SAN JOSE, Costa Rica – Recently on the social media platform Twitter, people have been naming the four footballers who left the biggest impact on their life as a football fan.
One name that surfaced on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean is former Costa Rica FW Paulo Cesar Wanchope, who enjoyed an excellent career at the international level with the Ticos, plus eight seasons in European football during which he became the first Costa Rican to play in the Premier League.
Wanchope, completely unaware that he had been trending, was caught pleasantly surprised by the news.
“It gives me a lot of joy, I guess with the passage of time fans begin to remember the great things you did and that makes me happy,” said Wanchope in an exclusive interview with Concacaf.com. “It was not easy adapting to playing in England where I was seven years, but I’m glad fans remember me. Living there was a great experience for me and my family and I hope to be able to go back one day.”
At present, Wanchope is in his native Costa Rica where he is currently working on obtaining additional coaching licenses with the goal of returning to the sidelines as a coach. He also spent last summer working as an analyst with Univision during the Concacaf Gold Cup where he got to see football from a different perspective.
“I had never done television in covering a tournament for so long, and so it was a wonderful experience. I got to see football from a different angle, and working with other former great players like Hristo Stoichkov. I felt comfortable and enjoyed it and would leave the door open to doing it again,” said Wanchope.
One would be hard-pressed to find a Central American footballer more accomplished at the international level than Wanchope. In 73 appearances with the Ticos, he scored 45 goals, including a brace against Germany in the opening match of the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
“It was such a privilege to play the inaugural match of a World Cup, especially against a team like Germany. It was important to compete that day and show the rest of the world that Costa Rica has players of a top level,” said Wanchope.
Other highlights include a goal against Brazil in the 2002 FIFA World Cup and a goal in his National Team debut against the United States in Concacaf World Cup Qualifying for France 1998.
Yet one thing that has always proven elusive for Wanchope and Costa Rica is a Gold Cup title, even though Wanchope scored eight goals and eight games while appearing in the 1998, 2000 and 2002 editions. Wanchope’s hope is that the National Team’s Gold Cup dry spell will soon come to an end.
“The closest we came to winning it was in 2002 when we got to the final but lost to the U.S. It is one of the great unknowns as to why we have never won it. But I have faith that we will win it. The Federation is putting forth a great effort to do that,” said Wanchope.
As is bound to happen with all national teams, Costa Rica finds itself in a moment of transition with some of its players from the 2014 World Cup quarterfinal team stepping away from La Sele, while a new wave of talented youngsters is joining the ranks. Wanchope, a former Costa Rica National Team coach himself, is preaching patience with the young Ticos.
“The transition has to happen but it requires time and patience. For example, when I debuted, we did not qualify for the World Cup. It seems like every eight years or so the national team suffers a bit, but it is all part of an important process, so I urge fans to be patient,” concluded Wanchope.
