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, rugby lea ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), 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 i ...

, currently

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

of club Los Yébenes San Bruno. He played 279

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

matches over 15 seasons, starting his career at

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

where he struggled to break through, then representing mostly

Valladolid Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...

(four seasons) and

Osasuna Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Pamplona, Navarre. It was founded on 24 October 1920 and plays in La Liga, the top division of Spanish ...

(eight). He also spent two years with

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

in the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

. Ricardo won two international caps for

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, 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 Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

Club career

Atlético and Valladolid

Born in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, 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 former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, currently manager of Indian Super League club Mohun Bagan Super Giant. Eleven years of his extensive professional care ...

, 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 football league system, Spanish league system. Zarag ...

on 2 June 1997. Subsequently, Ricardo was transferred to

Real Valladolid Real Valladolid Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., or simply Real Valladolid (), is a Spanish professional List of football clubs in Spain, football club based in Valladolid, Castile and León that will compete from the 2025–26 season in the . The club ...

, 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 countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

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, Monaco, Manchester United and ...

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 ...

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

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

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 level 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, The Penalty, Penalization, Penalisation, Penalize or Penalise may refer to: Sports * Foul (sports) ** Penalty (golf) ** Penalty (gridiron football) ** Penalty (ice hockey) ** Penalty (rugby) ** Penalty (rugby union) ** Penalty kick (assoc ...

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 Brit ...

, but saved David Dunn'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, Spain, Santander, Cantabria, Spain, that currently competes in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spani ...

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 Timothy Matthew Howard (born March 6, 1979) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a goalkeeper. He is the part-owner of club Dagenham & Redbridge as well as an international ambassador in the United States for Premie ...

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 based in Pamplona, Navarre. It was founded on 24 October 1920 and plays in La Liga, the top division of Spanish football. The team's ...

on a two-year deal, quickly becoming the

Navarre Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...

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 The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

in his

second year The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of ...

by contributing 12 matches, but lost his job midway through 2008–09 to newly signed Roberto. 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 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, more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad ( ; ''Royal Society'') in English, and Erreala or Reala in Basque language, Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Donostia / San Sebastián, ...

in 1935. His only game of this spell was a 15-minute cameo in the final fixture, a 4–2 loss at

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

in which he conceded the last goal. 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, Ricardo joined Belgium's

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

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 Japan 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 mostly ...

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

Segunda División B Segunda División B (English: 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 ...

side

Racing de Ferrol Racing Club de Ferrol, commonly known as Racing 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 , holding home games at '' E ...

. 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 , holding home games at '' Municipal de Luchán'', with a 2,249-seat capacity. History SD Eje ...

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, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. 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 (, ; né Purczeld; 1 April 1927 – 17 November 2006) was a Hungarian footballer and manager, widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and the sport's first international superstar. A forward and an attacking ...

the following summer, during a 1–1 draw against

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, 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. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

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

Iker Casillas Iker Casillas Fernández (; born 20 May 1981) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper and currently works as a football commentator. Popularly dubbed "''San Iker''" ("Saint Iker") for his ability to produce miracu ...

. 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 , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

: 1995–96

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ricardo 1971 births Living people Spanish men's footballers Footballers from Madrid Men's 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 Kings League players Spain men's youth international footballers Spain men's international footballers 2002 FIFA World Cup players Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's 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