Ömer Rıza

Ömer Rıza — Biography

Omer Riza was born in Edmonton, London, came through the Arsenal academy and played in Turkey for Denizlispor and Trabzonspor as a forward before moving into coaching. He was interim manager of Cardiff City in 2024 and has worked since 2026 as assistant coach at the Italian Serie B club Cesena.

His only official game for Arsenal came on 28 October 1998, as a last-minute substitute in a League Cup tie away to Derby County. He was loaned to ADO Den Haag, joined West Ham United in 1999-2000 and had loans at Barnet and Cambridge United; after 17 goals for Cambridge in 2002-03 he moved to Denizlispor in 2003 and to Trabzonspor in January 2006. With Shrewsbury Town in 2009 he reached the League Two play-off final, lost to Gillingham, then played for Aldershot Town and non-league clubs. In 2005 he played for Turkey A2 in a 1-1 draw with Germany B.

He began coaching in 2013 as player-manager of the non-league side Cheshunt. On 30 March 2017 he was promoted from assistant at Leyton Orient to manager, and his contract ended in June. He joined Watford as an academy coach in August 2018; over five years he also served with England's under-16s and under-17s, coached the under-23s and was promoted to first-team coach in June 2023. At Cardiff City he became interim manager in 2024 and was given a contract to the end of the season; his time there ended in April 2025.