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Paulo Wanchope by Psnavarro7 from Wikimedia Commons
Top 7 Facts about Paulo Wanchope
Paulo César Wanchope Watson, also known as Paulo Wanchope, is a former professional footballer and Costa Rican football coach. As a player, he was a striker who appeared for Derby County, West Ham United, and Manchester City in the Premier League. He has also played for Málaga, Chicago Fire, Herediano, Al-Gharafa, Rosario Central, and FC Tokyo in La Liga and Major League Soccer. Costa Rica used him 73 times, and he scored 45 goals.
Wanchope has 45 goals in 73 international matches, trailing only Rolando Fonseca. Wanchope, who scored against Brazil in 2002 and twice against Germany in 2006, is Costa Rica’s all-time leading scorer in the FIFA World Cup, a record he shares with Rónald Gómez. He was the former head coach of the Costa Rica national football team from 2014 to 2015. He has also managed Herediano, Uruguay Coronado, CS Cartaginés, and Pérez Zeledón.
Read on to see other interesting facts about him.
1. He cost Derby £600,000 when he moved to play for them
Coventry Derby by Amakuru from Wikimedia Commons
Wanchope, born in Heredia, began his career with CS Herediano before moving to England to play for Derby County alongside fellow Costa Rican Mauricio Sols on March 27, 1997. Derby spent £600,000 on him.
Wanchope made his Derby debut on 5 April 1997, scoring a memorable goal against Manchester United at Old Trafford, beating four United players before slotting past Peter Schmeichel in a 3-2 win – the goal was later voted the greatest in Derby history by Derby fans as part of the club’s 125th Anniversary Celebrations.
In 1997-98, he scored 13 league goals as Derby finished ninth – their highest finish since 1989 – and helped them go one better the following season when he scored nine goals to help the Rams finish eighth.
2. Wanchope was sold to West Ham United for £3.5 million on 16 July 1999
West Ham by Egghead06 from Wikimedia Commons
Wanchope was sold to West Ham United for £3.5 million on July 16, 1999, after scoring 28 goals in 83 games for Derby. Wanchope made his West Ham debut on July 28, 1999, against Heerenveen in the Intertoto Cup at Upton Park. His first West Ham goal came in the away leg of the exact match on August 4, 1999.
He scored 15 goals in 47 appearances across all competitions, with his final game taking place at home against Leeds United on May 14, 2000. Wanchope formed a deadly partnership with Paolo Di Canio during his one year at Upton Park, scoring a combined 31 league goals in the 1999-2000 season, and West Ham finished 9th in the Premier League, their third consecutive season in the top nine.
3. He was eventually sold to Manchester City for a fee of £3.65 million
After the arrivals of Davor uker and Frédéric Kanouté, he was eventually sold to Manchester City for £3.65 million at the start of the 2000-01 season.
He scored a hat-trick in a 4-2 win over Sunderland on August 23, 2000. Despite scoring nine league goals, Wanchope was unable to help Manchester City avoid immediate relegation back to Division One at the end of the 2000-01 season. Wanchope’s season after that was a mixed bag.
Despite missing significant amounts of time due to injury, he still managed 12 goals in only 15 games and was frequently at his best. He played almost no part after City’s return to the top flight as Division One champions, due to injury, which kept him out for the entire 2002-03 season.
However, he returned to play a key role at the end of the 2003-04 season, scoring some crucial goals to help City avoid relegation, including the game-winning goal against Newcastle United, which effectively secured City’s safety. In 22 league games that season, he scored six goals.
4. Wanchope ended his football career due to his knee
On November 16, 2007, after a 13-year career in football, Wanchope decided to end his career, primarily due to how his old knee injury was affecting his performance on the field, the same injury that caused him to miss large parts of his career with Manchester City, making him unable to reach his best physical shape, an argument that was widely criticised by the press in every club he played for in recent years. During his retirement press conference, he expressed an interest in becoming a professional coach, which he hopes to do in England.
5. He was a member of Costa Rica’s youth national teams
FIFA by Raineiro Cobos from Wikimedia Commons
He played for Costa Rica’s youth national teams and competed in the FIFA World Youth Championship finals in Qatar in 1995.
Wanchope would go on to play for Costa Rica in the 2002 FIFA World Cup and several Gold Cups after making his debut in an October 1996 friendly match against Venezuela. Wanchope became Los Ticos’ all-time leading goal scorer on October 8, 2005, when he scored the opening goal in a home win over the USA in the qualifying match that sent Los Ticos to the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Wanchope has scored more than twenty World Cup qualifier goals.
6. He got into management in 2008
From 2008 to 2009, he was the manager of Club Sport Herediano. He resigned because the team’s performance was poor and he wanted to continue his studies in England. After leaving Herediano, he expressed his displeasure with the club’s administration.
Wanchope joined the staff of Costa Rica national team coach Jorge Luis Pinto. Wanchope took over as interim national team coach after Pinto left after the 2014 FIFA World Cup. With the Costa Rica national football team, he won the Copa Centroamericana in September 2014. He was officially named national team coach on January 31, 2015. Wanchope resigned as manager of Costa Rica’s national team on August 12, 2015, following a post-match brawl with a steward.
7. He’s a son to a former international striker
Wanchope is the son of former Costa Rican international striker Vicente Wanchope and Patricia Watson, and both of his brothers, Javier and Carlos, have also represented their country. He is married to Brenda Carballo, with whom he has a son and a daughter.
You can also read 10 Most Popular Costa Rican Football (Soccer) Players
