Paulo Wanchope in his Manchester City days.
Source: AFP
WITH several of their regular first choice players unavailable, the most recognisable Costa Rican face at Allianz Stadium on Tuesday will not be on the pitch – but on the sidelines.
Paulo Wanchope became a cult figure during the eight years he spent in the English Premier League with Derby County, West Ham United and Manchester City. Now retired as a player, he will be on the benches as a valued assistant to Ticos national team coach, Jose Luis Pinto – not least for his experience at playing (and scoring) at two World Cups.
“Working with the national side is something I am passionate about. The coach is leaning on me and the other assistant, Luis Marin (who captained the team in Germany 2006). We both have a lot of experience, and we discuss details about things we need to work on.” said Wanchope, speaking after a Costa Rica training session at Allianz Stadium.
The Ticos squad for this friendly international is rather thin, not just in terms of big names, but also numbers. Cristian Bolanos of FC Copenhagen is the latest withdrawal (due to family reasons), after Alvaro Saborio, Johnny Acosta, Yeltsin Tejeda and Keylor Navas all pulled out.
Costa Rica’s most famous star – Fulham’s Bryan Ruiz – hasn’t travelled either, and nor has Tim Cahill’s New York Red Bulls team-mate, Roy Miller. So, the squad, which does include A-League players Carlos Hernandez and Kenny Cunningham, numbers just 18 – leading to an unlikely opportunity for some local players of Latin American heritage.
Keen to make up numbers for a full 11 v 11 practice match, Pinto sequestered five NPL players – all of whom had to be able to speak Spanish – to join in with the training sessions. Arturo Mojica of Redlands FC in Queensland (the only one with Costa Rican heritage), along with Andreas Franco (Sydney Olympic), Christopher Godoy Bascur (Sydney Olympic), Carlos Villazin (Dulwich Hill) and Matthew Villazin (Sutherland) were the lucky quintet.
Their job is to keep the up and coming Ticos team on their toes – but who is the next Wanchope?
“I would say there is a few good players – Joel Campbell, Celso Borges – I think we have a good bunch of players, very disciplined, and I think we will do well at the World Cup.” said Wanchope.
Campbell is arguably THE standout Ticos player in Sydney. Currently on loan with Olympiakos in Greece, he scored the second goal against world champions Spain in a 2-2 draw two years ago, and is rated highly by his parent club, Arsenal.
Costa Rica finished second in the CONCACAF qualifying zone for Brazil 2014 – behind the USA, but comfortably ahead of Honduras, Mexico, Panama and Jamaica. It’s their fourth qualification, and they’ve never been past the Round of 16.
Wanchope feels that is why playing Australia is a proper test – a team he believes will offer something different to their regular opposition in Central and North America.
“They play a similar type of game to the English – very physical, very positive going forward. It will be good for us, because we need to see the physical aspect of the game.” said Wanchope.
Wanchope was certainly used to that in the Premier League, where his partnership with Paolo di Canio at West Ham proved lethal, netting 31 goals jointly in 1999/2000. His old sparring partner has also moved into coaching, having just been sacked at Sunderland. But that hasn’t deterred Wanchope, who aims to become the national coach himself one day.
“Well, that’s the aim – I am doing my coaching badges in England, and gaining experience with Jorge (Luis Pinto). Maybe I’ll go back to the Premier League and coach too – not like Paolo though! (laughs).”
*http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNGf8_HwSUwKEyR5pLMfXQKmhg4-pg&url=http://www.news.com.au/sport/football/former-premier-league-striker-paulo-wanchope-talks-to-simon-hill-about-costa-rica/story-fndkzvnd-1226762237973
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