Cristian Riveros

Cristian Miguel Riveros Núñez (born 16 October 1982) is a Paraguayan former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.

A full international for Paraguay since 2005, he has earned 99 caps for his country, playing at two FIFA World Cup competitions (2006 and 2010) and three Copa América tournaments (2007, 2011 and 2015).

On 19 July 2015, Paraguayan newspaper ExtraPRESS named Riveros the most expensive player in Paraguay.

Club career

Early career Riveros started his career with local side Cristobal Colón in his hometown of Juan Augusto Saldivar and then moved to other Paraguayan teams such as San Lorenzo and Tacuary before playing for Libertad.

Cruz Azul On 12 July 2007 he signed for the Mexican club Cruz Azul.

Sunderland On 11 May 2010, Riveros signed for Sunderland of the English Premier League on a three-year deal, saying "The league is very competitive and I look forward to being very successful with Sunderland. The Premier League is the best league in the world and Sunderland are a very big club with many passionate supporters. I look forward to meeting them."

He made his Premier League debut on 14 August 2010 as a 63rd-minute substitute for Steed Malbranque in a 2–2 draw against Birmingham City in the opening game of the season. However, Riveros quickly fell out of favour and played just 14 league games for, the club, scoring his only goal on the final day of the season in a 3–0 win over West Ham United.

Kayserispor Riveros joined Turkish Süper Lig side Kayserispor on 6 July 2011 on a season-long loan from Sunderland, and signed a permanent contract on 1 May 2012.

Grêmio On 7 June 2013, Riveros joined Grêmio, signing a two-year contract.

Olimpia Asunción In January 2015 after long and exhausting negotiations, it was announced that Grêmio and Club Olimpia Asunción had reached an agreement to sign Riveros for the 2015 Paraguayan Primera División season. Riveros was Instrumental for Olimpia to win their 40th Local Championship, for his experience and skills and also for his leadership on and off the pitch.

Libertad On 7 December 2017, sports news outlet D10 Paraguay announced that Riveros would sign a two-year contract with Libertad, returning to the club after 11 years.

Nacional Asunción He joined Nacional Asunción for the 2020 season.

Libertad On 18 January 2022 of Paraguay's summer transfer window, Riveros officially completed a transfer to Libertad. Anterior to this, Riveros already performed the 2022 pre-season training with Nacional Asunción, however, he joined Libertad for the third time in his career, being at the request of Argentine coach Daniel Garnero. By this way, he was one of three FIFA World Cup players in Libertad's team, being with Oscar Cardozo and Roque Santa Cruz.

International career Riveros played in Paraguay's first two matches at the 2006 World Cup and played efficiently on the left wing. He picked up his first international goal for Paraguay in a 3–2 defeat to Chile. He also played for Paraguay in the Copa América 2007.

2010 FIFA World Cup On 4 May 2010, he was named in Paraguay's preliminary 30-man squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and also made the 23-man penultimate selection alongside club team-mate da Silva.

On 20 June 2010 at the World Cup, Riveros scored a second goal in a 2–0 win over Slovakia, which was set up by former Sunderland defender Paulo Da Silva. Riveros scored a penalty in Paraguay's shoot-out win against Japan in the Round of 16 stage, after the match finished goalless after extra time.

Career statistics

Club

International Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1. 15 November 2006 Estadio Sausalito, Viña del Mar, Chile ? 3–2 Friendly 2. 9 September 2007 Estadio José Pachencho Romero, Maracaibo, Venezuela 1–0 2–3 Friendly 3. 2–0 4. 17 November 2007 Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción, Paraguay 2–0 5–1 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification 5. 5–1 6. 20 August 2008 Centre sportif de Colovray Nyon, Nyon, Switzerland 1–0 1–1 Friendly 7. 9 September 2008 Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción, Paraguay 1–0 2–0 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification 8. 11 February 2009 Estadio Alejandro Villanueva, Lima, Peru 1–0 1–0 Friendly 9. 20 June 2010 Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein, South Africa 2–0 2–0 2010 FIFA World Cup 10. 11 August 2010 Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción, Paraguay 2–0 2–0 Friendly 11. 17 November 2010 Hong Kong Stadium, So Kon Po, Hong Kong 7–0 7–0 Friendly 12. 26 March 2011 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, United States 1–3 1–3 Friendly 13. 13 July 2011 Estadio Padre Ernesto Martearena, Salta, Argentina 3–1 3–3 2011 Copa América 14. 11 November 2011 Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción, Paraguay 1–0 2–1 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification 15. 9 June 2012 Estadio Hernando Siles La Paz, Bolivia 1–3 1–3 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification 16. 10 November 2016 Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción, Paraguay 1–0 1–4 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Club Libertad Paraguayan Primera División: 2006, 2007