.jpg) Riza playing forShrewsbury Town in 2009 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Omer Karime Ali Riza[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1979-11-08)8 November 1979 (age 45)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Edmonton, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[3] | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Cardiff City (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1995–1998 | Arsenal | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1998–1999 | Arsenal | 0 | (0) |
| 1999 | →ADO Den Haag (loan) | 11 | (3[4]) |
| 1999–2002 | West Ham United | 0 | (0) |
| 2000 | →Barnet (loan) | 5 | (2) |
| 2000–2001 | →Barnet (loan) | 5 | (2) |
| 2001 | →Cambridge United (loan) | 12 | (3) |
| 2002–2003 | Cambridge United | 46 | (12) |
| 2003–2006 | Denizlispor | 60 | (16[5]) |
| 2006–2008 | Trabzonspor | 35 | (4[5]) |
| 2009–2010 | Shrewsbury Town | 13 | (0) |
| 2010 | Aldershot Town | 1 | (0) |
| 2010–2012 | Histon | 55 | (16) |
| 2012–2013 | Boreham Wood | 19 | (9) |
| 2013 | Chelmsford City | 13 | (2) |
| 2013–2014 | Cheshunt | 19 | (11) |
| 2015 | Harlow Town | 0 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | Newmarket Town | 5 | (1) |
| 2022 | Hertford Town | 3 | (1) |
| Total | 271 | (70) | |
| International career | |||
| 2005 | Turkey A2 | 1 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2013–2014 | Cheshunt | ||
| 2017 | Leyton Orient | ||
| 2024– | Cardiff City | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 12:11, 22 September 2024 (UTC) | |||
Omer Karime Ali Riza (born 8 November 1979) is a football coach and former player who is the manager ofEFL Championship clubCardiff City.
Aforward, Riza signed forArsenal andWest Ham United, making one substitute appearance for Arsenal in theLeague Cup only. He played in thefourth tier of English football forBarnet,Cambridge United,Shrewsbury Town andAldershot Town. Abroad, he featured forADO Den Haag in the Netherlands and Turkish duoDenizlispor andTrabzonspor. Born in England ofTurkish Cypriot descent, Riza was capped for theTurkish A2 team on one occasion.
In his coaching career, Riza was head coach ofLeyton Orient in 2017 and was appointed interim manager atCardiff City in 2024. Later, he was given the role on a contract until the end of the 2024/2025 season. He also held numerous roles in a five-year spell atWatford.
Born inEdmonton, London,[2] ofTurkish Cypriot descent,[6] Riza started his career as a youth with English clubArsenal. He made his only appearance for the club on 28 October 1998 in theLeague Cup third round, a 2–1 win away toDerby County in which he came on in the last minute as asubstitute forChristopher Wreh. Riza said in 2018 that he believed he should have played more, due to his form for the under-19 and reserve teams; he said that althoughNicolas Anelka,Ian Wright andDennis Bergkamp were first-team forwards for Arsenal, players that he considered inferior to himself such asKaba Diawara,Fabián Caballero and Wreh were getting more opportunities.[7]
During the1998–99 season, Riza went onloan toADO Den Haag for three months.
In the1999–2000 season, Riza moved toWest Ham United, but again was unable to break into the first team. He went on loan toBarnet andCambridge United, and signed a permanent deal with the latter in 2002.
Riza went on trial atAberdeen in July 2002. He scored the equaliser in a 4–4 pre-season friendly against nearby part-time clubBrechin City, but was passed over by managerEbbe Skovdahl for being too much like their playerDarren Mackie.[8]
During the2002–03 season he scored 17 goals for Cambridge, which prompted a move toSüper Lig sideDenizlispor during the 2003 close season. In January 2006, he signed forTrabzonspor. In January 2008, Riza walked out of the club, claiming he had not been paid. TheTurkish Football Federation banned him from playing for any club.[9]
In February 2009, Riza returned to English football with a trial atLeague Two clubShrewsbury Town, and impressed managerPaul Simpson, but Riza could not take part in any official matches due to the ban imposed upon him by the TFF. His legal representatives submitted a case to football's World governing bodyFIFA in early April 2009, from which a Swiss judge over-ruled the TFF decision, on 17 April, that Riza shall be allowed to compete in English football. Riza made his debut for Shrewsbury Town as a second-half substitute againstRotherham United the following day.[10] He made five appearances that season, ending on 23 May in the 1–0 loss toGillingham in the2009 Football League Two play-off final, in which he came on forNick Chadwick with 11 minutes of regulation time remaining.[11]
On 22 January 2010, Riza left Shrewsbury Town after struggling to break into the first team during the first half of the season, with player and club coming to an agreement regarding paying off the rest of his contract. On 25 February, he joinedAldershot Town until the end of the season.[12]
Following the appointment ofDavid Livermore as manager atHiston,[13] Riza joined Histon on a non-contract basis and made his debut againstKettering Town in aConference National fixture on 28 August 2010. He scored his first goal via a penalty in their league match againstHayes & Yeading United, which turned out to be the winning goal.[14] Due to the cost of his wages, Histon released Riza in January 2012, giving him seven days notice to leave the club.[15]
In February 2012, Riza signed forBoreham Wood scoring on his debut in a 3–0 win againstMaidenhead United.[16][17] On 28 January 2013, he signed forChelmsford City[16] and scored on his debut on the same day againstDorchester Town in a 4–0 win, being named Man of the Match.[18]
In August 2015, Riza signed forHarlow Town, hoping to bounce back from a knee injury.[19]
In December 2017, Riza came out of retirement, signing forEastern Counties League Premier Division sideNewmarket Town as a player.[20] One month later, Riza left Newmarket due to injury.[21]
On 1 January 2022, 42-year-old Riza played forHertford Town in theSouthern Football League.[22][23]
Despite being born inEngland, Omer Riza made one appearance for theTurkey A2 national team on 6 September 2005 during a 1–1 draw againstGermany B during the 2005 Future Cup.[24]
In August 2013, Riza moved clubs again, this time signing forCheshunt.[25] Following the departure of manager Tony Faulkner, Riza was appointed as caretaker manager of Cheshunt. The holder of a UEFA A Licence badge, Riza said of his new role: "It's new to me but I am ready for the challenge. I am ready for the next step of my career. I have always wanted to go into this side of the game. I feel quietly confident I have what it takes to build something."[26] His first game in charge was on 31 August 2013, an away game againstHertford Town in theFA Cup. Riza scored to make the game 3–1 before they finally lost 4–2.[27] His player-manager position was made permanent in November 2013.[28] He scored 17 goals during that season, but damaged his cruciate ligament in one of his knees in a charity match for Arsenal XI in June 2014,[29] sidelining him for 15 months.[30] He was sacked from his Cheshunt duties in September 2014.[31]
He had a short spell as assistant manager forHeybridge Swifts, between December 2014 and February 2015.[32][33]
On 30 March 2017, following the resignation ofDaniel Webb as manager ofLeyton Orient, Riza was promoted from his role as assistant manager and placed in charge until the end of the 2016–17 season.[34] In his first game as manager, on 1 April, Orient lost 0–2 toWycombe Wanderers and Riza was sent to the stands for verbally abusing refereeCharles Breakspear.[35] Three weeks later, after losing toCrewe Alexandra, Orient were relegated to theNational League, ending the club's 112 years in the Football League.[36] Riza's contract expired on 30 June 2017 and was not extended.[37]
In August 2018, Riza joinedWatford as an academy coach.[38] In September 2019, Riza was named as a coach for theEngland U16s as part ofThe FA's 2019–20 Elite Coach Placement Programme.[39] In October 2020, he was confirmed as the Watford's under-23 coach, having stepped up temporarily into the role in December 2019 afterHayden Mullins was promoted to the club's first-team staff.[40]
On 26 August 2021, Riza was confirmed as an assistant coach for theEngland U17s, working withTom Curtis andPaul Davis.[41]
In June 2023, Riza was promoted to first-team coach at Watford under head coachValérien Ismaël.[42] He and fellow assistantDean Whitehead left upon the Frenchman's sacking in March 2024.[43]
Riza joinedEFL Championship clubCardiff City in June 2024, as first team coach in Turkish managerErol Bulut's backroom staff. In September 2024, he was appointed as interim manager following Bulut's sacking.[44] Riza lost 4–1 away to Hull City on his debut on 28 September, before earning Cardiff's first win of the season three days later with a 1–0 home victory overMillwall; he then said that he hoped to receive the job permanently.[45]
On the 5th December 2024, Riza was given theCardiff City job on a contract until the end of the 2024/2025EFL Championship season.[46]
| Team | From | To | Record | Ref. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Cheshunt | 30 August 2013 | 1 September 2014 | 49 | 12 | 18 | 19 | 024.49 | [47] |
| Leyton Orient | 30 March 2017 | 10 July 2017 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 014.29 | [48] |
| Cardiff City | 22 September 2024 | Present | 35 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 028.57 | [48] |
| Total | 91 | 23 | 31 | 37 | 025.27 | |||
