[4] Rivera subsequently remained in the third division in the following years, managing Caravaca CF,[5] CD Leganés,[6] Écija[7] and UD Almería B.
[10] Even after the signing of Juan Ignacio Martínez as a permanent manager, he appeared in his first professional match three days later, a 1–4 home loss against Real Madrid.
[11][12] On 9 June 2015, after taking the B-side to a third position in the campaign (the best of the club's history) and an eventual elimination in the play-offs, Rivera renewed his contract for a further year.
[15] Rivera remained working in the third tier, at Linares Deportivo,[16] Real Valladolid Promesas,[17] UCAM Murcia CF[18] and Mérida AD.
[19] After a league restructuring, he was appointed again at Melilla in the fourth-tier Segunda División RFEF on 22 February 2022, nearly 18 years after leaving the North African exclave.