Albert Riera Vidal (born 28 December 1983) is a Spanish former professional footballer who is currently the manager of New Zealand

Northern League Northern League may refer to: Sport Baseball * Northern League (baseball, 1902–71), a name used by several minor leagues that operated in the upper midwestern U.S. and Manitoba from 1902 to 1971 * Northern League (baseball, 1993–2010), an indep ...

club

Auckland City Auckland City was a territorial authority with city status covering the central isthmus of the urban area of Auckland, New Zealand. It was governed by the Auckland City Council from 1989 to 2010, and as a territory within the wider Auckland R ...

. Riera spent the majority of his playing career in New Zealand, mainly appearing as a defensive midfielder for

in the

New Zealand Football Championship The New Zealand Football Championship ( mi, Te Whakataetae Whutupaoro a Aotearoa) was a men's association football league at the top of the New Zealand league system. Founded in 2004, the New Zealand Football Championship was the successor to a m ...

and for Wellington Phoenix in the

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

Playing career

Born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Riera played with local teams, at the beginning in

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...

( CD Binéfar and Atlético Monzón), and later in Catalonia (

CF Balaguer Club de Futbol Balaguer is a Spanish football team based in Balaguer, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Founded in 1945 it currently plays in Tercera División – Group 5, holding home games at ''Municipal de Balaguer'', with a capacity ...

FC Benavent Futbol Club Benavent was a List of football clubs in Spain, football team from Benavent de Segrià in the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain. Founded in 1981 and dissolved in June 2010 due to lack of support, it played its last season, 2009� ...

and

CFJ Mollerussa Club de Futbol Joventut Mollerussa is a football team based in Mollerussa in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Founded in 1930, it plays in the Primera Catalana – Group 2. Its stadium is '' Camp Municipal'' with a capacity of 4,000 seats. ...

Auckland City

Riera debuted with

on 21 February 2011, coming on as a substitute in the 73rd minute of a match against AS Magenta in the

2010–11 OFC Champions League The 2010–11 OFC Champions League, also known as the 2011 O-League for short, was the 10th edition of the Oceanian Club Championship, Oceania's premier club football tournament organized by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), and the 5th sea ...

.AS Magenta vs Auckland City FC – Match Summary
Riera and Auckland City went on to win the Champions League, with Riera coming on as a substitute in two games (against Magenta and against Waitakere United) and starting in two (against Tefana and against Amicale). In the

2010–11 New Zealand Football Championship The New Zealand Football Championship's 2010–11 season (known as the ASB Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is the seventh season of the NZFC since its establishment in 2004. The home and away season began on 16 October 2010 with a kickoff b ...

Riera played in a total of five games, as well as the four games in the OFC Champions League. In the 2011–12 season Riera played in 24 matches with Auckland City. Domestically, he played in 14 matches in the

, in which Auckland City won the premiership, and in the ASB Charity Cup match against Waitakere United. Riera also played in all 8 matches of the OFC Champions League, in which he won the Golden Ball award for best player of the tournament, and played together with Auckland City in the

FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 200 ...

, where they were eliminated in the first round, after losing to Kashiwa Reysol. In the 2012–13 season Riera played in 26 matches with Auckland City. Domestically, he played in 16 matches in the

, in which Auckland City took 2nd place, and in the ASB Charity Cup match against Waitakere United. Riera scored his first goal in the opening round of the domestic league against Canterbury United. Riera also played in 8 matches of the OFC Champions League, helping Auckland City win their fifth title of the competition, and their third consecutive title. Once again he played for Auckland City in the

, where they were eliminated in the first round, after losing to Sanfrecce Hiroshima.

Wellington Phoenix

Riera was signed by Wellington Phoenix of the

on 7 October 2013, after they had played a pre-season friendly against Auckland City. He debuted for Wellington Phoenix in the opening match of the 2013–14 season against Brisbane Roar, coming on as a substitute in the 55th minute. Halfway through the season, he signed a year-long extension to his contract with Wellington Phoenix. Riera was named the Phoenix's player of the year for the 2013–14 season. Riera announced his retirement from the Phoenix on 21 May 2016.

Return to Auckland City

Riera's retirement was short lived, as he signed for his former club

for the

2016–17 New Zealand Football Championship The 2016–17 New Zealand Football Championship season (currently known as the Stirling Sports Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the thirteenth season of the NZFC since its establishment in 2004. Ten teams competed this season with the add ...

season.

Coaching career

He left Auckland City at the end of the 2020–21 season to take up a role as assistant manager of West Coast Rangers, newly formed to compete in the

, along with former Auckland City teammate

Ángel Berlanga Ángel Luis Viña Berlanga (born 24 February 1987) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Auckland City in the New Zealand Football Championship. Career Auckland City After playing in his native Spain for Rayo Maja ...

. On 4 May 2021, after a poor start to the 2021 Northern League season, manager Chris Acott stepped down and was replaced by Riera; however, West Coast Rangers could not avoid relegation to NRFL Division 1. On 1 December 2021, it was announced that Riera would return to

as their new manager for the 2022 Northern League season.

Personal life

In October 2018, Riera became a New Zealand citizen.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Auckland City * New Zealand Football Championship Premiers: 2011–12 * ASB Charity Cup: 2011 * OFC Champions League:

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, 2011–12,

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

* A-League All Stars: 2014 Individual * OFC Golden Ball: 2011–12

Manager

Auckland City *

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

References

External links

Auckland City official profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Riera Vidal, Albert 1983 births Living people Spanish footballers Footballers from Barcelona Association football midfielders Tercera División players CF Balaguer footballers Auckland City FC players Wellington Phoenix FC players New Zealand Football Championship players A-League Men players Spanish expatriate footballers Expatriate association footballers in New Zealand Spanish expatriate sportspeople in New Zealand CD Binéfar players Atlético Monzón players Naturalised citizens of New Zealand Spanish emigrants to New Zealand