Nelson Rivas is a Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

n football

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 defender who plays for the Montreal Impact of Major League Soccer

Major League Soccer

Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...

. He was born on 25 March 1983, in the city of Pradera

Pradera

Pradera is a town and municipality located in the Department of Valle del Cauca, Colombia.The FARC requested this municipality together with Florida, Valle del Cauca as free areas for them to operate in order to start the negotiation to exchange 44 hostages they had, at the time of their request,...

 in Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

. He currently plays as a central defender

Defender (football)

Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....

 or right back

Defender (football)

Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....

. He is nicknamed Tyson after the famous American boxer due to his size, appearance and strength. Inter fans have also nicknamed him The Giant.

Career

Rivas began his career with Deportivo Pasto

Deportivo Pasto

Asociación Deportivo Pasto or simply Deportivo Pasto is a Colombian football team from the city of Pasto, Nariño Department. It was founded in 1949...

. After playing for several clubs in his native Colombia, Rivas became a fixture for Deportivo Cali

Deportivo Cali

Asociación Deportivo Cali is a Colombian sports club based in Cali, Colombia. Mostly known for its football team, it also sponsors basketball, volleyball and swimming...

. He was a two time winner of the Copa Mustang in Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

, first with Deportes Tolima

Deportes Tolima

Deportes Tolima, is a Colombian football club based in the city of Ibagué. The club was founded December 18, 1954 and play their home games at the Manuel Murillo Toro stadium, which has a capacity of 30,000.-Foundation:...

 in 2003 and for the second time with Deportivo Cali

Deportivo Cali

Asociación Deportivo Cali is a Colombian sports club based in Cali, Colombia. Mostly known for its football team, it also sponsors basketball, volleyball and swimming...

 in 2005. After leaving Cali he played for legendary club River Plate

Club Atlético River Plate

Club Atlético River Plate is an Argentine sports club based in the Nuñez neighborhood of Buenos Aires. It is best known for its professional football team, which currently competes in Nacional B, the second tier of Argentine football....

 in Argentina.

Rivas was bought from River Plate in July 2007 by Internazionale

F.C. Internazionale Milano

Football Club Internazionale Milano, often referred to as Internazionale or simply Inter, is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Italy. Outside Italy, the club is often called Inter Milan. They are the reigning FIFA Club World champions and Coppa Italia holders.Inter have always...

 for around €7.5 million and signed a contract until the 30 June 2011. He made his debut in a Champions League game Fenerbahçe-Inter (1-0). On 23 September 2007 it was reported in Italy that Rivas had collapsed at the Saturday training session the previous day. He went to further examinations throughout the week after the incident. On 4 October 2008 he injured his knee in the Serie A

Serie A

Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...

 game against Bologna

Bologna F.C. 1909

Bologna Football Club 1909, known simply as Bologna, is an Italian Football League club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, formed in 1993. The club are nicknamed the rossoblù because of the red and blue striped shirts they wear. Red and Blue are the official colours of the town.During its history...

. While with Inter he became a Serie A champion, having won it in the 2007–2008 season and 2008-2009.

He was loaned to A.S. Livorno Calcio

A.S. Livorno Calcio

Associazione Sportiva Livorno Calcio is an Italian football club based in Livorno, Tuscany. The club was formed in 1915 and currently plays in Italian Serie B. The team's colors are dark red or maroon...

 during the 2009-2010 season where he played a total of 16 games scoring 2 goals.
On 31 August 2011 the Colombian stopper became a free agent after his contract at Inter was rescinded by mutual consent.

On 2 October 2011 Nelson Rivas signed with Montreal Impact

Montreal Impact

Montreal Impact was a Canadian professional soccer club based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1992, the team played in the North American Soccer League , the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid until the 2011 season. The owner Joey Saputo now operates the MLS team Montreal ImpactThe...

 of Major League Soccer

Major League Soccer

Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...

.

Honours

Season	Club	Title
2003	Colombia Deportes Tolima Deportes Tolima Deportes Tolima, is a Colombian football club based in the city of Ibagué. The club was founded December 18, 1954 and play their home games at the Manuel Murillo Toro stadium, which has a capacity of 30,000.-Foundation:...	Copa Mustang
2005	Colombia Deportivo Cali Deportivo Cali Asociación Deportivo Cali is a Colombian sports club based in Cali, Colombia. Mostly known for its football team, it also sponsors basketball, volleyball and swimming...	Copa Mustang
2008	Italy Inter F.C. Internazionale Milano Football Club Internazionale Milano, often referred to as Internazionale or simply Inter, is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Italy. Outside Italy, the club is often called Inter Milan. They are the reigning FIFA Club World champions and Coppa Italia holders.Inter have always...	Serie A Serie A Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
2008	Italy Inter F.C. Internazionale Milano Football Club Internazionale Milano, often referred to as Internazionale or simply Inter, is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Italy. Outside Italy, the club is often called Inter Milan. They are the reigning FIFA Club World champions and Coppa Italia holders.Inter have always...	Italian Super Cup
2009	Italy Inter F.C. Internazionale Milano Football Club Internazionale Milano, often referred to as Internazionale or simply Inter, is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Italy. Outside Italy, the club is often called Inter Milan. They are the reigning FIFA Club World champions and Coppa Italia holders.Inter have always...	Serie A Serie A Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
2010	Italy Inter F.C. Internazionale Milano Football Club Internazionale Milano, often referred to as Internazionale or simply Inter, is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Italy. Outside Italy, the club is often called Inter Milan. They are the reigning FIFA Club World champions and Coppa Italia holders.Inter have always...	FIFA Club World Cup 2010 FIFA Club World Cup - Matches :If a match was tied after normal playing time, 30 minutes of extra time would be played. If still tied after extra time, a penalty shootout would be held to determine the winner...