Alberto Rivera Pizarro

Football player infobox|


playername = Alberto Rivera
fullname = Alberto Rivera Pizarro
nickname =
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1978|2|16
cityofbirth = Puertollano
countryofbirth = Spain
height = 1.70 m
nickname =
currentclub = Real Betis
clubnumber = 18
position = Central midfielder
youthyears = 1994–1995
1995–1996
1996–1999
youthclubs = Real Madrid Juvenil
Real Madrid C
Real Madrid B
years = 1994–2002
1999–2000
2002
2002–2005
2005–
clubs = Real Madrid
→CD Numancia "(loan)"
→Olympique Marseille "(loan)"
Levante UD
Real Betis
caps(goals) = 3 (1)
29 (1)
12 (2)
113 (17)
87 (2)
nationalyears = ?–?
nationalcaps(goals) = 17 (7)
2 (0
nationalteam = Spain U-21
nationalcaps(goals) = ? (?)
pcupdate = 30 August 2008
ntupdate = 30 August 2008

Alberto Rivera Pizarro, (born 16 February 1978 in Puertollano), is a Spanish footballer, who currently plays as a central midfielder for Real Betis Balompié.

Football career

Rivera played for Real Madrid between 1994 and 1999. At the age of 17 he made his first-team debut for the "merengues" (his only appearance for the first team during 1994-95), scoring one goal in a 2-0 away win to Celta de Vigo, with the title race already decided. He played 35 games, with 7 goals, during the 1995-1996 season for Madrid's C team.

Between 1996 and 1999, Rivera played 73 matches for Real Madrid Castilla, scoring 20 goals, before moving on to CD Numancia on a loan deal. After helping Numancia barely avoid relegation, he returned to Real Madrid, where he played 2 additional league matches in 2000-01.

In January 2002, Rivera moved to Olympique de Marseille in January 2002, together with FC Barcelona striker Alfonso Pérez. He made 12 league appearances, scoring twice.

Rivera joined Levante UD in 2002, with the team in the second division. In three seasons he played 113 games with 17 goals, before moving on to Real Betis upon Levante's relegation, for €3.4 million.

Completely established in the top-flight as a combattant central midfielder with skill and vision, Rivera made 34 league appearances, with 7 UEFA Champions League and 3 UEFA Cup additional games in 2005-06, without finding the net however. The next season he played 27 times, scoring his first Betis goal in a 3-2 away defeat to Villarreal CF, on November 5, 2006.

External links

* [http://www.realbetisbalompie.es/jugadores/ficha.html?id=43 Betis profile] es icon
* [http://www.lfp.es/historico/primera/plantillas/historial.asp?jug=6097 Stats at Liga de Fútbol Profesional] es icon
*Lfpfr|104865