Wílmer López
 | |||
| 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 3 August 1971) is a retired Costa Rican footballer.
He played for
Alajuelense
and is one of the club's biggest idols of all time.
Club career
López made his debut in the Costa Rican
CONCACAF Champions' Cup, being part of the team that won 4 national championships in a row (1999–2000–2002–2003). He was named the best player of the national tournament for two seasons in a row before moving to Deportes Tolima in Colombia, whom he left very soon due to contractual problems,[3][4] and again during another season, when he returned to Costa Rica. He also played the Copa Merconorte and the Copa Sudamericana
.
Nicknamed El Pato (The Duck), the
Alejandro Morera Soto stadium, his former fans waited for him singing[2] and clapping every time he touched the ball, letting him know he still was in their hearts. López totalled 478 league matches and 80 goals for Liga.[6] He also played 92 international club games for them.[7] He played 550 league games in total.[8]
International career
López made his debut for
friendly match against Japan[1] and earned a total of 76 caps, scoring 6 goals.[9] He represented his country in 22 FIFA World Cup qualification matches and played in all 3 games during the 2002 FIFA World Cup held in Korea and Japan.[10] He also played at the 1995[11] and 1997 UNCAF Nations Cups[12] as well as at the 1998,[13] 2000,[14] 2002[15] and 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cups[16] and the 1997 Copa América.[17] He also was a non-playing squad member at the 2001 Copa América.[18]
His final international was a July 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup match against the United States.
International goals
- Scores and results list Costa Rica's goal tally first.
| 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
On Wednesday 22 July 2009, López played his retirement matchAlajuelense to finish the match defending the colors that he loves.
"El Pato" was one of the most loved players in
Alajuelense
, along with his devotion to "La 12", the official group of Fans. They became more notorious on the day of his retirement, when all the fans jumped into the field to carry him on their shoulders for almost an hour.
Personal life
López is married to Alejandra López and the couple has two sons and a daughter. For a brief period in 2014, her daughter dated the Costa Rican celebrity Andrés Nando Sibaja.[20]
References
- ^ a b Trayectoria de Wílmer López - Nación (in Spanish)
- ^ a b Regalo para Pato López - Nación (in Spanish)
- ^ Wílmer en penumbras Aún no logra finiquitar su situación con el Tolima - Nación (in Spanish)
- ^ Wílmer López listo Ayer llegó su pase internacional, procedente de Colombia - Nación (in Spanish)
- ^ Restrepo avala a Wílmer López - Nación (in Spanish)
- ^ Un histórico "Pato" - UNAFUT (in Spanish)
- ^ Cordero, tico con más juegos internacionales de clubes - Nación (in Spanish)
- ^ Marvin Obando es el que disputó más partidos en Primera División - Nación (in Spanish)
- ^ Appearances for Costa Rica National Team - RSSSF
- ^ Wílmer López – FIFA competition record (archived)
- ^ UNCAF Tournament 1995 - RSSSF
- ^ UNCAF Tournament 1997 - RSSSF
- ^ CONCACAF Championship, Gold Cup 1998 - Full Details - RSSSF
- ^ CONCACAF Championship, Gold Cup 2000 - Full Details - RSSSF
- ^ CONCACAF Championship, Gold Cup 2002 - Full Details - RSSSF
- ^ CONCACAF Championship, Gold Cup 2003 - Full Details - RSSSF
- ^ Copa América 1997 - RSSSF
- ^ Copa América 2001 - RSSSF
- ^ Se retira Wílmer López Los liguistas despiden al dueño de la número ‘6’ - Nación (in Spanish)
- ^ Campamento tico En familia - Nación (in Spanish)
External links
- Wílmer López at National-Football-Teams.com
- Perfil de jugadores de la Selección Nacional Wílmer López - Nación (in Spanish)
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