Harold Rivera · Biography

Harold Rivera Roa was born on 6 July 1970 in Ibagué, the capital of Tolima, and came through the youth ranks at Deportes Tolima. He spent fifteen seasons as a midfielder in Colombian football, making 289 appearances and scoring 31 goals for eight clubs, including Unión Magdalena, Junior and Millonarios. After retiring he moved into coaching. He took charge of Colombia's youth national teams and later managed Patriotas Boyacá, Atlético Bucaramanga, Unión Magdalena, Independiente Santa Fe and Deportes Quindío. His son, Harold Rivera Chavarro, born in 1993, is also a professional midfielder.

Early years at Tolima

Rivera made his debut for his hometown club, Deportes Tolima, in 1990 and stayed until 1995. During that spell the team dropped into the second tier, and he helped it win the 1994 Primera B, the title that took Tolima back to the top flight. In central midfield he combined winning the ball with bringing it out from the back, and that profile drew interest from other Primera A clubs in the mid-1990s.

A journeyman career

He joined Atlético Huila in 1996. He played for Unión Magdalena in 1997 and for Junior of Barranquilla in 1998. He spent 1999 and 2000 at Atlético Bucaramanga before signing for Millonarios in 2001. With the Bogotá club he won the 2001 Copa Merconorte, an international tournament between clubs from northern South America and CONCACAF. He played for Cortuluá from 2002 to 2004 and returned to Deportes Tolima in 2005 to finish his career at the club where it had started.

From the pitch to the youth national teams

After retiring he stayed at Tolima as a youth coach in 2006 and 2007. In 2006 he won the national title with the Tolima regional team. In 2008 the Colombian Football Federation appointed him head coach of the Colombia under-15 team. He held the job until December 2011 and won eleven of his 18 games, drawing five and losing two. In 2011 he also assisted Ramiro Viáfara with the under-17 side and Ricardo Rozo with the women's national team at that year's World Cup. On 13 December 2011 he became head coach of the under-17s and stayed until April 2013.

Patriotas Boyacá and Atlético Bucaramanga

Rivera joined Patriotas Boyacá as an assistant in 2013. From the third round of the 2014 Apertura he was head coach, a role he kept until 2016 over 140 matches. With the Tunja club he secured qualification for the 2017 Copa Sudamericana, the club's first international campaign. In 2017 he took over at Atlético Bucaramanga, but his spell lasted only eight games, with two wins, two draws and four defeats. In March that year, after a 1-0 loss to Tigres, the club and the coach agreed to end his contract.

Promotion with Unión Magdalena

On 14 August 2017 he was unveiled as coach of Unión Magdalena, then in the second tier. In 2018 he won promotion to the Primera A, ending thirteen years in the second division for the Santa Marta club. He led the team in the top flight in the first half of 2019 and left midway through that year.

Independiente Santa Fe

In August 2019 he took charge of Independiente Santa Fe. He led the Bogotá side to the 2020 league final against América de Cali. América won the first leg 3-0, Santa Fe won the return match, and the title went to Cali 3-2 on aggregate. Rivera stayed until 22 August 2021. That day, after a 1-1 draw with Deportivo Pereira in the sixth round of the second-half tournament, club president Eduardo Méndez announced his departure. He came back to Santa Fe for the 2023 season, with his return announced on 12 December 2022. He was dismissed on 12 May 2023 after a 2-0 defeat to Atlético Nacional in round 13 of the Apertura.

Returns to Santa Marta and Tunja, then Quindío

In late May 2023 he returned to Unión Magdalena for the second half of the year, a spell that ended with the club's relegation at the end of 2023. On 11 December 2023 newly promoted Patriotas Boyacá named him their coach. He managed 31 games in 2024, with six wins, six draws and nineteen defeats, and left in September 2024 after a 2-1 loss to Atlético Bucaramanga. On 29 April 2025 second-tier Deportes Quindío appointed him to replace Carlos Velasco, with promotion as the stated goal. He took charge of his first game for the Armenia club on 3 May 2025, against Tigres.