Roberto Ríos Patus (born 8 October 1971) is a Spanish former 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 played as a

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

Club career

Although

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

-born (in

Bilbao Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...

), Ríos emerged through the youth system of

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...

, making his professional debut 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 ...

in the 1992–93 season. He went on to contribute importantly in the

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 ...

ns' promotion the following year – although appearing in only 19 matches, he scored four times – and become a regular first-team member onwards. In summer 1997, following rumours of a transfer to

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

earlier in February, Ríos was signed by

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club (; ), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao (), or simply Athletic, is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Southern Basque Country, Basque Country, Spain. They are known ...

for 2 billion pesetas, a then-record for a national player. In his first season, he netted twice in 32 games (including once in a 5–1 home win over

CP Mérida Club Polideportivo Mérida was a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Mérida, Spain, Mérida, in the autonomous community of Extremadura. Having played twice in La Liga (1995–96 La Liga, 1995–96 and 1997–98 La Li ...

, on 21 December 1997) as the

side finished runners-up in

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

. After spending the first months of the 2002–03 campaign without a club and having totalled only 27 appearances in his last three years at Athletic, Ríos trained with

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

. However, in January 2003 he rejected a contract offer from the

Gary Megson Gary John Megson (born 2 May 1959) is an English former football player and manager. He has previously managed Norwich City, Blackpool, Stockport County, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion, Nottingham Forest, Leicester City, Bolton Wanderers and ...

-led team, stating "I don't want to fool anyone" about his chances of regaining full fitness. Ríos retired aged 30, due to persistent injury problems. He returned to Betis in 2010, as part of newly appointed manager

Pepe Mel José "Pepe" Mel Pérez (born 28 February 1963) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a striker, currently a manager. He amassed Segunda División totals of 215 matches and 78 goals over eight seasons, for Real Madrid Cast ...

's coaching staff.

International career

Ríos was

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the e ...

11 times by

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, with his debut coming on 9 October 1996 in a 0–0 away draw against the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

in the

1998 FIFA World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 1 ...

qualifiers. In spite of having appeared significantly during the campaign and coming from a solid club season with Athletic, he was overlooked for the final stages in France.

Personal life

Ríos' father, Eusebio, was also a footballer and a defender. He too played most of his career at Betis, and later managed the club.Fallece a los 73 años Eusebio Ríos (Eusebio Ríos dies at the age of 73)

Diario de Sevilla ''Diario de Sevilla'' is a Spanish newspaper founded in 1999 in Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It i ...

, 12 May 2008 (in Spanish)

Honours

Spain U21 *

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...

third place:

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rios, Roberto 1971 births Living people 20th-century Spanish sportsmen Spanish men's footballers Footballers from Bilbao Men's association football central defenders La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Betis Deportivo Balompié footballers Real Betis players Athletic Bilbao footballers Spain men's youth international footballers Spain men's under-21 international footballers Spain men's international footballers Basque Country men's international footballers Spanish expatriate sportspeople in England Real Betis non-playing staff West Bromwich Albion F.C. non-playing staff