Paulo Wanchope facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Paulo Wanchope

Wanchope in 2015
Personal information
Full name	Pablo César Wanchope Watson
Date of birth	(1976-07-31) 31 July 1976 (age 48)
Place of birth	Heredia, Costa Rica
Height	1.89 m
Playing position	Striker
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1993–1997	Herediano	14	(20)
1997–1999	Derby County	72	(23)
1999–2000	West Ham United	35	(12)
2000–2004	Manchester City	64	(27)
2004–2005	Málaga	25	(6)
2005	Al-Gharafa	6	(1)
2006	Herediano	10	(3)
2006	Rosario Central	14	(5)
2007	FC Tokyo	11	(3)
2007	Chicago Fire	12	(2)
Total		264	(102)
National team
	Costa Rica U20
1996–2008	Costa Rica	73	(45)
Teams managed
2008–2009	Herediano
2010–2011	Uruguay Coronado
2010–2014	Costa Rica (assistant)
2014–2015	Costa Rica
2018	C.S. Cartaginés
2018	Herediano
2021	Pérez Zeledón
2022–2023	C.S. Cartaginés
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Paulo César Wanchope Watson (born 31 July 1976), known as Paulo Wanchope, is a Costa Rican football coach and former professional footballer. He was a powerful striker who played for several top clubs.

Wanchope played in the Premier League for Derby County, West Ham United, and Manchester City. He also played in Spain, Qatar, Argentina, Japan, and the USA. He represented Costa Rica 73 times, scoring 45 goals. He is the second-highest goalscorer for Costa Rica's national team. Paulo Wanchope is also Costa Rica's top goalscorer in the FIFA World Cup, sharing this record with Rónald Gómez. After retiring as a player, he became a football coach. He even coached the Costa Rica national football team from 2014 to 2015.

Playing for Clubs

Starting at Derby County

Paulo Wanchope was born in Heredia. He started his football journey with CS Herediano in Costa Rica. In 1997, he moved to England to play for Derby County. Derby County paid £600,000 for him.

Wanchope's first game for Derby was on 5 April 1997. He scored an amazing goal against Manchester United at Old Trafford. He dribbled past four United players before scoring past the goalkeeper, Peter Schmeichel. Derby fans later voted this goal the best in the club's history.

He scored 13 league goals in the 1997–98 season. This helped Derby finish ninth, their best finish since 1989. The next season, 1998–99, he scored nine goals, helping the team finish eighth. After scoring 28 goals in 83 games for Derby, Wanchope moved to West Ham United. This happened on 16 July 1999, for £3.5 million.

Time at West Ham United

Wanchope played his first game for West Ham on 28 July 1999. It was against Heerenveen in the Intertoto Cup. He scored his first goal for West Ham in the same competition. He scored 15 goals in 47 games for the club.

During his year at West Ham, Wanchope played very well with Paolo Di Canio. Together, they scored 31 league goals in the 1999–2000 season. West Ham finished ninth in the Premier League that year. He was sold to Manchester City for £3.65 million in 2000.

Playing for Manchester City

On 23 August 2000, Wanchope scored three goals in one game (a hat-trick). This helped Manchester City win 4–2 against Sunderland. He became a regular starter for Manchester City.

However, he could not stop them from being relegated to Division One in the 2000–01 season. He still scored nine league goals that year. The next season, he scored 12 goals in just 15 games, even though he was often injured. Manchester City returned to the top league as champions.

Wanchope missed almost all of the 2002–03 season due to injury. He came back strong at the end of 2003–04. He scored important goals to help City avoid relegation. This included the winning goal against Newcastle United. He scored six goals in 22 league games that season.

After the Premier League

In August 2004, Wanchope moved to Málaga CF in Spain for £500,000. He played 25 games for them and scored six goals. In 2005, ESPN said his goal against Numancia was the best in the Spanish First Division.

After playing in the World Cup in Germany in 2006, he played for Al-Gharafa in Qatar. Then he returned to Herediano in Costa Rica. Later, he signed with Argentine club Rosario Central, scoring five goals in 14 games. In 2006, he joined J1 League club FC Tokyo in Japan. He then signed a one-year deal with MLS team Chicago Fire in the USA.

Retiring from Football

On 16 November 2007, Paulo Wanchope decided to stop playing football. He had played for 13 years. His old knee injury was making it hard for him to play his best. This injury had affected him a lot during his time at Manchester City. He announced his interest in becoming a professional coach, hoping to do so in England.

International Career

Paulo Wanchope played for Costa Rica's youth national teams. He played in the 1995 FIFA World Youth Championship in Qatar. He became a very important player for the senior Costa Rica national team. He played his first game in October 1996 against Venezuela.

He played for Costa Rica in the 2002 FIFA World Cup and several Gold Cups. On 8 October 2005, Wanchope became the all-time leading goal scorer for Costa Rica. He scored the first goal in a win against the USA. This game helped Costa Rica qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Wanchope scored over twenty goals in World Cup qualifiers.

On 9 June 2006, he scored two goals in the opening game of the 2006 World Cup. This was against Germany, though Costa Rica lost 4–2. These two goals made Wanchope the first Costa Rican to score twice in one World Cup match. He shares the record for most World Cup goals for Costa Rica with Rónald Gómez. Wanchope played his last game for Costa Rica in January 2008 against Sweden.

Coaching Career

Paulo Wanchope managed Club Sport Herediano from 2008 to 2009. He resigned because he felt the team's performance was not good enough. He also wanted to study more about coaching in England.

Later, Wanchope became an assistant coach for the Costa Rica national team. He worked with coach Jorge Luis Pinto. After Pinto left, Wanchope became the interim national team coach. In September 2014, he led the Costa Rica national football team to win the Copa Centroamericana. On 31 January 2015, he was officially named the national team coach.

On 12 August 2015, Wanchope resigned as manager of Costa Rica's national team. This happened after an incident following a match.

Personal Life

Paulo Wanchope's father, Vicente Wanchope, was also a Costa Rican international striker. His brothers, Javier and Carlos, also played for the national team. Paulo is married to Brenda Carballo, and they have a son and a daughter. His family has roots in Jamaica.

Career Statistics

These tables show how many games Paulo Wanchope played and how many goals he scored for different clubs and for his national team.

Club

International Goals

Scores and results list Costa Rica's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Wanchope goal.

List of international goals scored by Paulo Wanchope

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	1 December 1996	San José, Costa Rica	United States		2–1	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
2	21 December 1996	Cartago, Costa Rica	Trinidad and Tobago		2–1	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
3
4	9 March 1997	San José, Costa Rica	Cameroon		5–0	Friendly
5
6
7	11 May 1997	San José, Costa Rica	Jamaica		3–1	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
8
9	9 November 1997	Mexico DF, Mexico	Mexico		3–3	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
10	4 February 1998	Oakland, United States	Cuba		7–2	1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup
11
12
13
14	17 March 1999	San José, Costa Rica	Belize		7–0	1999 UNCAF Nations Cup
15	28 March 1999	San José, Costa Rica	El Salvador		4–0	1999 UNCAF Nations Cup
16	17 February 2000	Los Angeles, United States	South Korea		2–2	2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup
17	20 February 2000	San Diego, United States	Trinidad and Tobago		1–2	2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup (goal contested with W Sunsing)
18	1 July 2000	Alajuela, Costa Rica	Panama		5–1	Friendly
19	9 July 2000	San José, Costa Rica	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines		7–1	Friendly
20
21	15 August 2000	Alajuela, Costa Rica	Guatemala		2–1	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
22
23	6 January 2001	Miami, United States	Guatemala		5–2	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
24	28 March 2001	Alajuela, Costa Rica	Trinidad and Tobago		3–0	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
25
26	20 June 2001	Alajuela, Costa Rica	Jamaica		2–1	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
27	1 July 2001	Tegucigalpa, Honduras	Honduras		3–2	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
28	13 July 2001	Medellín, Colombia	Honduras		1–0	2001 Copa América
29	16 July 2001	Medellín, Colombia	Uruguay		1–1	2001 Copa América
30	19 July 2001	Medellín, Colombia	Bolivia		4–0	2001 Copa América
31
32	22 July 2001	Armenia, Colombia	Uruguay		1–2	2001 Copa América
33	30 January 2002	Pasadena, United States	South Korea		3–1	2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup
34
35	13 June 2002	Suwon, South Korea	Brazil		2–5	2002 FIFA World Cup
36	8 September 2004	San José, Costa Rica	Canada		1–0	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
37	9 October 2004	San José, Costa Rica	Guatemala		5–0	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
38
39
40	13 October 2004	Edmonton, Canada	Canada		3–1	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
41	9 February 2005	San José, Costa Rica	Mexico		1–2	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
42	8 June 2005	San José, Costa Rica	Guatemala		3–2	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
43	8 October 2005	San José, Costa Rica	United States		3–0	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
44	9 June 2006	Munich, Germany	Germany		2–4	2006 FIFA World Cup
45

Managerial Record

Managerial record by team and tenure

Team	Nat	From	To	Record
				G	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Herediano		1 April 2008	10 March 2009	&&&&&&&&&&&&&044.&&&&&044	&&&&&&&&&&&&&019.&&&&&019	&&&&&&&&&&&&&013.&&&&&013	&&&&&&&&&&&&&012.&&&&&012	&&&&&&&&&&&&&060.&&&&&060	&&&&&&&&&&&&&047.&&&&&047	+13	&&&&&&&&&&&&&043.18000043.18
Costa Rica		25 July 2014	12 August 2015	&&&&&&&&&&&&&015.&&&&&015	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&04.&&&&&04	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&07.&&&&&07	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&04.&&&&&04	&&&&&&&&&&&&&024.&&&&&024	&&&&&&&&&&&&&021.&&&&&021	+3	&&&&&&&&&&&&&026.67000026.67
C.S. Cartaginés		1 July 2018	14 September 2018	&&&&&&&&&&&&&010.&&&&&010	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&01.&&&&&01	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&06.&&&&&06	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&03.&&&&&03	&&&&&&&&&&&&&011.&&&&&011	&&&&&&&&&&&&&013.&&&&&013	−2	&&&&&&&&&&&&&010.&&&&&010.00
Herediano		14 September 2018	21 October 2018	&&&&&&&&&&&&&010.&&&&&010	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&04.&&&&&04	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&01.&&&&&01	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&05.&&&&&05	&&&&&&&&&&&&&010.&&&&&010	&&&&&&&&&&&&&012.&&&&&012	−2	&&&&&&&&&&&&&040.&&&&&040.00
Pérez Zeledón		2 February 2021	18 August 2021	&&&&&&&&&&&&&023.&&&&&023	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&05.&&&&&05	&&&&&&&&&&&&&012.&&&&&012	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&06.&&&&&06	&&&&&&&&&&&&&022.&&&&&022	&&&&&&&&&&&&&030.&&&&&030	−8	&&&&&&&&&&&&&021.74000021.74
C.S. Cartaginés		26 October 2022	6 October 2023	&&&&&&&&&&&&&043.&&&&&043	&&&&&&&&&&&&&022.&&&&&022	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&08.&&&&&08	&&&&&&&&&&&&&013.&&&&&013	&&&&&&&&&&&&&074.&&&&&074	&&&&&&&&&&&&&060.&&&&&060	+14	&&&&&&&&&&&&&051.16000051.16
Total				&&&&&&&&&&&&0145.&&&&&0145	&&&&&&&&&&&&&055.&&&&&055	&&&&&&&&&&&&&047.&&&&&047	&&&&&&&&&&&&&043.&&&&&043	&&&&&&&&&&&&0201.&&&&&0201	&&&&&&&&&&&&0183.&&&&&0183	+18	&&&&&&&&&&&&&037.93000037.93

Awards and Achievements

As a Player

West Ham United

• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 1999

Manchester City

• Football League First Division: 2001–02

Costa Rica

• UNCAF Nations Cup: 1999

Individual awards

• Premier League Player of the Month: October 1997

As a Manager

Costa Rica

• Copa Centroamericana: 2014

Cartaginés

• Costa Rican Cup: 2022

See also

In Spanish: Paulo Wanchope para niños