Rónald Matarrita

Rónald Matarrita
Matarrita with Costa Rica at the Copa América Centenario in 2016.
Personal information
Full name Rónald Alberto Matarrita Ulate
Date of birth (1994-07-09) 9 July 1994 (age 32)
Place of birth Alajuela, Costa Rica
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Positions
Team information
Current team
 Alajuelense
Number 22
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2016 Alajuelense 67 (4)
2016–2020 New York City 106 (4)
2021–2022 FC Cincinnati 31 (3)
2023 Dnipro-1 9 (0)
2023–2024 Aris 1 (0)
2024– Alajuelense 64 (0)
International career‡
2010–2011 Costa Rica U17 3 (0)
2012 Costa Rica U20 2 (0)
2015 Costa Rica U22 3 (1)
2015–2026 Costa Rica 58 (3)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 20 September 2026
‡ National team caps and goals as of 23:00, 4 October 2026 (UTC)

Rónald Alberto Matarrita Ulate (born 9 July 1994) is a Costa Rican professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Liga FPD club Alajuelense and the Costa Rica national team.

Club career

New York City FC

Matarrita was signed to New York City FC from Alajuelense on 20 January 2016 for an undisclosed fee. Matarrita made his MLS debut against the Chicago Fire on 6 March 2016. He scored his first goal for New York City during a 2–0 victory over Seattle Sounders FC on 25 June 2016. After a strong first season, he was named New York City's Defensive Player of the Year for 2016.

FC Cincinnati

On 29 December 2020, Matarrita was traded to FC Cincinnati in exchange for $500,000 of General Allocation Money. He was released by Cincinnati following their 2022 season.

Aris

On 20 June 2023, Matarrita joined Super League Greece club Aris on a three-year contract.

International career

Matarrita has represented Costa Rica at under-17, under-20, under-22, and senior levels. He made his senior debut on 5 September 2015 in a friendly against Brazil. He scored his first goal for Costa Rica 6 September 2016, in a 3–1 win over Panama, in a World Cup qualification match. Matarrita was called up for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, but was ruled out of the tournament three days before Costa Rica's debut due to a harmstring injury.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 20 September 2026
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Alajuelense 2013–14 Liga FPD 110—10—120
2014–15 Liga FPD 363—40—403
2015–16 Liga FPD 201———201
Total 674—50—724
New York City 2016 Major League Soccer 251——20271
2017 Major League Soccer 120——20140
2018 Major League Soccer 242——20262
2019 Major League Soccer 24110—10261
2020 Major League Soccer 210—4030280
Total 106410401001214
FC Cincinnati 2021 Major League Soccer 222———222
2022 Major League Soccer 91———91
Total 313———313
Dnipro-1 2022–23 Ukrainian Premier League 90———90
Aris 2023–24 Super League Greece 100040—50
Alajuelense 2024–25 Liga FPD 230001000240
2025–26 Liga FPD 3500080—430
2026–27 Liga FPD 60004110111
Total 6400013110781
Career total 280111026111031812
  1. ↑ Includes U.S. Open Cup, Costa Rican Cup
  2. 1 2 3 Appearance(s) in CONCACAF Champions League
  3. 1 2 3 4 Appearances in MLS Cup Playoffs
  4. ↑ Two appearances in MLS is Back Tournament knockout stage, one appearance in MLS Cup Playoffs
  5. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
  6. ↑ Appearances in CONCACAF Central American Cup
  7. ↑ Two appearances in CONCACAF Champions Cup, six appeqarances in CONCACAF Central American Cup
  8. ↑ Appearances in CONCACAF Central American Cup
  9. ↑ Appearance in Supercopa de Costa Rica

International

As of 4 October 2026
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Costa Rica 201560
2016112
201740
201861
201990
202010
2021120
202250
202320
202420
202610
Total583
Scores and results list Costa Rica's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Matarrita goal.
List of international goals scored by Rónald Matarrita
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 6 September 2016Estadio Nacional, San José, Costa Rica Panama3–03–12018 FIFA World Cup qualification
2 11 November 2016Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago2–02–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification
3 16 November 2018Estadio El Teniente, Rancagua, Chile Chile3–03–2Friendly

Personal

Matarrita earned his U.S. green card in March 2017. This status also qualifies him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes.

Honours

Alajuelense

Individual

References

  1. 1 2 3 "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 – Squad list: Costa Rica (CRC)" (PDF). FIFA. 15 November 2022. p. 7. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  2. ↑ Araos, Christian (19 January 2016). "Alajeulense confirm transfer of Matarrita to NYCFC". Empire of Soccer. Archived from the original on 28 June 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  3. ↑ "New York City FC at Chicago Fire: Recap". nycfc.com. New York City Football Club. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  4. ↑ "Frank Lampard and Ronald Matarrita score, New York City FC beats Sounders, 2-0". yesnetwork.com. 25 June 2016. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  5. ↑ "Matarrita Named Defensive Player of 2016". nycfc.com. New York City Football Club. 15 November 2016. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  6. ↑ "FCC acquire Costa Rica international defender Ronald Matarrita | FC Cincinnati".
  7. ↑ "FC Cincinnati announce roster decisions ahead of 2023 season | FC Cincinnati". fccincinnati.
  8. ↑ "Άρης, μεταγραφές: Ανακοίνωσε και τον Ματαρίτα που υπέγραψε για τρία χρόνια". www.sport24.gr. 20 June 2023.
  9. ↑ Butler, Dylan. "10 Things about Ronald Matarrita". mlssoccer.com. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  10. ↑ Krumholtz, Michael (7 September 2016). "La Sele pummels Panama 3-1 to win World Cup qualifying group". The Tico Times. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  11. ↑ Chinchilla, Roy (14 June 2018). "Matarrita fuera, llega Kenner al Mundial" [Matarrita out, Kenner arrives at the World Cup]. FEDEFUTBOL.com (in Spanish). Costa Rican Football Federation. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  12. 1 2 "Rónald Matarrita profile". Soccerway. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  13. 1 2 "Matarrita, Rónald". National Football Teams. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  14. ↑ Mark Booth (2 March 2017). "NYCFC Trio Receive U.S Green Cards". NYCFC.com. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  15. ↑ "Bryan Ruiz and Alex Morgan Named 2016 CONCACAF Players of the Year". CONCACAF. 18 January 2017. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  16. ↑ Baer, Benjamin (11 April 2016). "2016 Team of the Week (Wk 6): Old guard shines for DC United". mlssoccer.com. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  17. ↑ Rosano, Nicholas (9 May 2016). "2016 Team of the Week (Wk 10): Canadian teams lead the way". mlssoccer.com. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  18. ↑ Baer, Benjamin. "2016 Team of the Week (Wk 16)". Retrieved 27 June 2016.