Damian "Tico" Rivera (born 8 December 2002) is a professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
who plays as a
midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
for
New England Revolution
The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compet ...
.
Born in the United States, he represents Costa Rica at youth level.
Career
New England Revolution
In November 2019, Rivera signed a homegrown contract with the Revolution. He made his professional debut with New England's
USL League One
USL League One (USL1) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that had its inaugural season in 2019. The Division III league is operated by United Soccer League, the same group that operates the Division II USL Championshi ...
affiliate on 7 August 2020 against
Orlando City B
Orlando City B (or OCB for short) is an American soccer club that began play in 2016 and currently plays in MLS Next Pro. Owned by Orlando City SC and based at the Orlando City training facility in Kissimmee, the club plays its home games at Osce ...
. In October of that season, Rivera scored his first professional goal, netting in the 83rd minute of a 4–0 victory over the
Richmond Kickers. He would finish his inaugural season with the club with two goals and an assist in 14 league appearances.
On 30 April 2022, Rivera made his first MLS start, and subsequently scored his first MLS goal, in the Revolution's 2–0 win over
Inter Miami CF
Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami, known as Inter Miami CF or simply Inter Miami, is an American professional soccer club based in the Miami metropolitan area. Established in 2018, the club began play in Major League Soccer (MLS) in the 2 ...
. In the process he became only the third player in league history to score in the first minute of his first MLS start, and the first to do so since
Real Salt Lake's Matias Mantilla
Matias Ezequiel Mantilla (born 14 February 1981) is an Argentine footballer.
Mantilla started his career in 2000 with Argentinos Juniors in the Primera Division Argentina. In 2002 the club were relegated, but Mantilla stayed with them until his ...
on 29 August 2007.
International career
Born in the United States, Rivera is of Costa Rican and Guatemalan descent. He is a youth international for the United States, having represented the
United States under-17s. He was called up to play for the
Costa Rica under-23s at the
2023 Maurice Revello Tournament.
[https://www.tournoimauricerevello.com/en/festival/detail_actualite.php?id=5450]
Honours
New England Revolution
*
Supporters' Shield:
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
References
External links
Damian Riveraat New England Revolution
Damian Riveraat US Soccer Development Academy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rivera, Damian
2002 births
Living people
Costa Rican men's footballers
Costa Rica men's youth international footballers
American men's soccer players
United States men's youth international soccer players
Costa Rican people of Guatemalan descent
American people of Costa Rican descent
American people of Guatemalan descent
New England Revolution players
New England Revolution II players
USL League One players
Men's association football midfielders
Sportspeople from Cranston, Rhode Island
Soccer players from Rhode Island
Homegrown Players (MLS)
Major League Soccer players
MLS Next Pro players