Omer Riza

Omer Karime Ali Riza (born 8 November 1979) is a football coach and former player who most recently managed EFL Championship club Cardiff City.

A forward, Riza signed for Arsenal and West Ham United, making one substitute appearance for Arsenal in the League Cup only. He played in the fourth tier of English football for Barnet, Cambridge United, Shrewsbury Town and Aldershot Town. Abroad, he featured for ADO Den Haag in the Netherlands and Turkish duo Denizlispor and Trabzonspor. Born in England of Turkish Cypriot descent, Riza was capped for the Turkish A2 team on one occasion.

In his coaching career, Riza was head coach of Leyton Orient in 2017 and was appointed interim manager at Cardiff City in 2024. Later, he was given the role on a contract until the end of the 2024/2025 season, before getting sacked in April 2025. He also held numerous roles in a five-year spell at Watford.

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.

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 been paid. The Turkish Football Federation banned him from playing for any club.