Oriol Riera
Oriol Riera Magem (Catalan pronunciation: ; born 3 July 1986) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a striker, and is the current *istant manager of AD Alcorcón B.
After starting out at Barcelona, he went on to am* La Liga totals of 102 matches and 23 goals over four seasons, with Osasuna and Deportivo. He added 115 games and 30 goals in Segunda División for three clubs, and also competed professionally in England and Australia during his 16-year career.
Contents
- 1 Club career
- 1.1 Barcelona
- 1.2 Journeyman
- 1.3 Osasuna
- 1.4 Wigan Athletic
- 1.5 Deportivo
- 1.6 Western Sydney Wanderers
- 1.7 Fuenlabrada
- 2 International career
- 3 Career statistics
- 4 References
- 5 External links
Club career
Barcelona
Born in Vic, Barcelona, Catalonia, Riera played youth football with La Liga club FC Barcelona, but spent the vast majority of his tenure with the club in representation of the C and B teams. His official input with the main squad consisted of 13 minutes in a 4–0 away win against Ciudad de Murcia for the season's Copa del Rey – when he was still a junior – on 17 December 2003.
Journeyman
After leaving the Camp Nou, Riera resumed his career in Segunda División B, where he played with Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa and Celta de Vigo B. He appeared in five Segunda División matches with the latter's main squad, four as a starter.
From 2009 to 2013, Riera competed in the second level, with Córdoba CF and AD Alcorcón. He scored 18 goals in his second year with the latter side, (including a hat-trick in a 3–1 success at UD Las Palmas on 8 September 2012), helping them to the promotion play-offs.
Osasuna
On 5 July 2013, Riera signed for three seasons with CA Osasuna. He made his La Liga debut on 18 August, coming on as a second-half subs*ute in a 2–1 home loss to Granada CF; his first goal in the compe*ion came on 20 September of the same year, in a 2–1 win against Elche CF also at the El Sadar Stadium.
Wigan Athletic
On 28 June 2014, after Osasuna's relegation, Riera agreed to a three-year deal with Wigan Athletic of the Football League Championship, for a reported £2 million fee. He scored his first goal for his new team on 23 August, the only against Blackpool in a 1–0 victory at the DW Stadium.
Deportivo
Riera returned to his country's top division on 7 January 2015, signing on loan to Deportivo de La Coruña until the end of the season. On 30 June he agreed to a permanent deal at the Estadio Riazor, having narrowly avoided relegation.
On 12 August 2016, Riera returned to his former club Osasuna after agreeing to a one-year loan deal. He scored his first goal for them on 10 September, but in a 5–2 away loss to Real Madrid; he netted another in a 3–3 home draw against Valencia CF (adding an own goal), in a relegation-ending campaign.
Western Sydney Wanderers
In July 2017, aged 31, Riera cut ties with Deportivo and joined A-League side Western Sydney Wanderers FC as a marquee player shortly after. He scored 15 times in his first season, but his team could only finish seventh.
In April 2019, the club confirmed that Riera was not renewing his contract.
Fuenlabrada
On 25 July 2019, free agent Riera agreed to a one-year contract with second division newcomers CF Fuenlabrada. On 10 August of the following year, after just one goal in 35 compe*ive appearances, he announced his retirement at the age of 34 and the desire to remain *ociated to the sport as manager. In October, he was named *istant coach of Alcorcón's reserves.
International career
Riera played his first match for the representative Catalan national team on 30 December 2013, scoring the last goal in a 4–1 win over Cape Verde at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys.
Career statistics
References
External links
- Oriol Riera at BDFutbol
- Oriol Riera at Futbolme (in Spanish)