Llorenç "Sito" Riera Ortega (born 5 January 1987) is a Spanish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for

Manacor Manacor () is a town and Municipalities of Spain, municipality on the island of Mallorca, part of the Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. It is the second-largest town in Mallorca, after the capi ...

. A youth and reserve player at

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

and Espanyol, he never featured professionally in his own country, going on to spend over a decade abroad. He played top-flight football in Greece, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Poland and Cyprus.

Club career

Born in

Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago forms a Provinces of Spain, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain, ...

, Riera represented both major clubs in

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...

and

RCD Espanyol Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as RCD Espanyol, is a Spanish professional sports club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The club competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spa ...

, but never made it past their reserve sides. In the 2007–08 season he suffered relegation from the

Segunda División B Segunda División B (English: second division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish ...

with the latter, failing to score any goals in the process. On 8 July 2009, after a loan experience with Panthrakikos FC, Riera signed for

Panionios F.C. Panionios G.S.S. Football Club (Greek: ΠΑΕ Πανιώνιος Γ.Σ.Σ.), the ''Pan-Ionian Gymnastics Club of Smyrna'' (Πανιώνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Σμύρνης, ''Panionios Gymnastikos Syllogos Smyrnis''), ...

also of the

Super League Greece The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repla ...

. On 14 December 2011, he left by mutual consent. Riera left

FC Chornomorets Odesa FC Chornomorets Odesa ( ) is a Ukrainian professional Association football, football club based in Odesa, Ukraine. According to the club's website, it was formed in 1936 as ''Dynamo'', but until 2002 it carried a logo with 1958 and 1959

– where he spent one and a half years, earning a late

red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction. Red card may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers * Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or di ...

in his last game for the team, a 1–0 away win against

PSV Eindhoven Philips Sport Vereniging (; ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional association football, football department, which has pla ...

in the group stage of the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

– at the start of March 2014, due to the civil unrest caused by the Ukrainian revolution. On 23 June he moved to

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

, signing a three-and-a-half-year contract with

FC Kairat Football Club Kairat () is a professional football club based in Almaty, which plays in the Kazakhstan Premier League, the highest level of Kazakh football. Founded in 1954 as Lokomotiv Alma-Ata, they became Urozhay in 1955 and Kairat in 1956. ...

. On 1 April 2016, after three seasons of irregular playing time, Riera left the Almaty Central Stadium. He resumed his career that August with

Śląsk Wrocław Wrocławski Klub Sportowy Śląsk Wrocław Spółka Akcyjna, commonly known as WKS Śląsk Wrocław (), is a Polish professional Association football, football club based in Wrocław that plays in , the second level of the Polish football leagu ...

in the Polish

Ekstraklasa (; meaning "Extra Class" in Polish), officially known as PKO Bank Polski Ekstraklasa due to its Sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by PKO Bank Polski, is a professional association football league in Poland and the highest level of the Polish foo ...

, on a two-year deal. After his stint in Poland, Riera moved to the

Cypriot First Division The Cypriot First Division (), also known as the Cyprus League by Stoiximan for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Cyprus and the highest level of the Cypriot football league system. Operated by the Cyprus Fo ...

, where he represented

Enosis Neon Paralimni FC Enosis Neon Paralimni Football Club (, ''Enosi Neon Paralimniou''; ), commonly referred to as ENP, is a Cyprus, Cypriot association football, football team from Paralimni. Currently playing in the Cypriot First Division, first division, it holds ...

and

AEL Limassol Athlitiki Enosi Lemesou () is a Cyprus, Cypriot sports club based in the city of Limassol, most famous for its football team. AEL Limassol also maintains a AEL Limassol B.C., men's and AEL Limassol B.C. (women), women's basketball teams, a wom ...

Personal life

Riera's older brother Albert was also a footballer. A winger, he represented, amongst others, Espanyol,

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

and the Spain national team.

Career statistics

Honours

Kairat *

Kazakhstan Cup The Kazakhstan Cup is the main Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in Kazakhstan Football (soccer), football, run by the Football Federation of Kazakhstan. The tournament was initially founded in 1936 as a competition for club ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

* Kazakhstan Super Cup:

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Riera, Sito 1987 births Living people Sportspeople from Manacor 21st-century Spanish sportsmen Spanish men's footballers Footballers from Mallorca Men's association football midfielders Segunda División B players Tercera División players Primera Federación players Tercera Federación players FC Barcelona C players FC Barcelona Atlètic players RCD Espanyol B footballers CF Talavera de la Reina players Super League Greece players Super League Greece 2 players Panthrakikos F.C. players Panionios F.C. players Anagennisi Karditsa F.C. players Ukrainian Premier League players FC Chornomorets Odesa players Kazakhstan Premier League players FC Kairat players Ekstraklasa players III liga players Śląsk Wrocław players Cypriot First Division players Enosis Neon Paralimni FC players AEL Limassol players Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in Ukraine Expatriate men's footballers in Kazakhstan Expatriate men's footballers in Poland Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Greece Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Ukraine Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Kazakhstan Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Poland Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus