I was a paramedic before falling into football while backpacking – now I’m about to face ex-Chelsea star Hernan Crespo

ALBERT RIERA near his occupation arsenic a paramedic successful Catalonia to spell travelling for a twelvemonth successful New Zealand.

While astir twenty-somethings who permission Europe for question extremity up sightseeing, possibly getting a barroom occupation to wage the bills, Riera coiled up winning the Champions League.

The diminutive 5ft 8in midfielder, present 40, had balanced his ambulance enactment with being a part-time footballer successful Spain's 4th tier.

But aft landing a one-year visa to caput to New Zealand, the midfielder had nary volition of playing football Down Under.

After his dada pointed him successful the absorption of Auckland City's Catalan manager Ramon Tribulietx, however, helium ended up somewhat reluctantly sending implicit footage of his games.

Tribulietx liked what helium saw capable to connection him a trial, and Riera ne'er looked back.

"I thought that would beryllium it," Riera admitted portion chatting to The National. "But aft 1 week helium said that helium wanted to motion maine for the remainder of the play – 2 months.

"My friends said, ‘We’ve travel to travel, not to play football’. I said, ‘Look, successful 2 months I’ll decorativeness and past we’ll prosecute a van and travel’. In the meantime, we won the Oceanic Champions League and I travelled to New Caledonia, to Tahiti for free. Football was letting maine travel.

"At the extremity of the season, we inactive hired the van and goofed astir New Zealand wherever you enactment for radical successful instrumentality for accommodation.

"We were successful a hippy assemblage successful the bush and we were gardening, cleaning, chopping wood, making buildings. We were besides packing kiwi fruits – you soon get sick of them.

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"We’d enactment nighttime shifts for 10 hours per nighttime conscionable to prevention much wealth to question again.

"The thought was six months successful New Zealand and six months travelling backmost to Spain via Asia – Tibet and places similar that."

Having doubted that he'd adjacent beryllium bully capable to marque Auckland's squad, Riera recovered himself being offered an accidental to enactment for the pursuing season.

"The wealth helium was offering was not capable to unrecorded on," helium admitted. "But I’ve ever been prepared to instrumentality a risk. People told maine that I was brainsick giving up a due occupation to play semi-professional football, yet it wasn’t ordinary.

"We’d beryllium playing successful the Club World Cup successful Japan, for instance.

"I could support travelling, play much Champions League and ended up playing 3 years astatine Auckland City from the property of 28."

Having thrived for part-timers Auckland, Riera was incredibly handed the accidental to crook nonrecreational aged 29.

'I THOUGHT IT WOULD GO NOWHERE'

He revealed: "My volition was to spell backmost to Spain, but successful 1 pre-season we played against Wellington Phoenix, 1 of the 2 nonrecreational teams successful New Zealand.

"Their coach, a Scot called Ernie Merrick, asked maine to travel connected proceedings for 1 week. Again, I thought it would spell nowhere, I’d ne'er played nonrecreational football.

"But connected the archetypal time aft lone 1 league Ernie said they wanted to connection maine a one-year deal. To beryllium honest, I felt good astatine the level that day."

During his clip successful the A-League helium was called up to their All-Star team, which enabled him the accidental to play against Juventus - swapping shirts with legendary Italian midfielder Andrea Pirlo.

Following 3 years with Wellington, Riera decided that the brutal question docket had go excessively overmuch for him - and opted to rejoin Auckland.

After hanging up his boots successful 2021, by this constituent a New Zealand citizen, Riera became manager of Auckland.

Having won 3 OFC Champions Leagues arsenic a player, helium has since added 2 much arsenic a coach.

This week helium has taken his broadside to Abu Dhabi, wherever they volition look Asian champions Al-Ain successful the archetypal circular of the Club World Cup connected Sunday.

The lucifer volition spot him pit his managerial wits against erstwhile Chelsea striker Hernan Crespo, who has been coaching the Emirati broadside for conscionable nether a year.

Last twelvemonth they fell 3-0 astatine this signifier to Saudi outfit Al-Ittihad, who boasted the likes of Karim Benzema, N'Golo Kante and Fabinho among their ranks.

On this year's task, Riera said: "We’re realistic, but I’ll archer my players to vie arsenic good arsenic we can.

"I retrieve Crespo arsenic a player, 1 of the large Argentina strikers. He was a engaged No9 moving down each the time, afloat of energy. I’m blessed for my squad to beryllium playing his."

On the dreams that could prevarication ahead, Riera said: "It’s mode harder now, but we’re lone 3 games distant from playing Real Madrid to go satellite champions. You ne'er cognize successful football!"