• Football
  • Boxing
  • UFC
  • Home
  • Football
    • England
    • Transfer News
    • Premier League
    • Champions League
    • Lionel Messi
    • Cristiano Ronaldo
    • EA FC 25
    • Wrexham
  • Boxing
    • Tyson Fury
    • Anthony Joshua
    • Oleksandr Usyk
    • Mike Tyson
    • Jake Paul
    • Logan Paul
  • UFC
    • Dana White
    • Conor McGregor
    • Khabib Nurmagomedov
    • Jon Jones
    • Paddy Pimblett
    • Joe Rogan
  • Other Sport
    • Athletics
    • Formula 1
    • MMA
    • Motorsport
    • NBA
    • Darts
    • NFL
    • Snooker
    • Wrestling
    • Tennis
    • Cricket
    • Golf
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube
Forgotten Liverpool star wins league title in debut season as manager after overcoming masked ultras invasion

Home> Football

Updated 10:31 17 Apr 2023 GMT+1Published 10:12 17 Apr 2023 GMT+1

Forgotten Liverpool star wins league title in debut season as manager after overcoming masked ultras invasion

He's made an excellent start to his managerial career.

Rory O'Callaghan

Rory O'Callaghan

Albert Riera has gone from being thrown out of his debut managerial unveiling by angry fans to being crowned champion in his first season as a head coach.

Former Liverpool winger Riera, who spent two seasons as Anfield between 2008 and 2010, hung up his boots in 2016 to move into coaching.

After two separate spell acting as assistant at Turkish club Galatasaray, Rieri took his first senior managerial role at Slovenian club Olimpija Ljubljana in July.

Advert

But there were chaotic scenes at the start of his tenure, with the former winger thrown out of his own unveiling by a group of ultras.

The supporters, many of whom were wearing balaclavas, confronted the club's sporting director Mladen Rudonja and Riera, forcing the former Liverpool man to leave the room.

According to Spanish outlet El Partidazo de COPE, the ultras were unhappy with the dismissal of former head coach Robert Prosinecki, who was sacked after a falling out with club president, Adam Delius.

Prosinecki was dismissed after just three months in the role and replaced with former Spain international Riera.

Olimpija crowned champions under Riera

Despite that shaky start to his time at the club, Riera quickly settled and has now guided Olimpija to the Slovenian league title in his first season at the club.

Advert

They clinched the title five rounds before the end of the season after defeating rivals Maribor 2-0 on Sunday.

"Proud is probably the word for this group of players. I could not have asked for more before the season," Riera said.

"This was a special game, the first opportunity to win the title. And against whom? Our perennial rivals."

Riera is just one of a number of former Liverpool players to have moved into management in recent seasons.

Advert

Riera's former Liverpool teammate and captain Steven Gerrard took charge of Rangers in 2018 and would later win the Scottish Premiership title before moving on to Aston Villa in 2021.

He was later sacked by Villa in October after lasting just 11 months in the role.

Meanwhile, several other teammates are currently in managerial positions including Xabi Alonso (Bayer Leverkusen), Daniel Agger (HB Koge) and Andrea Dossena (Renate).

Featured Image Credit: Alamy, COPE and Instagram/Olimpija Ljubljana

Topics: Liverpool, Football

Rory O'Callaghan
Rory O'Callaghan

Rory O'Callaghan is Editorial Lead at SPORTbible. He has previously worked for Sky Sports News, MailOnline and Reach covering football, cricket, boxing and MMA. Tested daily as a Liverpool fan in a Manchester office.

X

@rory_ocallaghan

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

an hour ago
4 hours ago
5 hours ago
6 hours ago
  • an hour ago

    FIFA has banned five football kits for life that you'll never see again

    Club World Cup finalists Chelsea and PSG have been hit by FIFA’s ban on sleeve advertising rule

    Football
  • 4 hours ago

    Xabi Alonso has found the next Florian Wirtz for Real Madrid without spending anything

    The new Real Madrid boss may have uncovered a gem in the squad who could be the next Florian Wirtz.

    Football
  • 5 hours ago

    Chelsea set their asking price for Nicolas Jackson as shock club register interest and it looks like a typo

    Enzo Maresca has named his price to sell Nicolas Jackson this summer, amid links to a European giant.

    Football
  • 6 hours ago

    Rodrygo has already told Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea which club he wants to play for next season

    The Brazilian star has been linked with a move away from Real Madrid this summer.

    Football
  • QUIZ: Can you name the player who has scored most goals for each club?
  • Aaron Ramsdale names forgotten Premier League legend as his childhood hero
  • Premier League supercomputer predicts end of season table as Arsenal and Man City battle for the title
  • The Premier League title is back in Man City's hands after Arsenal drop points to Liverpool