Nelson Rivas

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Personal information
Nelson Rivas
Full name	Nelson Enrique Rivas López
Date of birth	March 25, 1983 (1983-03-25) (age 25)
Place of birth	Pradera, Colombia
Height	1.82 m (5 ft 11+¹⁄₂ in)
Playing position	Defender
Club information
Current club	Inter Milan
Number	24
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2002 2003 2003 2004-2006 2007 2007-present	Deportivo Pasto Deportivo Cali Deportes Tolima Deportivo Cali River Plate Inter Milan	12 (0) 3 (0) 18 (0) 93 (2) 8 (0) 11 (0)
National team
2008-	Colombia	? (?)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 24 May 2007. * Appearances (Goals)

Nelson Rivas is a Colombian football defender. He was born on March 25, 1983, in the city of Pradera in Colombia. He currently plays for Italian Internazionale of Serie A. He is nicknamed Tyson after the famous American boxer due to his size, appearance and strength. Inter fans have also nicknamed him The Giant.

He is a Serie A champion, having been a consistent player through the 2007-2008 season and he also played the last 90 minutes of the championship game against Parma. He has regularly been playing as a starter and is now considered a heir to the Inter defense. Rivas is also a two time winner of the Copa Mustang in Colombia, first with Deportes Tolima in 2003 and for the second time with Deportivo Cali in 2005. He has also played for legendary club River Plate in Argentina.

On September 23 2007, it was reported in Italy that Rivas had collapsed at Saturday's training session. He went to further examinations on Sunday.^{[citation needed]} He has since recovered and become an integral part of the Inter defense, becoming a champion in his debut year as an international Serie player.