Alberto Rivera Pizarro

Personal information
Alberto Rivera

Full name	Alberto Rivera Pizarro
Date of birth	February 16, 1978 (1978-02-16) (age 30)
Place of birth	Puertollano, Spain
Height	1.70 m
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Real Betis
Number	18
Youth clubs
1994–1995 1995–1996 1996–1999	Real Madrid Juvenil Real Madrid C Real Madrid B
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1994–2002 1999–2000 2002 2002–2005 2005–	Real Madrid →CD Numancia (loan) →O. Marseille (loan) Levante UD Real Betis	3 (1) 29 (1) 12 (2) 37 (5) 63 (1)
National team²
?-?	Spain U-21	? (?)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22 July 2006. ² National team caps and goals correct as of 22 July 2006. * Appearances (Goals)

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

[edit] Career

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

Between 1996 and 1999 he played 73 matches for Real Madrid B, scoring 20 goals, before moving on to CD Numancia on a loan deal. He played 29 matches for Numancia, scoring 1 goal, before returning to Real Madrid where he played 2 La Liga matches in the 2000-2001 season.

Rivera then moved to Olympique de Marseille in January 2002, together with FC Barcelona striker Alfonso Pérez. He made 12 league appearances, scoring 2 goals.

Rivera joined Levante UD in 2002, with the team in the second division. In three seasons he played 113 games, scoring 17 goals, before moving on to Real Betis.

Completely established in the top-flight as a combattant central midfielder with skill and vision, Rivera moved to Betis in 2005 for €3.4 million. In his first season he made 34 league appearances, 7 UEFA Champions League appearances, and 3 UEFA Cup appearances, 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.

v • d • e

Real Betis – current squad

1 Ricardo • 2 Melli • 3 Fernando Vega • 4 Juanito • 5 David Rivas • 6 Branko Ilič • 7 Caffa • 8 Arzu • 9 Fernando • 10 Edú • 11 Mark González • 12 Damià • 13 Casto • 14 Capi • 15 Nano • 16 Mariano Pavone • 17 Marko Babić • 18 Rivera • 19 Xisco • 20 Somoza • 21 Rafael Sobis • 22 Lima • 23 Odonkor • 24 José Mari • 25 Toni D. • Coach: Paco Chaparro