Derby County (England),
West Ham United FC (England), Manchester City FC (England),
Malaga CF (Spain), Sport Herediano (Costa Rica)
Honours
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Biography
Paulo Wanchope (born July 31, 1976) is a Costa Rican football
player, who currently plays for Club Sport Herediano, in Costa
Rica. At the time, he is the best goalscorer in the history of
the national football team, with 43 goals in 67 international
matches.
Wanchope began his career with Club Sport Herediano (Costa
Rica), until he went to England to play with Derby County, in
1997, and for whom he scored a memorable goal against Manchester
United on his debut, beating four United players before slotting
past Peter Schmeichel. After scoring 28 goals in 79 games for
Derby County, Wanchope was sold to West Ham United. He never
quite settled in at West Ham, despite scoring 15 goals in 46
games, and was eventually sold to Manchester City. Wanchope
earned a starting position at Man City, and helped lead the team
to promotion to the FA Premier League. Although at times
scintillating, Wanchope may have been something of a
disappointment in English football because of a reputation for
inconsistency.
At the end of the 2004 season, Wanchope was sold to Málaga CF of
the Spanish league for 500,000 pounds.
Wanchope has been hugely important to the Costa Rican national
team, playing for the team in the 2002 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 World Cup.
In 2005, ESPN awarded Wanchope for scoring the best goal of the
entire 2004/05 Spanish First Division against Numancia.
