Pedro Ricoy

NSL Career: St. George, APIA, Sydney Croatia, West Adelaide, Wollongong City 266 (18) / 1983 - 1995/96

A diminutive attacking midfielder who was blessed with speed and skill, Pedro Ricoy was one of the most talented footballers in the NSL during the 1980s and early 1990s and was perhaps unlucky not to have represented the national team during his playing career.

Born in Uruguay, Ricoy immigrated to Australia at the age of 10 and began his junior career with St. George. Ricoy progressed through the St. George ranks and made his NSL debut at the age of 16, making two league appearances in his debut season as St. George won their first NSL Championship.

The following season, Ricoy became a regular in the side, playing every game of the season as a full-back and midfielder. Following St. George's disappointing 1984 season, Ricoy helped the side become more competitive in the 1985 season as they qualified for the finals series for the first time in which they lost one-nil to Sydney Olympic in the elimination final.

St. George continued to improve in the 1986 season and qualified for the finals series after finishing third in the Northern Conference. The side progressed to major semi-final in which Ricoy was influential in a three-nil win over Sydney Croatia, scoring a free-kick to open the scoring before being involved in St. George's third goal.

Ricoy played in the Northern Conference Grand Final where St. George conceded a late goal in extra time to miss out on their first NSL Grand Final. St. George finished third at the end of the 1987 season and qualified for their first Play-Off Series since winning the tournament in 1982. 

St. George progressed to the grand final where Ricoy was one of the standout players: using his skill to get the ball to Kevin Hagan for the opening goal and flew down the right flank before belting the ball across the keeper for St. George's third goal in a four-nil victory over APIA. Ricoy spent another season at St. George before being part of the club's mass exodus of players and joined APIA for the 1989 season after unsuccessful trials in Spain. Ricoy helped the side reach the NSL Cup Semi-Finals, but was unable to find success in the league before moving to Sydney Croatia. 

At Croatia, Ricoy was a consistent performer despite the club going through an unsuccessful period, falling short of a place in the finals series in the 1989/90 and 1990/91 seasons. Raúl Blanco took over as coach of West Adelaide for the 1992/93 season and looked to reinvent the club's squad list and playing philosophy. 

Blanco signed Ricoy along with a number of other technical players including Hugo Giménez, José Iriarte and Stan Lazaridis, and the new signings helped the club qualify for the finals series for the first time. Ricoy missed out on selection for the finals series for West before moving back to New South Wales to join Wollongong. 

Ricoy spent the next three seasons between Wollongong and Asia, playing for Malaysian side Negeri Sembilan in the inaugural Liga Perdana season in 1994 and Singapore side Tiong Bahru for the inaugural S. League season in 1996 before hanging up his boots at the age of 30.