Hámilton Ricard

Hámilton Ricard

Personal information
Full name	Hámilton Ricard Cuesta
Date of birth	12 January 1974
Place of birth	Quibdó, Chocó, Colombia
Height	1.84 m (6 ft ^1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Forward
Club information
Current team	Cortuluá
Number	9
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
1992–1997	Deportivo Cali	61	(22)
1997–2001	Middlesbrough	115	(33)
2001–2002	CSKA Sofia	12	(3)
2003	Shonan Bellmare	9	(1)
2003	Cortuluá	3	(0)
2004	Emelec	25	(17)
2004	APOEL	15	(6)
2005	Deportivo Cali	6	(0)
2005	Numancia	16	(2)
2006–2007	Danubio	25	(11)
2007–2008	Shanghai Shenhua	42	(14)
2009–2010	Danubio	10	(3)
2010–2011	Concepción	16	(5)
2011–2012	Deportes Quindío	30	(10)
2012–2013	Cortuluá	11	(0)
National team
1995–2000	Colombia	27	(5)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (goals)

Hámilton Ricard Cuesta (born 12 January 1974, in Quibdó) is a Colombian footballer who plays for Colombian team Cortuluá as a striker, and has played for Deportivo Cali, Middlesbrough, CSKA Sofia, Independiente, Emelec, Shonan Bellmare, APOEL, Numancia, Danubio and Concepción over the course of his career.

Career

Ricard was signed by Bryan Robson for a fee of £2 million in 1998, and scored 33 goals in 92 starts (with 23 substitute appearances) over a four-year Middlesbrough career. He was twice Middlesbrough's top scorer. When Steve McClaren took over the reins, Ricard was deemed surplus to requirements and allowed to move to CSKA Sofia on a free transfer.

Since leaving Middlesbrough, Ricard courted controversy both on and off the pitch. In 2002, he was involved in a car accident that killed a passenger,^[1] and was banned from football for twelve months for attacking a referee and making obscene gestures to the crowd while playing for Guayaquil side Emelec. The ban was reduced on appeal, and since then, Ricard attempted to move back to Europe to rejuvenate his career. He briefly played in Cyprus for APOEL, before signing a year's deal with Numancia for the 2005–06 season. He played 16 times, scoring two goals.

After he moved to Danubio in Uruguay where he scored 12 goals and played a key role helping Danubio to win the Uruguayan 2006–07 season. In June 2007 he trialled with Chinese Super League team Shanghai Shenhua, subsequently signing a contract with the Chinese club.

Ricard has represented Colombia 27 times, scoring five goals.

On 24 January 2007, Ricard was sentenced by a Colombian court to three years in prison for the 2002 car incident. His lawyers have indicated an appeal is likely. He has not yet served the sentence.^[2][3]

Club statistics

Club performance			League
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals
Colombia			League
1993	Deportivo Cali	Primera A	15	5
1994			46	17
1995
1996				36
1997
England			League
1997–98	Middlesbrough	First Division	9	2
1998–99		Premier League	36	15
1999–2000			34	12
2000–01			27	4
2001–02			9	0
Bulgaria			League
2001–02	CSKA Sofia	A PFG	9	1
Colombia			League
2002	Independiente Santa Fé	Primera A	0	0
Japan			League
2003	Shonan Bellmare	J. League 2	12	2
Colombia			League
2003	Cortuluá	Primera A	3	0
Ecuador			League
2004	Emelec	Serie A	25	17
Cyprus			League
2004–05	APOEL	First Division	15	6
Colombia			League
2005	Deportivo Cali	Primera A	6	0
Spain			League
2005–06	Numancia	Segunda División	16	2
Uruguay			League
2006–07	Danubio	Primera División	25	11
China PR			League
2007	Shanghai Shenhua	Super League	15	5
2008			27	9
Uruguay			League
2009–10	Danubio	Primera División	10	3
Country	Colombia		70	58
	England		115	33
	Bulgaria		9	1
	Japan		12	2
	Ecuador		25	17
	Cyprus		15	6
	Spain		16	2
	Uruguay		35	14
	China PR		27	9
Total			324	106

International career statistics

Colombia national team
Year	Apps	Goals
1995	3	1
1996	1	0
1997	13	3
1998	2	0
1999	6	1
2000	2	0
Total	27	5

Honours

Club

• Shanghai Shenhua:
  • A3 Champions Cup: 2007

References

1. "Ex-Boro star Ricard hurt in death crash". ABC News Online. 16 December 2002.
2. "Former Columbia striker Ricard facing jail". ESPN Soccernet. 24 January 2007.
3. http://southamerican-futbol.blogspot.com/2010/11/what-ever-happened-to-hamilton-ricard.html

• Hámilton Ricard at National-Football-Teams.com