Christian Ribeiro

Christian Ribeiro

Ribeiro with the Wales U21 side
Personal information
Full name	Christian Michael Ribeiro[1]
Date of birth	14 December 1989
Place of birth	Neath, Wales
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11 ^1⁄2 in)[2]
Playing position	Defender
Club information
Current team	Exeter City
Number	6
Youth career
2001–2006	Bristol City
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
2006–2012	Bristol City	14	(0)
2009	→ Stockport County (loan)	7	(0)
2010	→ Colchester United (loan)	2	(0)
2011–2012	→ Carlisle United (loan)	5	(0)
2012	→ Scunthorpe United (loan)	10	(0)
2012–2014	Scunthorpe United	49	(2)
2014–	Exeter City	55	(3)
National team^‡
2005–2006	Wales U17	7	(1)
2006–2007	Wales U19	5	(0)
2007–2011	Wales U21	8	(1)
2010	Wales	2	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 11:27, 9 January 2016 (UTC). † Appearances (goals) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 03:00, 1 December 2015 (UTC)

Christian Michael Ribeiro (born 14 December 1989) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a defender for Exeter City in League Two.

Early life

Ribeiro was born in Neath, Wales and moved to Gloucestershire at the age of five and attended Marling School in Stroud. His father is Portuguese but was born in Wales and his mother is Welsh.^[3]

Club career

Bristol City

Ribeiro came through the youth system at Bristol City before earning his first professional contract, lasting two and a half years, with the club in December 2006.^[4] His first team debut came nearly two years later in a 2–1 win over Peterborough United in the Football League Cup on 12 August 2008, but was replaced after just 34 minutes after damaging his anterior cruciate ligament,^[5][6] which kept him out for nearly a year.^[7] Prior to his injury, he was linked with a move to Premier League side Everton. However he quickly dismissed the rumours stating: "I felt I had a better chance of playing at Bristol City and I was proved right because I got into the first team, it just so happened that was when I got injured."^[8]

Having made just one appearance during the 2009–10 season due to another injury sustained while international duty, Ribeiro was allowed to join Football League One side Stockport County on a one-month loan deal with a 24-hour recall clause.^[6] He made his Football League and Stockport debut in a 3–1 defeat to Exeter City in November.^[9] After a month, he decided to extend his loan period to 9 January 2010.^[10] However, at the end of December, manager Gary Johnson opted to exercise the recall clause following an injury crisis and Ribeiro returned at the end of December.^[11][12] He went on loan again, to Colchester United, until another injury ended his spell. Ribeiro made his league debut for Bristol City in a 2–2 draw with Newcastle United on 20 March 2010.^[13] In May 2012, Ribeiro was released after learning that his contract would not be renewed.^[14]

Scunthorpe United

On 9 July 2012, Ribeiro signed a two-year contract at Scunthorpe United following a loan for the second half of the previous season.^[15] He made his debut as a permanent player for the club in League One on 18 August, playing the full 90 minutes of a 0–3 defeat at Crawley Town;^[16] in total he played 28 league matches in a campaign which saw the club relegated. He scored the first goal of his professional career on 17 November 2012, opening a 2–2 draw against Notts County at Glanford Park, curling the ball after a one-two with Mark Duffy.^[17] Ribeiro's only other goal for Scunthorpe came on 15 December in a 3–1 win at Leyton Orient, again scoring the first goal of the game and again assisted by Duffy.^[18]

The club announced on 8 May 2014 that he would be released at the end of the season, despite playing 21 games as they won promotion back to League One.^[19]

Exeter City

Ribeiro playing for Exeter City in 2015

On 21 August 2014, Ribeiro signed for League Two side Exeter City after a successful pre-season trial. The club were under a transfer embargo due to financial issues and Ribeiro was carrying an injury which was likely to remain until September.^[20]

He made his debut for the club on 6 September, starting in a 1–2 home defeat to Mansfield Town at St James Park.^[21] On 11 October he scored his first goal for Exeter, a headed consolation in another home loss by the same score against Hartlepool United;^[22] a second came on 6 December as a late equaliser for a 1–1 draw against Burton Albion.^[23]

On 14 June 2015, Ribeiro signed a new contract with Exeter,^[24] despite reported interest from Championship side Birmingham City and League One sides Swindon Town and Shrewsbury Town.^[25]

International career

Ribeiro was a regular at various youth levels for Wales including taking part in the under-19 squad that played in the Milk Cup in 2007.^[26] On 12 November 2007 he was called up for the Wales U21 team for the matches against Bosnia and Herzegovina U21 and France U21,^[27] playing in both. He was first called up to the senior squad for the 2010 World Cup qualifier against Russia in September 2009 but did not leave the bench.^[28] Ribeiro made his debut for the Wales national football team on 23 May 2010 against Croatia at the Gradski vrt stadium, Osijek.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 24 November 2015

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other[lower-alpha 1]		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Bristol City	2008–09[29]	Championship	0	0	0	0	1	0	–		1	0
	2009-10[30]	Championship	5	0	0	0	1	0	–		6	0
	2010-11[31]	Championship	9	0	1	0	0	0	–		10	0
	2011-12[32]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	–		0	0
	Total		14	0	1	0	2	0	–		17	0
Stockport County (loan)	2009-10	League One	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
Colchester United (loan)	2009-10[30]	League One	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
Carlisle United (loan)	2011-12[32]	League One	5	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
Scunthorpe United (loan)	2011-12[32]	League One	10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	10	0
Scunthorpe United	2012-13[33]	League One	28	2	1	0	2	0	1	0	32	2
	2013-14[34]	League Two	21	0	2	0	1	0	1	0	25	0
	Total		49	2	3	0	3	0	2	0	57	2
Exeter City	2014-15[35]	League Two	37	2	1	0	0	0	1	0	39	2
	2015-16[36]	League Two	17	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	19	1
	Total		54	3	1	0	1	0	2	0	58	3
Career total			141	5	7	0	6	0	4	0	158	5

1. Includes Football League Trophy matches.

International

As of match played 12 October 2010

Team	Year	Apps	Goals
Wales	2010[37][38]	2	0
Total		2	0

References

1. "Search 1984 to 2006 – Birth, Marriage and Death indexes". Findmypast.com. Retrieved 2009-11-22.
2. http://www.bcfc.co.uk/page/ProfilesDetail/0,,10327~40108,00.html Archived 8 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine
3. "Future looks bright for latest PMA signing Christian Ribeiro". Givemefootball.com. 1 January 2007. Retrieved 2008-11-05.
4. "Ribeiro earns first City contract". BBC Sport. 14 December 2006. Retrieved 2007-11-21.
5. "Bristol City 2–1 Peterborough". BBC Sport. 12 August 2008. Retrieved 2009-11-22.
6. "Bristol City and Wales defender Christian Ribeiro joins Stockport on loan". gazetteseries.co.uk. 21 November 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-22.
7. "Ribeiro back to City after injury". BBC Sport. 17 July 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-22.
8. "Ribeiro has no regrets about staying at Bristol City". gazetteseries.co.uk. 2 April 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-22.
9. "Stockport 1–3 Exeter". BBC Sport. 21 November 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-22.
10. "Bristol City's Ribeiro set for Bristol Rovers showdown". Bristol Evening Post. 22 December 2009.
11. "Christian returns to Bristol". stockportcounty.com. 29 December 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-30.
12. "Recalled Ribeiro eyeing chance to feature for Bristol City". Bristol Evening Post. 31 December 2009.
13. "Bristol City 2–2 Newcastle". BBC Sport. 20 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-24.
14. "Christian Ribeiro to leave Bristol City at the end of his contract". Gazette. 3 May 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
15. "Ribeiro joins permanently". Scunthorpe United F.C. 9 July 2012. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
16. "Crawley 3-0 Scunthorpe". BBC Sport. 18 August 2012. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
17. "Scunthorpe 2-2 Notts County". BBC Sport. 17 November 2012. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
18. "Leyton Orient 1-3 Scunthorpe". BBC Sport. 15 December 2012. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
19. "Christian Ribeiro will be released by Scunthorpe United". Scunthorpe Telegraph. 8 May 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
20. Pilnick, Brent (21 August 2014). "Christian Ribeiro completes Exeter City transfer". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
21. "Exeter 1-2 Mansfield". BBC Sport. 6 September 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
22. "Exeter 1-2 Hartlepool". BBC Sport. 11 October 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
23. "Exeter 1-1 Burton". BBC Sport. 6 December 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
24. "Christian Ribeiro: Defender signs new deal with Exeter City". BBC Sport. 14 June 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
25. "Who is Birmingham City target Christian Ribeiro? Here's everything you need to know". Birmingham Mail. 12 June 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
26. "Ramsey withdrawn from Wales squad". BBC Sport. 20 July 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-21.
27. "Injured Bale ruled out for Wales". BBC Sport. 12 November 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-21.
28. "Bristol City defender Ribeiro ready for Russia". Bristol Evening Post. 9 September 2009.
29. "Games played by Christian Ribeiro in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
30. "Games played by Christian Ribeiro in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
31. "Games played by Christian Ribeiro in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
32. "Games played by Christian Ribeiro in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
33. "Games played by Christian Ribeiro in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
34. "Games played by Christian Ribeiro in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
35. "Games played by Christian Ribeiro in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
36. "Games played by Christian Ribeiro in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
37. "Croatia 2-0 Wales". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
38. "Euro 2012: Switzerland 4-1 Wales". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 August 2015.

External links

• Christian Ribeiro player profile at Exeter City
• Christian Ribeiro career statistics at Soccerbase