Two months after the Loyola men’s soccer team was eliminated in the Atlantic 10 Championships, former assistant coach Callum Mallace left the team and signed as an assistant coach with Marquette University. Announced in his stead Feb. 19, was new assistant coach Oscar Rivero.
Rivero is a familiar name in what head coach Steve Bode called the “Chicago coaching circuit,” having lived in the city for the past nine years. Before he took the position at Loyola, Rivero was serving a dual role at Chicago FC United as a head coach for the team’s U16 and U19 squads, as well as the team’s MLS Next director of recruitment.
Rivero’s origins with the sport start well outside of the Windy City – about 1,875 miles outside Chicago.
Born in Acapulco, Mexico, Rivero attributes his earliest memories with a soccer ball to his father, who’s games he consistently hung around as a kid. He fell in love with the sport at a young age, and described the feeling as “innate at this point.”
Later, Rivero moved to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico to complete college prep at the American School of Puerto Vallarta. During the end of his second year, Rivero received the opportunity to join the U17 squad of the professional Mexican team Tecos F.C., which required a sizable commute to nearby city Guadalajara.
Due to the distance and required time investment, school became a second priority, according to Rivero.
“It was challenging because as I was following the professional route, there was a point where I had to switch from evening training to morning training,” Rivero said. “I stopped attending school. I didn’t tell my parents that I was not going to school.”
Over the course of his year-and-a-half professional stint, Rivero cut out the commute entirely, opting to stay with a friend in Guadalajara, before moving into a boarding house nearby.
His time with Tecos soon came to a close as the club underwent a financial overhaul and eventually shut down its academy programs. Upon his return home, he was given the opportunity to retake his third and fourth-year coursework and continue his soccer career through an athletic scholarship.
The opportunity came with a healthy amount of work, as Rivero was completing nearly 12 hours of education in a day — fourth-year curriculum in the mornings and third-year curriculum in the afternoons — before training sessions later on.
Before graduating, a family member living in the U.S. recommended Rivero come visit and try to look for further academic and athletic opportunities. He registered for a litany of college soccer camps before finally landing a full-ride offer at Trinidad State Junior College in Trinidad, Colorado.
Rivero said his initial experiences with American culture were tough, but became easier with time.
“Everything was new. The thing that was most relatable was a lot of Mexican-Americans being there,” Rivero said. “Having that cultural similarity was really important for me to feel not so lost and strange. There was an incredible lack of resources and organization and we had a lot of deficiencies, but the experiences overall were amazing.”
Rivero also said during his time at Trinidad, his sole focus was soccer because of the isolation of the campus — Rivero described the town as “in the middle of nowhere.”
Rivero played as a midfielder for two years at Trinidad from 2013-14, pulling in numerous National Junior College Athletic Association individual accolades along with an All-American shout. In his 2014 season, Rivero captained the Trojans to an appearance in the NJCAA national semifinals, which caught the attention of University of Illinois-Chicago coaching staff.
Following the tournament, UIC gave Rivero his only Division 1 offer he had. Alongside his athletic career, he also continued his progress from Trinidad in the business curriculum, pursuing a bachelor degree in sports management with a minor in finance.
Rivero graduated from UIC and wound up at Roosevelt University in 2018 where he obtained a masters degree in management. While there, Rivero was a graduate assistant — one of Roosevelt’s first ever — under then head coach Graham Brennan, who now serves as associate head coach for Loyola men’s soccer.
In addition to coaching and schoolwork, Rivero extended his wealth of knowledge to international students who shared similar experiences as him. Whether it was adapting to college life for the first time, or dealing with the uncertainty of a career after their time in the American educational system was finished, Rivero made sure to use his perspectives to benefit others.
His experience in community engagement and development is well documented, both before and during his time at Loyola. A resident of the South West Side neighborhood of Pilsen, Rivero founded and served as a president and coach of a developmental coed league named Pilsen Athletic Football Club, which caters to children and teenagers.
Similarly at Loyola, Bode has tasked Rivero with leading program efforts in community service, with his most recent project being a collaboration with non-profit Team Impact. The collaboration gives youth with disabilities an opportunity to take part in team gameday events, training sessions and other day-to-day happenings within the program.
Upon completion of his graduate degree at Roosevelt, Rivero stayed busy. He remained on the university’s coaching staff as an assistant and was eventually promoted to head coach in 2020. He picked up additional qualifications — B & C Coaching Licenses from the U.S. Soccer Federation and a masters in fitness and conditioning from the Universidad de Cervantes of Madrid — and joined Chicago FC United as a coach.
After leaving Roosevelt, Rivero became more involved with Chicago FC, coaching in the summer league for college athletes and youth academies. Rivero became familiar with a fair number of current players on Loyola’s roster, including graduate defender and midfielder Julian Cisnernos.
Cisneros said his first impressions of Rivero was tha he was extremely passionate, and explained how his mindset carried into his coaching at Loyola.
“He cares a lot about the game and about success, working hard and making sure we don’t make any excuses,” Cisneros said. “His intensity and his drive is probably the biggest thing you’ll notice. He’s very straightforward if he doesn’t like something. He lets us know and it just pushes everybody to really be engaged and intentional about our work.”
Rivero’s ties with Cisneros and other members of the team — including Brennan and graduate defender Micheal Hong — played a strong role for his candidacy during the opening of the assistant role and confirmed him as a great fit, according to Bode.
Since Rivero has been brought onto the team, he’s also been tasked with executing training sessions, video scouting and facilities management. His Chicago ties have also been a prevalent part of the team’s scouting, as several incoming recruits previously worked with Rivero at academies.
His coaching talents have also reached international levels. Bode received a phone call from the head coach of the Puerto Rican national soccer team, inviting Rivero to come join as an assistant coach for the match between Puerto Rico and Haiti Sep 6.
Bode, who was more than willing to let Rivero go for the week, talked about Rivero’s return to Chicago after the match.
“I think he really enjoyed the experience and it’s something that maybe for the future, he would also continue to be involved in,” Bode said. “Whether it be assistant coach at the first team level or getting involved in the youth like under-17 Puerto Rican National team. We’re really excited that he was able to get that opportunity and represent Loyola as well while he was there.”
While Rivero’s trajectory as a coach continues to shift, he continues to remain intent on what’s in front of him – and that includes the team, according to Cisneros.
“If you look at Oscar [during a game], he’s just as engaged,” Cisneros said. “You could tell if he could, he would want to be on the field. He still has that love for the game just like the players do. His passion – he’s not afraid to show it – and that affects the rest of the team’s mentality.”
