Roberto Ríos
Spanish footballer and coach
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Roberto Ríos Patus (born 8 October 1971) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a central defender.
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Ríos training with Betis in 2010 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Roberto Ríos Patus | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 8 October 1971 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Bilbao, Spain | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Centre-back | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1986–1990 | Betis | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 1990–1992 | Betis B | 24 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| 1992–1997 | Betis | 114 | (11) | ||||||||||||||
| 1997–2002 | Athletic Bilbao | 78 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 216 | (18) | |||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1991 | Spain U19 | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 1993–1994 | Spain U21 | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 1996–1998 | Spain | 11 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 1996–1997 | Basque Country | 4 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2013 | Betis (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2014 | West Bromwich Albion (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2016 | Betis (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2017 | Deportivo La Coruña (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | Las Palmas (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Club career
Although Basque-born (in Bilbao), Ríos emerged through the youth system of Real Betis, making his professional debut in the Segunda División in the 1992–93 season.[1] He went on to contribute importantly in the Andalusians' promotion the following year – although appearing in only 19 matches, he scored four times – and become a regular first-team member onwards.
In summer 1997, following rumours of a transfer to Manchester United earlier in February, Ríos was signed by Athletic Bilbao for 2 billion pesetas, a then-record for a national player.[2] In his first season, he netted twice in 32 games (including once in a 5–1 home win over CP Mérida, on 21 December 1997)[3] as the Basque side finished runners-up in La Liga.
After spending the first months of the 2002–03 campaign without a club and having totalled only 27 appearances in his last three years at Athletic, Ríos trained with West Bromwich Albion. However, in January 2003 he rejected a contract offer from the Gary Megson-led team, stating "I don't want to fool anyone" about his chances of regaining full fitness.[4]
Ríos retired aged 30, due to persistent injury problems.[5] He returned to Betis in 2010, as part of newly appointed manager Pepe Mel's coaching staff.[6][7]
International career
Ríos was capped 11 times by Spain,[8] with his debut coming on 9 October 1996 in a 0–0 away draw against the Czech Republic in the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.[9] In spite of having appeared significantly during the campaign and coming from a solid club season with Athletic, he was overlooked for the final stages in France.[10]
Personal life
Honours
Spain U21
- UEFA European Championship third place: 1994[12]