Rónald Alberto Matarrita Ulate (born 9 July 1994) is a Costa Rican professional footballer who plays as a left-back and winger for Major League Soccer club FC Cincinnati and the Costa Rica national team.
![]() Matarrita with Costa Rica at the Copa América Centenario | |||
Personal information | |||
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Full name | Rónald Alberto Matarrita Ulate | ||
Date of birth | (1994-07-09) 9 July 1994 (age 28) | ||
Place of birth | Alajuela, Costa Rica | ||
Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
Position(s) | Left-back, winger | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | FC Cincinnati | ||
Number | 22 | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2012–2016 | Alajuelense | 67 | (4) |
2016–2020 | New York City | 106 | (4) |
2021– | FC Cincinnati | 29 | (3) |
National team‡ | |||
2010–2011 | Costa Rica U17 | 3 | (0) |
2012 | Costa Rica U20 | 2 | (0) |
2015 | Costa Rica U22 | 3 | (1) |
2015– | Costa Rica | 52 | (3) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:10, 10 October 2022 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 06:13, 25 March 2022 (UTC) |
Matarrita was signed to New York City FC from Alajuelense on 20 January 2016 for an undisclosed fee.[1] Matarrita made his MLS debut against the Chicago Fire on 6 March 2016.[2] He scored his first goal for New York City during a 2–0 victory over the Seattle Sounders on 25 June 2016.[3] After a strong first season, he was named New York City's Defensive Player of the Year for 2016.[4]
On 29 December 2020, Matarrita was traded to FC Cincinnati in exchange for $500,000 of General Allocation Money.[5]
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.[6] He scored his first goal for Costa Rica 6 September 2016, in a 3–1 win over Panama, in a World Cup qualification match.[7] 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.[8]
Club | Season | League | Cup | Playoffs | Continental | Total | ||||||
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Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Alajuelense | 2013-14 | Primera División | 11 | 0 | — | — | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 12 | 0 | ||
2014-15 | Primera División | 36 | 3 | — | — | 4[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 40 | 3 | |||
2015-16 | Primera División | 20 | 1 | — | — | — | 20 | 1 | ||||
Total | 67 | 4 | — | — | 5 | 0 | 72 | 4 | ||||
New York City | 2016 | Major League Soccer | 25 | 1 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 27 | 1 | ||
2017 | Major League Soccer | 12 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 14 | 0 | |||
2018 | Major League Soccer | 24 | 2 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 26 | 2 | |||
2019 | Major League Soccer | 24 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 26 | 1 | ||
2020 | Major League Soccer | 21 | 0 | — | 3[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | 4[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 28 | 0 | ||
Total | 106 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 121 | 4 | ||
Career Total | 173 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 193 | 8 |
Costa Rica | ||
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Year | Apps | Goals |
2015 | 6 | 0 |
2016 | 11 | 2 |
2017 | 4 | 0 |
2018 | 6 | 1 |
2019 | 9 | 0 |
2020 | 1 | 0 |
2021 | 9 | 0 |
Total | 46 | 3 |
No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 6 September 2016 | Estadio Nacional, San José, Costa Rica | 14 | ![]() | 3–0 | 3–1 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
2 | 11 November 2016 | Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago | 16 | ![]() | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
3 | 16 November 2018 | Estadio El Teniente, Rancagua, Chile | 26 | ![]() | 3–0 | 3–2 | Friendly |
Matarrita earned his U.S. green card in March 2017.[11] This status also qualifies him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes.
Alajuelense
Individual
FC Cincinnati – current squad | |
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Costa Rica squads | |||||||||||||||||||
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