Ricardo (footballer, born 1971) facts for kids
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Ricardo playing for Osasuna in 2008
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ricardo López Felipe | ||
| Date of birth | 30 December 1971 | ||
| Place of birth | Madrid, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 1+1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Atlético Madrid | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1990–1998 | Atlético Madrid B | 146 | (0) |
| 1991–1992 | → Ávila (loan) | 15 | (0) |
| 1994–1997 | Atlético Madrid | 1 | (0) |
| 1998–2002 | Valladolid | 53 | (0) |
| 2002–2005 | Manchester United | 1 | (0) |
| 2003–2004 | → Racing Santander (loan) | 34 | (0) |
| 2005–2012 | Osasuna | 189 | (0) |
| 2013 | Osasuna | 1 | (0) |
| Total | 440 | (0) | |
| National team | |||
| 1989 | Spain U18 | 2 | (0) |
| 2001–2002 | Spain | 2 | (0) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2018 | Racing Ferrol | ||
| 2019 | Valladolid (youth) | ||
| 2021–2022 | Ejea | ||
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Ricardo López Felipe (born on December 30, 1971), known as Ricardo, is a Spanish former professional football player. He played as a goalkeeper. After he stopped playing, he became a manager (coach).
Ricardo played in 279 matches in La Liga, which is Spain's top football league. He played for 15 seasons. He started his career at Atlético Madrid. He then played mostly for Valladolid for four seasons and Osasuna for eight seasons. He also spent two years playing for Manchester United in the Premier League in England.
Ricardo played for the Spanish national team twice. He was also part of the team for the 2002 World Cup.
Contents
Playing Career
Early Years in Spain
Ricardo was born in Madrid, Spain. He started his football journey at Atlético Madrid. He worked his way up through their younger teams, including Atlético Madrid B. He played for the main Atlético Madrid team until 1998. He only played one game for the main team. This was in the 1996–97 season, when his team won 3–2 against Real Zaragoza on June 2, 1997.
After leaving Atlético Madrid, Ricardo moved to Real Valladolid. This team also played in La Liga. He stayed there for four years. In the 2001–02 season, he became the main goalkeeper and played in all 38 matches. Because of his good performance, he was chosen to be part of the Spanish team for the 2002 World Cup. However, he did not play in any games during the World Cup.
Time at Manchester United
On August 30, 2002, Ricardo joined the English club Manchester United. He signed a three-year deal. He was brought in to help the team because their main goalkeeper was injured. He did not get to play many games for Manchester United. He played in four UEFA Champions League matches and only one game in the Premier League.
In his only Premier League game, against Blackburn Rovers on April 19, 2003, he caused a penalty right after he came on the field. But he saved the penalty shot! Manchester United won that game 3–1.
On August 23, 2003, Ricardo went on a loan to Racing de Santander in Spain for the 2003–04 season. A loan means he played for Racing Santander for a short time, but he was still a Manchester United player. When he returned to Spain, he said he was happy to be back in the Spanish league. He felt thankful to Manchester United for the experience.
After helping Racing Santander stay in the top league, Ricardo went back to Manchester United. He hoped to become their main goalkeeper. But new players arrived, and he was not chosen to play for the first team again.
Years at Osasuna
Ricardo left Manchester United for free at the end of the 2004–05 season. He then joined CA Osasuna in Spain. He quickly became their main goalkeeper. In his first three seasons, he played over 100 league games. He also helped Osasuna reach the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup (now called the Europa League) in his second year. He played in 12 matches in that competition. However, in the 2008–09 season, he lost his main goalkeeper spot to a new player.
Ricardo became the main goalkeeper again in the next seasons. He played almost every game for Osasuna, even as he got close to 40 years old. But in the 2011–12 season, he became the third-choice goalkeeper.
In January 2013, Ricardo came out of retirement to play for Osasuna again. This happened because their backup goalkeeper got injured. At 41 years old, he was one of the oldest players to play in Spain's top league. He only played one game during this time. It was a short 15-minute appearance in the last game of the season, where Osasuna lost 4–2 to Real Madrid.
Ricardo stopped playing football for good at the end of the 2012–13 season. He said, "I don't quit football, football quits me."
International Career
Ricardo played for the Spanish national team two times. His first game was on November 14, 2001. It was a friendly match against Mexico. His second and last game for Spain was in a special match for a famous player named Ferenc Puskás. This game was against Hungary in Budapest, and it ended in a 1–1 draw. In both games, he came on as a substitute for Iker Casillas.
Ricardo was chosen to be part of the Spanish team for the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan and South Korea.
Coaching Career
After he stopped playing, Ricardo became a goalkeeping coach. In June 2013, he joined Club Brugge KV in Belgium. From July 2014, he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the Japan national team. He also coached at Arsenal's academy in Japan.
On January 2, 2018, Ricardo became the head coach for Racing de Ferrol, a team in Spain. On June 13, 2019, he was named the manager for his old club Valladolid's under-19 team.
Ricardo became the manager of SD Ejea on October 21, 2021. After ten matches, where his team only won one game, he was dismissed from his job.
Achievements
Atlético Madrid
- Copa del Rey: 1995–96 (This is a major Spanish football cup.)
See also
In Spanish: Ricardo López Felipe para niños
