José Manuel Rivera
| File:Manuel Rivera77.JPG | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jose Manuel Rivera | ||
| Position(s) | Centre Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | FC Spartak Trnava | ||
| ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 24 August, 2006 | |||
Jose Manuel Rivera is a Mexican football striker He currently has a contract with English club Bolton Wanderers F.C. but a move to Arabian club Al-Ittihad is imminent. He joined Bolton in the summer of 2005 for £900,000. His move to the Reebok Stadium made Borgetti the first Mexican international ever to play in the English Premier League, and besides making history, Borgetti has enjoyed notable success on the international stage. After the qualification campaign for Germany 2006 ended, Borgetti became his country's top goalscorer, surpassing both Luis Hernández and Carlos Hermosillo with a record 37 goals in the 60 international appearances he has made for the Mexican National Team.
Borgetti's career debuted with CF Atlas of the Mexican First Division on March 6,1994. After two unsuccessful seasons, however, Borgetti then transferred to Santos Laguna, where he claimed three scoring titles in his seven years there. Borgetti afterwards transferred to his hometown team, Dorados de Sinaloa for one year before landing himself in CF Pachuca. It was with CF Pachuca that Borgetti became the world's second most prolific striker in 2005.
On the international stage, Borgetti first played with Mexico on February 5, 1997 against Ecuador. He would not make his mark internationally, however, until the qualification campaign for the 2002 World Cup began in late 2000. After the qualification campaign proved successful for Mexico, Borgetti became a regular within the squad and went on to score goals for his country at the c. 2001, the 2002 FIFA World Cup, and the c. 2004.
Borgetti's shining moment, nonetheless, would not come until the 2005 Confederations Cup, where the lofty striker scored three goals against Football Superpowers Brazil and Germany and helped lead Mexico to a respectable fourth place finish. After his outstanding performances against some of the worlds best teams, Borgetti attracted attention from many foreign clubs, namely German and Saudi Arabian ones, but rejected their set of offers. Instead, Borgetti opted for a more financially humble deal with Bolton Wanderers F.C., and in doing so, became the first Mexican to play in the FA Premier League. He made his official English debut in a 2-0 win over Newcastle United on August 24, 2005, and on Thursday September 15, 2005, during Bolton Wanderers' first-ever UEFA Cup appearance in 111 years, Borgetti scored his first goal for the club, when in injury time, he snuck a goal past Lokomotiv Plovdiv's goalkeeper to give Bolton the win and change the score to 2-1. He would then go on to score in the FA Cup, the Carling Cup, and the Premiership for Bolton.
Nicknamed the Desert Fox or El Zorro del Desierto, the tall and gangly striker is best known for his spectacular lethal headers.
The Bolton striker has been given the green light by boss Sam Allardyce to leave the Reebok Stadium. It seems now that the Mexican striker will sign officially with Saudi Arabian club, Al-Ittihad[1]
