Hámilton Ricard Cuesta (; born 12 January 1974) is a
Colombian former
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 lea ...
who played as a striker. He played for clubs in 10 different countries over the course of his career, including Colombian sides
Deportivo Cali
Asociación Deportivo Cali, best known as Deportivo Cali, is a Colombian sports club based in Cali, most notable for its football team, which currently competes in the Categoría Primera A.
Deportivo Cali is one of the most successful football t ...
,
Cortuluá
Cortuluá, officially named Cortuluá Fútbol Club S. A. and previously known as Corporación Club Deportivo Tuluá for short, was a Colombian football club from Tuluá, Valle del Cauca Department. It was founded in 1967 and last played in Categ ...
,
Independiente Santa Fe
Club Independiente Santa Fe, known simply as Santa Fe, is a Colombian professional Association football, football team based in Bogotá, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at the Estadio El Campín, El Cam ...
and
Deportes Quindío
Deportes Quindío is a Colombian professional football club based in Armenia that currently plays in the Categoría Primera B. The club was founded on 8 January 1951, and its best achievement was winning the 1956 league tournament. They play thei ...
, English club
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...
,
CSKA Sofia
CSKA Sofia () is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia and currently competing in the country's premier football competition, the First League. ''CSKA'' is an abbreviation for ''Central Sports Club of the Army'' ...
in Bulgaria,
Emelec in Ecuador, Japanese side
Shonan Bellmare
is a Japanese professional football club based in Hiratsuka, in the west of Kanagawa Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Their home stadium is Hiratsuk ...
,
APOEL
APOEL FC (; short for Αθλητικός Ποδοσφαιρικός Όμιλος Ελλήνων Λευκωσίας, ''Athletikos Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias'', "Athletic Football Club of Greeks of Nicosia") is a Cypriot professio ...
in Cyprus, Spanish side
Numancia, Uruguayan club
Danubio
Danubio Fútbol Club is a Uruguayan association football, football club based in Jardines del Hipódromo, Montevideo that currently plays in the Uruguayan Primera División.
Founded in 1945, the club's home stadium is Jardines del Hipódromo Ma ...
and
Concepción in Chile.
Career
Ricard was signed for
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...
by manager
Bryan Robson
Bryan Robson (born 11 January 1957) is an English association football, football manager and former player. He began his career with West Bromwich Albion F.C., West Bromwich Albion in 1972, where he amassed over 200 appearances and was club ca ...
for a fee of £2 million in 1998. He signed his signature on a napkin because Middlesbrough had no documents. Over a four-year Middlesbrough career, he scored 33 goals in 115 appearances. He was twice Middlesbrough's top scorer. When
Steve McClaren
Stephen McClaren (born 3 May 1961) is an English football coach and former player who is currently the manager of the Jamaica national team.
McClaren began his coaching career with Oxford United, before joining Derby County in 1995. In 1999 ...
took over the reins, Ricard was deemed surplus to requirements and allowed to move to
CSKA Sofia
CSKA Sofia () is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia and currently competing in the country's premier football competition, the First League. ''CSKA'' is an abbreviation for ''Central Sports Club of the Army'' ...
on a free transfer. After one season in Bulgaria, Ricard moved to Japan, where he joined Second Division side
Shonan Bellmare
is a Japanese professional football club based in Hiratsuka, in the west of Kanagawa Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Their home stadium is Hiratsuk ...
.
Since leaving Middlesbrough, Ricard courted controversy both on and off the pitch. In 2002, he was involved in a car accident that killed a passenger, and was banned from football for 12 months for attacking a
referee
A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other title ...
and making obscene gestures to the crowd while playing for Guayaquil side
Emelec. The ban was reduced on appeal, and since then, Ricard attempted to move back to Europe to rejuvenate his career. He briefly played in
Cyprus
Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
for
APOEL
APOEL FC (; short for Αθλητικός Ποδοσφαιρικός Όμιλος Ελλήνων Λευκωσίας, ''Athletikos Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias'', "Athletic Football Club of Greeks of Nicosia") is a Cypriot professio ...
, before signing a year's deal with
Numancia for the 2005–06 season. He played 16 times, scoring two goals.
After he moved to
Danubio
Danubio Fútbol Club is a Uruguayan association football, football club based in Jardines del Hipódromo, Montevideo that currently plays in the Uruguayan Primera División.
Founded in 1945, the club's home stadium is Jardines del Hipódromo Ma ...
in Uruguay where he scored 12 goals and was voted as one of their best players of the decade. In June 2007 he trialled with
Chinese Super League
The Chinese Football Super League (), commonly known as the Chinese Super League or the CSL (), also known as the China Resources Beverage Chinese Football Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Ch ...
team
Shanghai Shenhua
Shanghai Shenhua Football Club () is a Chinese professional football club based in Shanghai, that competes in . Shanghai Shenhua plays its home matches at the Shanghai Stadium, located within Xuhui District.
The owner of Shanghai Shenhua is ...
, subsequently signing a contract with the Chinese club.
Ricard has represented
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
27 times, scoring five goals.
Club statistics
Personal life
Ricard has a daughter.
International goals
Honours
Middlesbrough
*
Football League Cup
The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England.
Orga ...
runner-up:
1997–98
Shanghai Shenhua
*
A3 Champions Cup
A3 Champions Cup (also known as East Asian Champions Cup) was an annual football (soccer) tournament jointly organized by the China PR, Japan and Korea Republic football Association. It began in 2003, involving the league champions of Chinese Supe ...
:
2007
2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year.
Events
January
* January 1
**Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ricard, Hamilton
1974 births
Living people
Footballers from Quibdó
Colombian men's footballers
Colombian expatriate men's footballers
Colombia men's international footballers
Men's association football forwards
1997 Copa América players
1998 FIFA World Cup players
1999 Copa América players
Deportivo Cali footballers
Middlesbrough F.C. players
PFC CSKA Sofia players
Shonan Bellmare players
Cortuluá footballers
C.S. Emelec footballers
APOEL FC players
Danubio F.C. players
CD Numancia players
Shanghai Shenhua F.C. players
Deportes Concepción (Chile) footballers
Deportes Quindío footballers
Categoría Primera A players
Premier League players
Chinese Super League players
First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players
Cypriot First Division players
Segunda División players
English Football League players
J2 League players
Uruguayan Primera División players
Ecuadorian Serie A players
Colombian expatriate sportspeople in Bulgaria
Colombian expatriate sportspeople in Chile
Colombian expatriate sportspeople in China
Expatriate men's footballers in Spain
Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus
Expatriate men's footballers in Bulgaria
Expatriate men's footballers in China
Expatriate men's footballers in Chile
Expatriate men's footballers in Ecuador
Expatriate men's footballers in Japan
Expatriate men's footballers in England
Colombian expatriate sportspeople in Spain
Colombian expatriate sportspeople in England
Colombian expatriate sportspeople in Japan
Footballers at the 1995 Pan American Games
Pan American Games bronze medalists for Colombia
Pan American Games bronze medalists in football
Medalists at the 1995 Pan American Games
20th-century Colombian sportsmen