Brian Olivera: the keeper who led Estudiantes de Río Cuarto up | OneFootball

The goalkeeper had to undergo surgery and a cycle of chemotherapy sessions in a treatment that could have prevented him from playing again. Three years later, he achieved a historic promotion with the "Lion of the Empire" and will have his experience in the First Division.

Life's twists are sometimes so incredible. Brian Olivera, the goalkeeper of Estudiantes de Río Cuarto, had to undergo surgery and a cycle of chemotherapy sessions for testicular cancer three years ago… That situation changed his life and could have ended his professional career, but at the end of 2025, he is celebrating the promotion of the 'Lion of the Empire' as one of its key players.

After winning the final series of the Torneo Reducido against Deportivo Madryn, with celebrations starting in the locker rooms and then moving to an empty Estadio Abel Sastre after a field invasion, the 31-year-old goalkeeper from Córdoba recalled that tough moment and the strength his son Tiziano gave him at that time.

Emerging from the youth ranks of Instituto (2012-2017), a club he supports, Olivera played for Defensores de Villa Ramallo (2017-2019), a first stint at Estudiantes de Río Cuarto (2019-2022), Gimnasia y Esgrima de Mendoza (2023), Monagas of Venezuela (2024), and this season returned to the 'Lion of the Empire' to write a great chapter in the history of this Córdoba team.

"My life changed a lot. I became a father. It made me think differently. Now I play for my son Tiziano. You have to work so that your child doesn't go hungry," he expressed in March 2017 in an interview with La Voz de Córdoba.

In the final stretch of 2022, Tizi became a protagonist again in the toughest phase of his father's life.

"They found a testicular tumor. I had tests done in Río Cuarto and then went to Córdoba. I underwent surgery, and the tests came out fine. I did chemotherapy, and honestly, I was emotionally struggling. It was a very hard blow, and the process of moving forward was tough too. The word cancer scares you. Thank God I've moved forward. Now I have check-ups every three months for five years," he later told the Los Andes newspaper.

At that time, they told him he wouldn't be able to play anymore because of the chemotherapy, and it was a tough test for his physical and mental strength. Before starting the process and entering the operating room, Tizi gave him his stuffed animal named 'Pochi' for luck… and from then on, in every important health or sports moment, there is the memory of his son.

Another tough moment for Brian was in November 2023 when during a Reducido match with Gimnasia y Esgrima de Mendoza against Quilmes a firecracker exploded behind his goal and he couldn't continue playing at Estadio Centenario.

On that occasion, the goalkeeper was taken to Sanatorio Finochietto with a "mild acoustic trauma" diagnosis, and due to the suspension of the match, he later declared to FMQ radio: "Health-wise, I'm fine, but it wasn't easy days. When the bomb exploded, it was chaos in my head because I received many threats and messages. When it goes beyond sports, they mess with your family, with what you've been through, and they wish you harm, for something… that I didn't do, I don't know why they take it out on me and not on the one who threw the bomb."

But life always offers second chances, and now Brian Olivera is preparing, soon to turn 32 on December 13, to plan a season in the First Division with Estudiantes de Río Cuarto, where his son Tiziano and the stuffed animal 'Pochi' will surely be protagonists.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.