Ricardo López Felipe (born 30 December 1971), known simply as Ricardo, is a Spanish retired 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, rugb ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting ...

, currently a

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activitie ...

. He played 279

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Banco Santander, Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaL ...

matches over 15 seasons, starting his career at

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based i ...

where he struggled to break through, then representing mostly

Valladolid Valladolid () is a municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. It has a population around 300,000 peop ...

(four seasons) and

Osasuna Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional football club in Pamplona, Navarre. Founded on 24 October 1920, the club currently plays in La Liga, holding home games at the 23,576-capacity El ...

(eight). He also spent two years with

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

in the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

. Ricardo won two international caps for

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

, and was part of the squad for the

2002 World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football world championship for men's national teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea an ...

Club career

Atlético and Valladolid

Born in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, Ricardo began his professional career at

, working his way through the reserves and going on to represent the senior squad until 1998. Barred by

José Francisco Molina José Francisco Molina Jiménez (born 8 August 1970) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Eleven years of his extensive professional career were spent at Atlético Madrid and Deportivo de La Coruña, where he won a total ...

, he only managed one first-team appearance which came during the 1996–97 season, in a 3–2 away win against

Real Zaragoza Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system. Zaragoza holds its home games at L ...

on 2 June 1997. Subsequently, Ricardo was transferred to

Real Valladolid Real Valladolid Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., or simply Real Valladolid () or Valladolid, is a professional football club based in Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish league system. The club c ...

, also in

. He spent four years at the club, becoming first-choice in the 2001–02 campaign (all 38 matches played) while also being selected as a member of the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

squad for the

, though he did not play in the finals.

Manchester United

On 30 August 2002, Ricardo joined English club

in a three-year deal worth £1.5 million. Signed to provide cover for the injured

Fabien Barthez Fabien Alain Barthez (born 28 June 1971) is a French racing driver and former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. At club level, he played football in both France and England with Toulouse, Marseille, AS Monaco, Manchester United ...

and the inexperienced

Roy Carroll Roy Eric Carroll (born 30 September 1977) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is best known for his spells at Wigan Athletic, Manchester United (where he won a Premier League winners medal and the 20 ...

, he found first-team opportunities rare, appearing in four

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

matches and just once in the

. He marked his only appearance in the latter competition, against

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

on 19 April 2003, by conceding a

penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penal ...

with his first touch after he fouled

Andy Cole Andrew Alexander Cole (born 15 October 1971) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. His professional career lasted from 1988 to 2008, and is mostly remembered for his time with Manchester United, who paid a Briti ...

, but saved

David Dunn David John Ian Dunn (born 27 December 1979) is an English former professional football player and manager; he is now a coach at club Port Vale. Dunn played as an attacking midfielder and spent the majority of his playing career representing ...

's attempt in an eventual 3–1 victory. On 23 August 2003, Ricardo agreed to a loan transfer to

Racing de Santander Real Racing Club de Santander, S.A.D. (), also known as Racing de Santander () or simply Racing, is a football club based in Santander, Cantabria, Spain, that currently competes in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league sys ...

for 2003–04 season – the deal included an option to make transfer permanent the following June. On his return to Spain, Ricardo was quoted in the Spanish sports daily AS as saying:

"It's not a backward step. When I received the offer I was delighted to have the chance to return to Spain. I missed the Spanish league ... All I feel is gratitude toward Manchester. The club treated me very well. It was a lovely experience which was well worth it."

After helping Racing narrowly avoid top-flight relegation, Ricardo returned to Manchester United and proclaimed his ambition to take the number one jersey from Barthez. However, he was never again picked for the first team following the arrival of Tim Howard and Carroll's improvement.

Osasuna

Ricardo was eventually released by the club on a free transfer, at the end of 2004–05. Subsequently, he signed for

CA Osasuna Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional football club in Pamplona, Navarre. Founded on 24 October 1920, the club currently plays in La Liga, holding home games at the 23,576-capacity El S ...

on a two-year deal, quickly becoming the

Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

se side's first-choice and totalling over 100 league appearances in his first three seasons; he also helped them reach the semi-finals of the

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...

in his

second year Second year (also known as S2 in Scotland) is the second year of schooling in secondary schools in Scotland and in the Republic of Ireland, and is roughly equivalent to Year 9 in England and Wales and Year 10 (Third Form) in Northern Ireland. M ...

by contributing 12 matches, but lost his job midway through 2008–09 to newly signed

Roberto The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

. Ricardo regained his first-choice status in the following top-division campaigns, rarely missing a game for Osasuna even though he was approaching his 40s. In the 2011–12 season, however, still under manager José Luis Mendilibar, he was demoted to as low as third-string. Ricardo came out of retirement in January 2013 to rejoin Osasuna as an emergency signing, after backup goalkeeper

Asier Riesgo Asier Riesgo Unamuno (born 6 October 1983) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for CD Leganés as a goalkeeper. Club career Born in Deba, Gipuzkoa, and a product of Real Sociedad's youth academy, Riesgo made his professional debut wi ...

suffered a foot injury. At 41, he was the second-oldest player in the history of the Spanish top flight, surpassed only by 48-year-old Harry Lowe of

Real Sociedad Real Sociedad de Fútbol, S.A.D., more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad (; ''Royal Society''), La Real in Spanish, Erreala in Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Basque Country, founded on 7 Septemb ...

in 1935. Ricardo quit the game for good at the end of the campaign, stating "I don't quit football, football quits me".

Coaching

Recommended by head coach

Juan Carlos Garrido Juan Carlos Garrido Fernández (born 29 March 1969) is a Spanish football manager. He managed Villarreal and Betis in La Liga before working for several years in the Arab world, winning the CAF Confederation Cup with Egypt's Al Ahly and Mo ...

, Ricardo joined Belgium's

Club Brugge KV (), known simply as Club Brugge (in English also: ''Club Bruges''), is a Belgian professional football club based in Bruges, Belgium. It was founded in 1891 and its home ground is the Jan Breydel Stadium, which has a capacity of 29,062.

in June 2013 as a goalkeeping coach. Near the end of October, a player licence was sought out for him as both the second and third goalkeeper were unavailable due to injury; over three years and starting in July 2014, he worked in the same capacity with the Japanese national team and

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostl ...

's academy in that Asian country. On 2 January 2018, Ricardo was appointed head coach of

Segunda División B Segunda División B ( en, Second Division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish Foo ...

side

Racing de Ferrol Racing Club de Ferrol is a Spanish football team based in Ferrol, Province of A Coruña, in the autonomous community of Galicia. Founded in 1919, the club currently plays in Primera División RFEF – Group 1, holding home games at '' Estadio ...

. On 13 June 2019, he was named manager of former club Valladolid's under-19s. Ricardo became manager of

SD Ejea Sociedad Deportiva Ejea is a Spanish football team based in Ejea de los Caballeros, in the autonomous community of Aragon. Founded in 1927, it plays in Segunda División RFEF – Group 3, holding home games at '' Municipal de Ejea'', with a 2,2 ...

in the newly-formed Segunda División RFEF on 21 October 2021. After ten matches and only one win, he was dismissed.

International career

Ricardo played twice for

, his debut coming on 14 November 2001 in a friendly with

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

. In a

testimonial match A testimonial match or testimonial game, often referred to simply as a testimonial, is a practice in some sports, particularly in association football in the United Kingdom and South America, where a club has a match to honour a player for servic ...

for

Ferenc Puskás Ferenc Puskás (, ; born Ferenc Purczeld; 1 April 1927 – 17 November 2006) was a Hungarian football player and manager, widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and the sport's first international superstar. A forwar ...

the following summer, during a 1–1 draw against

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...

, he received his second and final

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

; in both cases, he came on as a substitute for

Iker Casillas Iker Casillas Fernández (; born 20 May 1981) is a Spanish former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper and currently works as a football commentator. Popularly dubbed "''San ...

. Ricardo was selected for the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

in Japan and South Korea.

Honours

Atlético Madrid *

Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footb ...

: 1995–96

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ricardo 1971 births Living people Spanish footballers Footballers from Madrid Association football goalkeepers La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Atlético Madrid B players Atlético Madrid footballers Real Valladolid players Racing de Santander players CA Osasuna players Premier League players Manchester United F.C. players Spain youth international footballers Spain international footballers 2002 FIFA World Cup players Spanish expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in England Spanish expatriate sportspeople in England Spanish football managers Segunda División B managers Segunda Federación managers Racing de Ferrol managers Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Japan Arsenal F.C. non-playing staff