Harold Rivera Roa (born 6 July 1970) is a Colombian football manager and former player who played as a midfielder.

Harold Rivera
Rivera in 2014
Personal information
Full name Harold Rivera Roa
Date of birth (1970-07-06) 6 July 1970 (age 54)
Place of birth Ibagué, Colombia
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
Deportes Tolima
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1990–1995 Deportes Tolima
1996 Atlético Huila
1997 Unión Magdalena
1998 Junior
1999–2000 Atlético Bucaramanga
2001 Millonarios
2002–2004 Cortuluá
2005 Deportes Tolima
Managerial career
2008–2011 Colombia U15
2011 Colombia (women) (assistant)
2012–2013 Colombia U17
2013 Patriotas (assistant)
2014–2016 Patriotas
2017 Atlético Bucaramanga
2017–2019 Unión Magdalena
2019–2021 Santa Fe
2023 Santa Fe
2023 Unión Magdalena
2024 Patriotas
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

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Born in Ibagué, Rivera represented Deportes Tolima, Atlético Huila, Unión Magdalena, Junior, Atlético Bucaramanga, Millonarios and Cortuluá as a player. He retired in 2005 with Tolima at the age of 35, and started working with Tolima's youth categories immediately after his retirement.

In 2008, after two years managing the Tolima regional team, Rivera was named manager of the Colombia under-15 national team. In 2011, after a short period as Ricardo Rozo's assistant at the women's national team, he was appointed in charge of the under-17s.

In 2013, Rivera joined Julio Comesaña's staff at Patriotas Boyacá, as his assistant. On 4 February of the following year, he was named manager of the club after Comesaña resigned.[1]

Rivera asked to resign from Patriotas in April 2016 for personal reasons, but the club did not accept and gave him a 60-day leave.[2] He left the club on 5 December of that year, after his contract ended,[3] and took over former club Atlético Bucaramanga twelve days later.[4]

Sacked by Bucaramanga on 5 March 2017,[5] Rivera was named at the helm of another club he represented as a player, Unión Magdalena, on 14 August.[6] He resigned from the club in June 2019, and was appointed manager of Independiente Santa Fe on 7 August.[7]

Rivera led Santa Fe to a runner-up finish in the 2020 Primera A tournament before leaving the club on a mutual agreement on 22 August 2021.[8] He returned to Santa Fe on 23 December 2022, as the new manager for the 2023 season.[9] He resigned from the club on 11 May 2023.[10]

On 27 May 2023, he returned to Unión Magdalena for a second spell as manager.[11] He left Unión Magdalena following the club's relegation to Primera B at the end of the season,[12] and was announced as new manager of Patriotas on 11 December.[13] Rivera resigned from Patriotas on 15 September 2024, with the team placing last in the season's relegation table.[14]

Personal life

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Rivera's son, also named Harold, is also a footballer. He also represented Huila.[15]

References

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  1. ^ "Harold Rivera nuevo DT de Patriotas" [Harold Rivera new manager of Patriotas] (in Spanish). Colombia.com. 4 February 2014. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  2. ^ "Patriotas no le aceptó la renuncia a Harold Rivera" [Patriotas did not accept the resignation of Harold Rivera] (in Spanish). Caracol Televisión. 11 April 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  3. ^ "Harold Rivera no continuará en la dirección técnica del Patriotas" [Harold Rivera will not continue managing Patriotas] (in Spanish). Caracol Radio. 5 December 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  4. ^ "Harold Rivera es el nuevo DT de Bucaramanga" [Harold Rivera is the new manager of Bucaramanga] (in Spanish). Diario AS. 17 December 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  5. ^ "Hárold Rivera fue destituido como técnico de Bucaramanga" [Harold Rivera was sacked as manager of Bucaramanaga] (in Spanish). El Mundo. 5 March 2017. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  6. ^ "Harold Rivera es el nuevo DT del Unión Magdalena" [Harold Rivera is the new manager of Unión Magdalena] (in Spanish). Código Fútbol. 14 August 2017. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  7. ^ "Santa Fe anunció a Harold Rivera como nuevo DT" [Santa Fe announced Harold Rivera as new manager] (in Spanish). El Nuevo Siglo. 7 August 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  8. ^ "Harold Rivera dejó de ser el entrenador de Independiente Santa Fe" [Harold Rivera ceased to be the manager of Independiente Santa Fe] (in Spanish). El Espectador. 22 August 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  9. ^ "Santa Fe confirma a Harold Rivera como DT y primeros fichajes 2023" [Santa Fe confirm Harold Rivera as manager and first 2023 signings] (in Spanish). Futbolred. 23 December 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  10. ^ "Harold Rivera dejó de ser el técnico de Santa Fe, tras la derrota contra Nacional" [Harold Rivera ceased to be the manager of Santa Fe, following the defeat to Nacional] (in Spanish). El Tiempo. 12 May 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  11. ^ "Harold Rivera es el nuevo director técnico de Unión Magdalena" [Harold Rivera is the new manager of Unión Magdalena] (in Spanish). Hoy Diario del Magdalena. 27 May 2023. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  12. ^ "Tras el descenso de Unión Magdalena, Harold Rivera se va del equipo" [After Unión Magdalena's relegation, Harold Rivera leaves the team] (in Spanish). El Heraldo. 15 November 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  13. ^ "No fue Risueño: Patriotas despidió a DT campeón y confirmó reemplazo" [It wasn't Risueño: Patriotas fired champion manager and confirmed replacement] (in Spanish). Futbolred. 11 December 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  14. ^ "Nueva salida en el FPC: Este director técnico ha renunciado al equipo" [New exit in the FPC: This manager has resigned from the team] (in Spanish). Canal RCN. 15 September 2024. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  15. ^ "Dos finales en dos días: los Rivera quieren hacer historia en 2020" [Two finals in two days: the Riveras want to make history in 2020] (in Spanish). FutbolRed. 26 December 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
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