Oriol Riera hangs up his boots: “Coach Oriol begins”

Statement read by Oriol Riera

“This sport takes more from you than it gives you, but when it gives you, it rewards you so much that it is worth traveling the road. This is the phrase that for a soccer player better defines this sport, a slow, difficult road with many obstacles to reach the top and be able to enjoy what every fan would like. My oldest and most important memories are of my time in youth football for Espanyol and Barça, a very difficult stage to combine studies and football, in which every day I did three hours by car to go to Barcelona to follow my dream. A dream shared by all my family. I had the fortune of being born into a very humble family, without resources when they were young, who built a successful life according to some Values ​​that both my sister and I share. The days that I did not train in Barcelona I did it with my family, with my father as a coach, my mother as a goalkeeper and my sister as a ball boy. The years went by and between training sessions and discussions … I still rec In my youth stage, my first games called by Barça, even in the Champions League, for us, who came from Vic, it was already a success. In their faces they showed me this pride. Without your values ​​and your help, I would never have walked this beautiful path. I have passed many teams from Spain and also from abroad, from all of them I have taken something important, great friends and an incredible experience. Sometimes you think that, in difficult moments, everything is dark, but it is not like that, there are always rays of light … La Cultural, my Cultural, was my first real team, there I learned the basics of what it is to be a footballer . In Vigo it was a very nice atapa, getting to debut in Second … But my most difficult experience was in Córdoba. At the sporting level, we achieved the objective despite the financial difficulties that ended in bankruptcy law. My great experience in the capital was with the Alcorcón, in Madrid. I had an offer close to home, but I chose to go there and it was one of the best decisions I have made in my life. My first year with Anquela and the second, with Bordalás, went down in the club's history. From Anquela I learned to wait for my moment, to be patient and train better than anyone. Bordalás deserves a special mention, with him I understood what the game was, I improved tactically and I learned what it was to compete better than anyone … Thank you very much to both of you. What to say about Osasuna, everyone knows my love for the club and the city. There I became a better person and was a father. It is the best environment that I have experienced in a soccer field and a changing room, I am sure that my friendship with them will be forever. With Dépor I got two stays in a row in two difficult moments. I still remember that agonizing stay achieved at the Camp Nou on the day of Xavi's farewell. I do not forget my experiences abroad, in Wigan and Sydney … At Fuenlabrada I could not have had better companions and friends, with self-love, ambition and solidarity. My last game as a professional was scoring and giving the team victory. After 16 years as a professional, I put an end to my playing career. They have been difficult years and at the same time beautiful. The challenges move me and now is the time to start another path, the player Oriol leaves and the coach Oriol begins. I've been thinking about it for years. It will be a difficult but exciting challenge. Many thanks to my teammates, rivals, coaches both professionally and in grassroots football … I have learned things from all of them that will serve me well in the future. And why not all the journalists of this sport, who follow us and at the same time criticize us. I have felt privileged doing what I like the most. Thanks to Javier Picallo, my agent, and to my wife, mother of my three beautiful girls. “