Ömer Rıza

Arsenal

Born in Edmonton, London, of Turkish Cypriot descent, Riza started his career as a youth with English club Arsenal. He made his only appearance for the club on 28 October 1998 in the League Cup third round, a 2–1 win away to Derby County in which he came on in the last minute as a substitute for Christopher Wreh. Riza said in 2018 that he believed he should have played more, due to his form for the under-19 and reserve teams; he said that although Nicolas Anelka, Ian Wright and Dennis Bergkamp were first-team forwards for Arsenal, players that he considered inferior to himself such as Kaba Diawara, Fabián Caballero and Wreh were getting more opportunities. During the 1998–99 season, Riza went on loan to ADO Den Haag for three months.

Turkey and Football League

In the 1999–2000 season, Riza moved to West Ham United, but again was unable to break into the first team. He went on loan to Barnet and Cambridge United, and signed a permanent deal with the latter in 2002. Riza went on trial at Aberdeen in July 2002. He scored the equaliser in a 4–4 pre-season friendly against nearby part-time club Brechin City, but was passed over by manager Ebbe Skovdahl for being too much like their player Darren Mackie. During the 2002–03 season he scored 17 goals for Cambridge, which prompted a move to Süper Lig side Denizlispor during the 2003 close season. In January 2006, he signed for Trabzonspor. In January 2008, Riza walked out of the club, claiming he had not…

Despite being born in England, Riza made one appearance for the Turkey A2 national team on 6 September 2005 during a 1–1 draw against Germany B during the 2005 Future Cup.

In August 2013, Riza moved clubs again, this time signing for Cheshunt. Following the departure of manager Tony Faulkner, Riza was appointed as caretaker manager of Cheshunt. The holder of a UEFA A Licence badge, Riza said of his new role: "It's new to me but I am ready for the challenge. I am ready for the next step of my career. I have always wanted to go into this side of the game. I feel quietly confident I have what it takes to build something." His first game in charge was on 31 August 2013, an away game against Hertford Town in the FA Cup. Riza scored to make the game 3–1 before they finally lost 4–2. His player-manager position was made permanent in November 2013. He scored 17 goals during that season, but damaged his cruciate ligament in one of his knees in a charity match for Arsenal XI in June 2014, sidelining him for 15 months. He was sacked from his Cheshunt duties in September 2014. He had a short spell as assistant manager for Heybridge Swifts, between December 2014 and February 2015. On 30 March 2017, following the resignation of Daniel Webb as manager of Leyton Orient, Riza was promoted from his role as assistant manager and placed in charge until the end of the 2016–17 season. In his first game as manager, on 1 April, Orient lost 0–2 to Wycombe Wanderers and Riza was sent to the stands for verbally abusing referee Charles Breakspear. Three weeks later, after losing to Crewe Alexandra, Orient were relegated to the National League, ending the club's 112 years…