VANCOUVER, BC – Vancouver Whitecaps FC announced today that the club has acquired striker Vancouver Whitecaps FC announced today that the club has acquired striker Octavio Rivero as a Young Designated Player from Chile’s Primera División side O’Higgins FC – pending receipt of his international transfer certificate. Per Major League Soccer and club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Octavio Rivero – Whitecaps FC striker

Scored 10 goals in 16 matches during the 2014 Torneo Apertura with O’Higgins FC (0.70 goals per 90 minutes)

Named the best striker in the Chilean Primera Division, as voted by his peers, during the 2014 Torneo Apertura by newspaper El Mercurio

Scored 23 goals in 52 career matches in Uruguay and Chile

Represented Uruguayan U-17 national team

“We are thrilled to welcome Octavio to our club,” said Whitecaps FC head coach Carl Robinson. “We continue to build the squad, and Octavio is another piece to the puzzle. His skill set fits well with the way we want to play.”

Whitecaps FC add striker Octavio Rivero

Rivero, 22, joins Whitecaps FC following six months with Chile’s Primera División side O’Higgins FC. The 6-foot-2, 180-pound striker led the Rancagua-based club in scoring with 10 goals, tied for fifth overall in the league, in 16 league appearances during the Torneo Apertura.

"I'm very happy to come to Vancouver to be a part of this great club and beautiful city," said Rivero. "BC Place is a wonderful stadium with an amazing atmosphere. I will give my all for the club and fans."

Prior to his transfer to Chile, the native of Treinta y Tres, Uruguay, played with Montevideo-based clubs Defensor Sporting, Central Español FC, and CA Rentistas.

In 2008, at the age of 16, Rivero joined the youth set-up of Defensor Sporting before moving over to Central Español FC for the 2012-13 season. In his first season as a professional, Rivero scored three goals in 18 matches with Central Español FC. The following season he joined CA Rentistas and scored 10 goals in 17 appearances.

Internationally, Rivero has represented Uruguay at the U-17 level, playing at both the 2009 Copa UC tournament and the 2009 South American U-17 Football Championship, where he played with current Whitecaps FC midfielder Nicolas Mezquida.

Rivero will arrive in Vancouver and be formally introduced in the new year.

Octavio Rivero

Position: Striker

Height: 6-02

Weight: 180 pounds

Date of Birth: January 24, 1992, in Treinta y Tres, Uruguay

Hometown: Treinta y Tres, Uruguay

Citizenship: Uruguay

Status: International, Young Designated Player

Previous Club: O’Higgins FC (Chile’s Primera División)

How Acquired: Acquired via transfer from Chile’s Primera División side O’Higgins FC on December 25, 2014