Paulo Wanchope

Now we'll really see if Osorio has what it takes in MLS

SI.com - Found Jul. 8, 2008
... this time last year, Osorio revived the Fire by adding Conde and Costa Rican striker Paulo Wanchope, instilling a tougher defensive regimen...

Posted on July 8, 2008, 11:57 am

Duty calls for CONCACAF exiles

FIFA.com - Found Aug. 20, 2008
While their biggest adversaries Costa Rica will miss the services of the legendary wanderer Paulo Wanchope, who retired just a few months ago...

Posted on August 20, 2008, 1:19 pm

Sporting Birthdays - July 31

Evening Standard - Found Jul. 30, 2008
Paulo Wanchope (fooball) - Former Derby, West Ham and Manchester City strikerand Costa Rica international, born 1976. Roger Prideaux (cricket)

Posted on July 30, 2008, 4:54 am

The Greatest: English Intertoto Cup matches

The Times - Found Jul. 6, 2008
Trevor Sinclair, Frank Lampard and Paulo Wanchope are on target in France to put the English club into Europe proper.

Posted on July 6, 2008, 5:37 am

New season starts in Costa Rica

SoccerWay.com - Found Jul. 27, 2008
Another big team, Heredia, ended last season with Costa Rica's historic Paulo Wanchope as coach, and now they added the knowledge and...

Posted on July 27, 2008, 5:59 am

Everton pre-season preview

Daily Post - Found Jul. 3, 2008
Blanco ? he of the famous ?Blanco bounce? trick while notable alumni include Hristo Stoichkov, Paulo Wanchope, Jorge Campus and DaMarcus...

Posted on July 3, 2008, 11:19 am

Joke verdict

Prestwich Advertiser - Found May. 29, 2008
... the decision but I am a very lucky man.' McDonagh threw plenty of impressive combinations against the Paulo Wanchope of professional boxing.

Posted on May 29, 2008, 7:56 am

Paulo Wanchope Biography

Paulo Wanchope
extracted from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia

Paulo Wanchope
Personal information
Full name Paulo Cesar Wanchope Watson
Date of birth July 31, 1976 (1976-07-31) (age 32)
Place of birth    Heredia, Costa Rica
Height 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Playing position Striker (retired)
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1994-1996
1996-1999
1999-2000
2000-2004
2004-2005
2005
2006
2006
2007
2007
CS Herediano
Derby County
West Ham United
Manchester City
Málaga CF
Al-Gharrafa
CS Herediano
Rosario Central
FC Tokyo
Chicago Fire
Total
0- (20)
072 (23)
035 (12)
064 (27)
025 0(6)
006 0(2)
010 0(3)
014 0(6)
012 0(2)
012 0(2)
281 (91)   
National team2
1996-2007 Costa Rica 076 (45)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 15:28, 17 November 2007 (UTC).
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of 15:28, 17 November 2007 (UTC).
* Appearances (Goals)

Paulo Cesar Wanchope Watson (pronounced [ˈpaulo ɰanˈt̪ʃope])(born July 31, 1976 in Heredia) , also known as "Chope" or as "La Cobra" in South America, is a former Costa Rican footballer. As of November 2007, Wanchope is the second most prolific goalscorer in the history of the national football team, behind Rolando Fonseca, with 45 goals in 75 international matches. He is the main reference for the Costa Rica's football and is considered by a large group of fans as one of the best players the region has ever had, and the most important and recognize player in the history of the country.

Contents

Club Career

Derby County

Wanchope began his career with CS Herediano, until he went to England to play with Derby County along with fellow Costa Rican Mauricio Solís in 1997. Wanchope marked his debut for Derby in an impressive fashion, scoring a memorable goal against Manchester United, beating four United players before slotting past Peter Schmeichel during a 3-2 win. He proved a treat for English football fans, as he showed his capabilities of being both sublime and ridiculous in equal measure. After scoring 28 goals in 83 games within 2 seasons for Derby, Wanchope was sold to West Ham United for £5.5 million.

West Ham United

He never quite settled in at West Ham, despite scoring 15 goals in 46 games, and many fans remember him more for his occasional lapses in concentration and missed chances than for his invaluable goalscoring expoloits. He was eventually sold to Manchester City at the start of the 200/01 season, following the arrivals of Davor Suker and Frederic Kanoute.

Manchester City

Wanchope earned a starting position at Man City, but was unable to help them survive immediate relegation back to the First Division in 2001. The following season was a mixed one for Wanchope. Despite missing large chunks of it through injury, he still managed 12 goals in just 15 games and often showed his best form. After City's return to the top flight he played almost no part, with injury once again keeping him on the sidelines. However, he returned to play a vital part at the end of 2003/04 and scored some vital goals to help avoid relegation. He was remembered as a extravagant talent by City fans, and his celebration of a goal at Southampton, when he grabbed a TV microphone and joyfully screamed into it, just added to his character status. At the end of the season, Wanchope was sold to Málaga CF of the Spanish league for ₤500.000, playing 26 games and scoring 6 goals.

Post Premiership

In 2005, ESPN declared Wanchope's goal against Numancia the best of the entire 2004/05 Spanish First Division. In 2006, following the World Cup in Germany, he signed with Argentine club Rosario Central. [1], scoring 5 goals in 14 games.

On 29 December 2006, J. League first division club FC Tokyo announced the acquisition of Wanchope on a transfer from Rosario Central. Along with prospect Sota Hirayama, Wanchope gave FC Tokyo a pair of large (190cm+) strikers. He was released by FC Tokyo and subsequently signed a one year deal with MLS team Chicago Fire.[2]

Retirement

On Friday 16 November 2007, after a 13 year trajectory in football, Wanchope decided to put an end to his career, primarily based on how his old knee injury was affecting his performance on the field, the same injury that made him lose large parts of his career with Manchester City, making him unable to reach his best physical shape, an argument that was commonly criticized by the press during recent years in every club he played for. At his retirement press conference he manifested his interest in becoming a professional coach, looking forward to accomplish it in England.[3]

International Career

Wanchope was hugely important to the Costa Rican national team, playing for the team in the 2002 FIFA World Cup and several Gold Cups. On October 8, 2005, Wanchope became the all-time leading goal scorer for Los Ticos when he scored the first goal in a home win over the USA in the qualifying match that sent Los Ticos to the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

On 9 June 2006, he scored twice in the opening game of the 2006 World Cup, a 4-2 loss to Germany. These two goals made Wanchope the first Costa Rican to score twice in one World Cup match, and put him alongside Rónald Gómez as the only Costa Ricans ever to score more than one World Cup goal. After the defeat to Germany, Costa Rica were defeated by both Ecuador and Poland. Thus Costa Rica finished last in their group and failed to qualify for the second round. Wanchope played his last game for his country in the defeat to Poland.

Career statistics

Club Performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
England League FA Cup Football League Cup Europe Total
1996-97 Derby County Premier League 5 1
1997-98 32 13
1998-99 35 9
1999-00 West Ham United Premier League 35 12
2000-01 Manchester City Premier League 27 9
2001-02 First Division 15 12
2002-03 Premier League 0 0
2003-04 22 6
Spain League Copa del Rey Copa de la Liga Europe Total
2004-05 Málaga La Liga 25 6
Qatar League Emir of Qatar Cup League Cup Asia Total
2005-06 Al-Gharafa Qatari League 6 1
Costa Rica League Cup League Cup North America Total
2005-06 Herediano Primera División 10 3
Argentina League Cup League Cup South America Total
2006-07 Rosario Central Primera División 14 5
Japan League Emperor's Cup J. League Cup Asia Total
2007 FC Tokyo J. League Division 1 12 2 - 4 1 - 16 3
USA League Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup League Cup North America Total
2007 Chicago Fire Major League Soccer 12 2
Total England 171 62
Spain 25 6
Qatar 6 1
Costa Rica 10 3
Argentina 14 5
Japan 12 2 - 4 1 - 16 3
USA 12 2
Career Total 250 81

References

  1. ^ "Tactical Formation". Football-Lineups.com. Retrieved on February 10, 2007.
  2. ^ "Wonchope To Fire-Red Card Blog". Luis Arroyave's Chicago Tribune Red Card Blog. Retrieved on July 24, 2007.
  3. ^ "Wanchope announces retirement" MLS.com Retrieved on 16 November 2007

External links

Paulo Wanchope Videos and Clips

Next

Paulo Wanchope video The greates soccer player from Costa Rica in the last 25 years Paulo C. Wanchope was named Head Coach of the best soccer team in Costa Rica "CLUB SPO... clip
Title: Paulo C. Wanchope named C. S Herediano Head Coach
Description: The greates soccer player from Costa Rica in the last 25 years Paulo C. Wanchope was named Head Coach of the best soccer team in Costa Rica "CLUB SPO...
Paulo Wanchope video Chicago Fire vs Columbus Crew, Toyota Park. Bridgeview, IL. Paulo Wanchope and Cuauhtemoc Blanco warm up before game. clip
Title: Chicago Fire vs Columbus Crew, 8/4/07. Cuauhtemoc Blanco
Description: Chicago Fire vs Columbus Crew, Toyota Park. Bridgeview, IL. Paulo Wanchope and Cuauhtemoc Blanco warm up before game.
Paulo Wanchope video Access United gets thoughts from D.C. United players as they prepare to put their 9 game unbeaten streak on the line in Chicago.  DCU will be missing... clip
Title: 9/23/07: D.C. United v. Chicago preview
Description: Access United gets thoughts from D.C. United players as they prepare to put their 9 game unbeaten streak on the line in Chicago. DCU will be missing...
Paulo Wanchope video Paulo Wanchope is one of many featured football players in UNICEFs new public service announcement for its UNITE FOR CHILDREN UNITE FOR PEACE campai... clip
Title: UNICEF releases second installment of the Superfans PSA features 06 FIFA Wor
Description: Paulo Wanchope is one of many featured football players in UNICEFs new public service announcement for its UNITE FOR CHILDREN UNITE FOR PEACE campai...
Paulo Wanchope video .............. clip
Title: paulo wanchope volley from free kick
Description: ..............
Paulo Wanchope video La llegada de Paulo a la Argentina... clip
Title: Wanchope
Description: La llegada de Paulo a la Argentina...
Paulo Wanchope video Des and alan sum up Derby 3 Arsenal 0 on motd with some classic wanchope. clip
Title: wanchope of the day
Description: Des and alan sum up Derby 3 Arsenal 0 on motd with some classic wanchope.
Paulo Wanchope video The Highlights of the first Game of FIFA World Cup  06 in Germany, Group A, Day 1

09.06.06
Germany 4   2 Costa Rica

1:0 Philipp Lahm (06)
1:1 Paul... clip
Title: FIFA WC 06 Germany 4 2 Costa Rica
Description: The Highlights of the first Game of FIFA World Cup 06 in Germany, Group A, Day 1 09.06.06 Germany 4 2 Costa Rica 1:0 Philipp Lahm (06) 1:1 Paul...