Albert Riera


Albert Riera Ortega is a Spanish retired footballer who played mainly as a left winger but also as a left back.
He made a name for himself at Espanyol and also played professionally in France, England, Greece, Turkey, Italy and Slovenia, notably spending three years with Galatasaray.
Riera won 16 caps for Spain, representing the nation at the 2009 Confederations Cup.

Club career

Mallorca

Born in Manacor, Balearic Islands, Riera started his professional career with hometown club RCD Mallorca, but could only make a combined ten La Liga appearances in his first two seasons.
In the 2002–03 campaign, already an undisputed starter, he helped the local team to the conquest of the Copa del Rey, and scored four league goals in 35 games.

Bordeaux

In the summer of 2003, Riera moved to FC Girondins de Bordeaux, where he was a first-team regular for two years.
He made 66 competitive appearances for the Ligue 1 side, and netted nine times.

Espanyol

Riera returned to Spain in 2005, when he signed for RCD Espanyol. In his first season he played only eight league matches, prompting a January 2006 loan move to Manchester City where he was also unable to establish himself, scoring against Newcastle United in a 3–0 home win on 1 February.
Riera returned to Catalonia prior to 2006–07. During that season, Espanyol reached the final of the UEFA Cup at Hampden Park, Glasgow, where they played fellow Spaniards Sevilla FC: he scored to level the game at 1–1, but his team eventually lost 1–3 on penalties. At the end of the campaign, he extended his contract until 2011.

Liverpool

On 1 September 2008, Riera signed a four-year deal with Liverpool for a fee of £8 million, being given the number 11 shirt. He made his Premier League debut on the 13th, playing 71 minutes of a 2–1 home win against Manchester United, and scored his first goal for the Reds as they beat Wigan Athletic 3–2 on 18 October, adding another in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League in a 3–1 victory at PSV Eindhoven.
Riera netted Liverpool's first goal of 2009, and also scored in the third round in the FA Cup on 3 January, against Preston North End. Later during that season he scored against Aston Villa in a 5–0 home rout on 22 March 2009, through a half-volley after Pepe Reina's long goal kick.
On 18 March 2010, Riera was suspended after comments made to the Spanish press regarding his first team opportunities and the approach of Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez. The player was quoted as saying: "He's never sorted out a situation with a player by talking with him." He was transfer listed following the comments, with Russian clubs PFC CSKA Moscow and FC Spartak Moscow thought to be interested in a permanent move. On the 23rd of that month it was announced that Liverpool had accepted a £6 million bid from CSKA for the player; however, it appeared to be solely rumours, any interest was officially denied– additionally, the player's agent, Ángel Castells, confirmed that only Spartak had made a proposal.

Olympiacos

On 23 July 2010, Riera joined Greek club Olympiacos F.C. on a four-year contract. The deal was reported to be worth around €6 million, with a salary of around €2.5 million per season; he became one of the most expensive transfers in the country's history, as he reunited with former Espanyol manager Ernesto Valverde.
Riera scored his first goal for Olympiacos against Kerkyra F.C. in a 2–0 home win, and appeared in more than 30 official games during the season as the Piraeus team won the Superleague.

Galatasaray

On 3 September 2011, Riera completed a €3 million move to Turkish giants Galatasaray S.K., signing a four-year contract. He scored his first goal in the Süper Lig on 25 January 2012 in a 4–0 home defeat of MKE Ankaragücü, and was an habitual first-choice in his first season as the Istanbul-based team won the national championship; he was also involved, however, in a punching session with teammate Felipe Melo just before the playoffs started.
Following the arrival of prospect Nordin Amrabat for the 2012–13 campaign, Riera was reconverted by manager Fatih Terim into an attacking left back, mainly due to the lack of options in the position other than injury-prone Hakan Balta. On 28 January 2014, he agreed to have his contract terminated for €750,000 and left the Ali Sami Yen Stadium.

Later career

On 24 March 2014, Riera signed a pre-contract with Italian side Udinese Calcio, effective as of 1 July. Three days later, he joined Football League Championship's Watford until the end of the season.
Riera scored his first and only goal for Watford on 19 April 2014, in a 3–1 home win over Ipswich Town. He had an extended run until late in the month, when he was sent off for two bookable offences in a 1–3 loss at Chartlton Athletic after a high challenge on Diego Poyet. After the match, he was charged by The Football Association for improper conduct, having confronted the officials and having to be dragged away by his team-mates; he was given a two-match ban although only one remained to end the campaign, and he subsequently returned to Udinese.
On 29 November 2014, Riera was sacked by Udinese for attending a poker tournament rather than reporting to play against A.C. ChievoVerona, also taking to Twitter to insult the organisation. He returned to his first club Mallorca the following 5 March, after agreeing to a one-and-a-half year deal. In May, he was subjected to disciplinary proceedings after claiming he would not appear again for the team as long as Miquel Soler was the manager.
On 11 September 2015, Slovenian sports newspaper Ekipa reported that Riera would sign a contract with NK Zavrč. Three days later, he was officially presented.
Riera terminated his contract on 22 January 2016, but remained in the country as he joined FC Koper until June 2018 shortly after. He was released in July 2016.
Riera officially announced his retirement from football on 24 January 2018, through a social media post portraying himself having literally hung up his boots on a tree.

International career

Riera made his debut for the Spanish national team on 13 October 2007 in an UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier against Denmark, and scored from outside the box in a 3–1 away win. However, he failed to make the final cut for the final stages, where the nation emerged victorious.
Riera was again called to the squad in October 2008 for two 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers after Sevilla's Diego Capel withdrew with an injury, and played 12 minutes in a 3–0 victory in Estonia. In the following year, on 1 April, he netted a last-minute winner in Turkey.
Manager Vicente del Bosque named Riera in the squad for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, and he played in four matches for the third-placed team. He was, however, overlooked for the World Cup squad in South Africa, as the national side were crowned champions.

Personal life

Riera's younger brother, Sito, is also a footballer. He too represented Espanyol, but only their reserves.
On 30 May 2009, Albert married a Russian citizen Julia Koroleva. Albert and his wife Julia have three children – Alehandra, Valentina and Ivan. The family lives in Omsk, Siberia, Russia.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.13 October 2007NRGi Park, Aarhus, Denmark1–31–3Euro 2008 qualifying
2.1 April 2009Ali Sami Yen, Istanbul, Turkey1–21–22010 World Cup qualification
3.9 June 2009Tofiq Bahramov, Baku, Azerbaijan0–40–6Friendly
4.12 August 2009Philip II Arena, Skopje, Macedonia2–32–3Friendly

Honours

Mallorca
Espanyol
Olympiacos
Galatasaray
Spain