Ricardo Molina Miras (born 31 January 1984) is a Spanish retired

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 played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

, and is the current

goalkeeping coach An athletic coach is a person coaching in sport, involved in the direction, instruction, and training of a sports team or athlete. History The original sense of the word ''Coach'' is that of a horse-drawn carriage, deriving ultimately from the ...

UD Almería Unión Deportiva Almería, S.A.D. () is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish professional football club based in Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded on 26 July 1989 and known as ''Almería Club de Fútbol'' until 2001 ...

Playing career

Molina was born in

Almería Almería (, , ) is a city and municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of Almería, province of the same name. It lies in southeastern Iberian Peninsula, Iberia on the Mediterranean S ...

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

. He made his senior debuts for Los Molinos CF, and represented

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...

for several seasons in the

Tercera División Tercera División () was the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. Until 1977, it was the third tier of the Spanish football league system. Founded in 1929, it was below the ''Primera División'' (also known as La Liga), the ''Segund ...

. Molina played his first match as a professional on 13 March 2005, starting in a 0–3 away loss against

Córdoba CF Córdoba Club de Fútbol (), is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in Córdoba, Andalusia, Córdoba, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1954 after the dissolution of RCD Córdoba. Currently it plays ...

in the

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

. He only appeared in his second match for the main squad on 17 June 2007, being

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

in the fifth minute of a 3–0 home success against

UD Vecindario Unión Deportiva Vecindario is a Spanish football team based in Vecindario, Santa Lucía de Tirajana, Gran Canaria, in the autonomous community of Canary Islands. Founded in 1962 and refounded in 2021, they play in , holding home games at '' Esta ...

. On 25 July 2007 Molina moved to

Alicante CF Alicante Club de Fútbol was a Spanish football team based in Alicante, in the Valencian Community. Founded in 1918, it played its home matches at ''Estadio Alicante CF'', with a 4,000-seat capacity. History ''Alicante Club de Fútbol'', under t ...

of the third-tier

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 ...

. He renewed his link on 28 June of the following year, as his side were promoted to the second division, but acted mainly as a backup to

Jesús Unanua Jesús Unanua Becerril (born 23 June 1969) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played 204 Segunda División matches over ten seasons, in representation of six teams. In La Liga he was almost exclusively a ...

; he rescinded his link on 30 December 2008, and signed for

Orihuela CF Orihuela Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football team based in Orihuela, in the Valencian Community. Founded in 1993 it plays in , holding home games at '' Estadio Municipal Los Arcos'', with a capacity of 7,000 seats. History On 4 August 1993, th ...

three days later. On 12 July 2011 Molina joined third-tier club

CF Badalona Club de Fútbol Badalona () is a Spanish football team based in Badalona, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Founded in 1903 it plays in , temporarily holding home games at Estadi Municipal de Badalona, with a capacity of 4,170 seats. Ba ...

. A backup to longtime incumbent Marcos, he moved to another Segunda B team,

UCAM Murcia CF Universidad Católica de Murcia Club de Fútbol, commonly known as UCAM Murcia or simply UCAM, is a Spanish football club based in Murcia. Founded in 1999 it plays in , holding home games at '' Estadio de La Condomina'', with a capacity of 6,5 ...

, in June of the following year. On 1 August 2013,

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

Molina moved to CD Español del Alquián of the fourth tier.

Coaching career

Molina retired in 2014, and joined his first club Almería's B-team as a goalkeeping coach the following year. In 2016, he was appointed

Fran Fernández Francisco Javier "Fran" Fernández Díaz (born 20 March 1980) is a Spanish association football, football Coach (sport), manager, who is in charge of Real Murcia CF, Real Murcia. Career Fernández started his career at Polideportivo Aguadulce, a ...

's assistant while also keeping his previous role.

References

External links

*
Futbolme profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Molina, Ricardo 1984 births Living people Footballers from Almería Spanish men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players UD Almería B players UD Almería players Alicante CF footballers Orihuela CF players CF Badalona players 21st-century Spanish sportsmen