Nano (Spanish footballer, born 1980)

Nano

Nano as a Betis player in 2008
Personal information
Full name Victoriano Rivas Álvaro
Date of birth (1980-07-07) 7 July 1980
Place of birth Ciudad Real, Spain
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position Defender
Youth career
Manchego
Atlético Madrid
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1998–2000 Amorós
2000–2003 Atlético Madrid B 52 (1)
2002–2003 → Getafe (loan) 26 (2)
2003–2005 Getafe 71 (5)
2005–2010 Betis 41 (2)
2008–2009 → Valladolid (loan) 12 (0)
2010–2012 Levante 49 (4)
2012–2013 Guizhou Renhe 54 (2)
Total 305 (16)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

† Appearances (goals)
This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Rivas and the second or maternal family name is Álvaro.

Victoriano Rivas Álvaro (born 7 July 1980), known as Nano, is a Spanish retired footballer who mainly played as a central defender.

During seven seasons he amassed La Liga totals of 139 games and ten goals, mainly in representation of Betis (three years) and Levante (two). He also represented in the competition Getafe and Valladolid.

Club career

Born in Ciudad Real, Castile-La Mancha, Nano made his professional debuts with Atlético Madrid's B-team, playing two full seasons with the third division side. In 2002–03 he was loaned to Getafe CF in the second level, before moving the team on a permanent deal in the summer of 2003; an undisputed starter with the Madrid outskirts team, he scored four goals in 37 games in the 2004–05 campaign, the club's first ever in La Liga.

Nano was signed by Real Betis in 2005.[1] He was set to have a promising season before being injured in the UEFA Champions League group stage match against Chelsea at the Manuel Ruiz de Lopera on 11 November, in his first and only appearance in the competition, as he was ruled out of action for five months; he also appeared in one UEFA Cup game and made 14 league appearances in his first year, and played a further 21 contests for a team that finished 16th in 2006–07.

Established as first-choice stopper alongside veteran Juanito in the 2007–08 campaign, Nano scored in the first matchday against Recreativo de Huelva (1–1 away draw),[2] but suffered a severe knee injury against Deportivo de La Coruña on 16 September 2007, which made him miss six months of action.[3] Upon return from injury he netted another important goal for the Andalusians, in a 1–1 tie at former club Getafe on 18 May 2008.[4]

On 1 September 2008 a one-year loan deal was agreed, as Nano joined Real Valladolid in a season-long move.[5] He appeared scarcely throughout his spell, as both stopper and left back, and his return to Betis would be even more unassuming as it consisted of one league match (18 minutes), with the club failing to return to the top division.

In August 2010, aged 30, Nano signed with Levante UD.[6] An automatic first-choice during his first season, he scored in a 2–0 home win against Atlético Madrid on 4 December.[7]

Nano started in all the games for the Valencian Community side during the first half of 2011–12, as it spent the vast majority of that period in UEFA Champions League qualification positions. In very late January 2012, however, he was sold to Guizhou Renhe F.C. in the Chinese Super League.[8]

Nano announced his retirement in February 2014.[9]

References

  1. ↑ Double signing for Betis; UEFA.com, 18 July 2005
  2. ↑ Recreativo Huelva 1–1 Real Betis; ESPN Soccernet, 26 August 2007
  3. ↑ Betis: Operan a Nano y baja de 6 a 8 meses (Betis: Nano undergoes knee surgery, will miss 6 to 8 months); ESPN Soccernet, 24 September 2007 (Spanish)
  4. ↑ Getafe 1–1 Real Betis; ESPN Soccernet, 18 May 2008
  5. ↑ El Valladolid consigue la cesión del bético Nano (Valladolid gets Betis man Nano loan); Diario AS, 1 September 2008 (Spanish)
  6. ↑ El Levante UD ficha al central Victoriano Rivas “Nano” (Levante UD signs central defender Victoriano Rivas “Nano”); Levante's official website, 17 August 2010 (Spanish)
  7. ↑ More woe for Atletico; ESPN Soccernet, 4 December 2010
  8. ↑ Nano se marcha a la liga china (Nano goes to Chinese league); Merca Fútbol, 30 January 2012 (Spanish)
  9. ↑ El ex atlético Nano anuncia su retirada tras concluir su etapa en China (Former atlético Nano announces retirement after concluding China spell); Mundo Deportivo, 26 February 2014 (Spanish)

External links

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