2–07–0
3 4–0
4 8 June 2021Georgetown Football Stadium, Georgetown, Guyana Guyana1–02–0
5 12 June 2022Estadio Centroamericano, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico British Virgin Islands2–06–02022–23 CONCACAF Nations League C
6 4–0
7 5–0
8 6–0
9 26 March 2023Mayagüez Athletics Stadium, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico Cayman Islands1–05–1
10 3–0
11 9 September 2023Thomas Robinson Stadium, Nassau, Bahamas Bahamas2–16–12023–24 CONCACAF Nations League B
12 12 September 2023Mayagüez Athletics Stadium, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico Antigua and Barbuda2–05–0
13 3–0

References
  1. Time/Results. "CAAMpeones los Tarzanes de la UPRM | FutbolBoricua.net". Futbolboricua.co. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  2. "Ricky, un Tarzán a la conquista de España". ¡Que Palo! Deportes.
  3. "Noticias: Le llega el turno a la Sub20 rumbo a la Copa Mundial". Archived from the original on 2020-09-21. Retrieved 2019-01-24.
  4. Time/Results. "A Escena El Clásico Caribeño En Bayamón: #Nuestraselepr Vs. República Dominicana | Futbolboricua.Net". Futbolboricua.co. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  5. "Primera victoria de la Selección Olímpica en 12 años".
  6. "Termina con victoria Puerto Rico la clasificación al mundial Catar 2022 | FutbolBoricua.net".
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