Paulo César Wanchope Wattson (born July 31, 1976) is a Costa
Rican football player, who currently plays for Malaga CF of
Spain. Although at times scintillating, Wanchope may have been
something of a disappointment in English football because of a
reputation for inconsistency.
Wanchope began his career in England with Derby County, who he
joined in 1997, and for whom he scored against Manchester United
F.C. in his debut. After scoring 28 goals in 79 games for Derby
County, Wanchope was sold to West Ham United F.C.. He never
quite settled in at West Ham, despite scoring 15 goals in 46
games, and was eventually sold to Manchester City F.C.. Wanchope
earned a starting position at Man City, and helped lead the team
to promotion to the FA Premier League.
At the end of the 2004 season, Wanchope was sold to Malaga CF of
the Spanish league for 500,000 pounds.
Wanchope has been hugely important to the Costa Rica national
football team, playing for the club in the 2002 World Cup,
several Gold Cups, and is second all-time in goals scored for
Los Ticos (to Rolando Fonseca) with a total of 40 in 57 games
for the team.
