Wílmer López facts for kids
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Wilmer López Arguedas | ||
| Date of birth | 3 August 1971 | ||
| Place of birth | Alajuela, Costa Rica | ||
| Height | 1.69 m (5 ft 6+1⁄2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Carmelita | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1992–1993 | Carmelita | (2) | |
| 1993–1998 | Alajuelense | 238 | (46) |
| 1998 | Tolima | 0 | (0) |
| 1998–2007 | Alajuelense | 240 | (34) |
| 2007–2008 | Pérez Zeledón | 14 | (1) |
| 2008–2009 | Carmelita | 18 | (1) |
| Total | 550 | ||
| International career | |||
| 1995–2003 | Costa Rica | 76 | (6) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2010–2011 | Jacó Rays | ||
| 2017– | Alajuelense | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Wilmer López Arguedas (born August 3, 1971) is a retired Costa Rican football player. He was a talented midfielder known for his amazing passes.
Wilmer López is famous for playing many years with Alajuelense, one of Costa Rica's biggest football clubs. Fans loved him, and he is considered one of the team's greatest players ever.
Contents
Club Career Highlights
Wilmer López started his professional football journey in Costa Rica's top league, the Primera División. His first game was on January 5, 1992, with Carmelita. He even scored his first goal in that very match!
Playing for Alajuelense
The next year, Wilmer López joined Alajuelense. He quickly became a fan favorite. He played for the club for 13 seasons, which is a very long time! During his time there, he helped the team win many important titles:
- 7 Costa Rican Championships
- 3 Copa Interclubes UNCAF championships
- 1 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
He was part of the amazing team that won four national championships in a row from 1999 to 2003. He was even named the best player in the national tournament for two years in a row!
Nicknames and Skills
Wilmer López had two cool nicknames: El Pato (The Duck) and El Ingeniero (The Engineer). He got the nickname "The Engineer" because he was so good at creating plays. He could make short or long passes perfectly and thought very quickly on the field. This made him one of the best midfielders in the region during the 1990s and early 2000s.
Later in his career, he faced some injuries that made it harder for him to play as well as before. Even so, fans still loved him very much. When he played against Alajuelense with his new team, Pérez Zeledón, his old fans would cheer for him every time he touched the ball. This showed how much they still cared for him.
Wilmer López played a total of 550 league games in his career. For Alajuelense, he played 478 league matches and scored 80 goals.
International Football Career
Wilmer López also played for the Costa Rica national team. His first game for his country was in August 1995 against Japan. He played a total of 76 games for Costa Rica and scored 6 goals.
He helped his country try to qualify for the FIFA World Cup in 22 matches. He also played in all three games for Costa Rica in the 2002 FIFA World Cup held in Korea and Japan. He represented Costa Rica in several other big tournaments, including:
- UNCAF Nations Cup in 1995 and 1997
- CONCACAF Gold Cup in 1998, 2000, 2002, and 2003
- Copa América in 1997 and 2001
His last game for the national team was in July 2003 against the United States.
International Goals Scored
Here are the goals Wilmer López scored for Costa Rica:
| N. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 1 December 1996 | Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá, San José, Costa Rica |  United States |
2–0 | 2–1 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2. | 23 April 1997 | Estadio Mateo Flores, Guatemala City, Guatemala |  Honduras |
3–0 | 4–0 | 1997 UNCAF Nations Cup |
| 3. | 28 January 1998 | Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto, Alajuela, Costa Rica |  Trinidad and Tobago |
4–0 | 4–0 | Friendly match |
| 4. | 4 February 1998 | LA Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, United States |  Cuba |
3–0 | 7–2 | 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 5. | 4 February 1998 | LA Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, United States | Cuba |
5–0 | 7–2 | 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 6. | 26 January 2000 | Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá, San José, Costa Rica | Trinidad and Tobago |
1–1 | 2–1 | Friendly match |
Retirement from Football
Wilmer López officially retired from playing football on Wednesday, July 22, 2009. He played a special retirement match with Alajuelense. In this game, he played one half with a team of his friends and the other half with Alajuelense, wearing the colors of the team he loved.
"El Pato" was incredibly popular with Alajuelense fans. During his retirement match, many fans even ran onto the field to carry him on their shoulders. This showed how much they admired and appreciated him.
Personal Life
Wilmer López is married to Alejandra López. They have two sons and one daughter.
See also
In Spanish: Wilmer López para niños
