Walter Centeno
Wálter Centeno Corea (born 6 October 1974) is a retired Costa Rican football midfielder who is one of Costa Rica's best players.
 Centeno managing Saprissa in 2019 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Wálter Centeno Corea | ||
| Date of birth | 6 October 1974 | ||
| Place of birth | Palmar Sur, Costa Rica | ||
| Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 8 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Saprissa (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Compañeros de Tibás | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1995–2002 | Saprissa | 152 | (18) |
| 1995–1996 | → Belén (loan) | 52 | (3) |
| 2002–2003 | AEK Athens | 14 | (2) |
| 2003–2012 | Saprissa | 251 | (47) |
| 2013 | Bayamón | 11 | (3) |
| Total | 480 | (72) | |
| National team | |||
| 1995–2009 | Costa Rica | 137 | (24) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2015–2016 | Puntarenas | ||
| 2016–2019 | Municipal Grecia | ||
| 2019– | Saprissa | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only | |||
He had sublime vision and passing skills. He also had good dribbling abilities, great technique and a top eye for goal. He was a regular member of the national team. He holds the record for appearances with the Costa Rica national team, having gained 137 caps (135 FIFA official caps) and scored 24 goals along the way.
Club career
Saprissa
Nicknamed Paté, Centeno started his career at Saprissa, who loaned him out to Belén for whom he would make his professional debut on 4 February 1995 against Alajuelense. He scored his first goal on 3 September 1995 for Belén against Turrialba.[1] He earned his nickname in his childhood due to his love for eating pate's.[2]
AEK Athens
After 7 years at Saprissa he had a short spell abroad when he moved to AEK Athens of Greece.[3] While playing for AEK, he participated in the UEFA Champions League Group Stage managing to score in the team's away home draws against Real Madrid at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu (2–2) and AS Roma at Stadio Olimpico (1–1). He however returned to Saprissa after one season in Europe.
Back at Saprissa
He was named the Best player of the 2003–04 Costa Rican season by the Costa Rican sports media, after scoring 9 goals while orchestrating Saprissa's offense, helping the team to win the league.
With Saprissa, he has won 10 national championships and 1 CONCACAF Champions Cup, won the title with a 3–2 aggregate win over Mexico's UNAM Pumas in the final, and was part of the team that played the 2005 FIFA Club World Championship Toyota Cup,[4] where Saprissa finished third behind São Paulo and Liverpool. His appearance at this tournament was considered as outstanding by FIFA experts.
He retired in 2012, his final league match was on 5 May 2012 for Saprissa against Santos de Guápiles.[1] Saprissa retired the no. 8 shirt in his honour as well as definitely retiring the no. 10 shirt of Alonso Solís.[5]
International career
Centeno played his first game for the Costa Rica national football team on 27 September 1995 against Jamaica.[7] He has been a fixture for the team for the last thirteen years, playing in the Pan American Games held in Mar del Plata, Argentina, in 1995; the Copa América tournaments of 1997,[8] 2001[9] and 2004;[10] plus the FIFA World Cup in 2002 and 2006.[4] On 1 April 2009, he surpassed the record of caps for Costa Rica (held then by Luis Marín, 124 caps, 5 goals) as at 18 November 2009 he has 137 caps and 24 goals.[11] He was the captain of Costa Rica national football team for the last part of 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifications. Rodrigo Kenton, the appointed manager replacing the fired Hernan Medford, chose him for covering this important role in the team because of his experience, hardening and leadership. Centeno played his last game on the national team on 18 November 2009, where they tied 1–1, in which he scored. The game meant that Costa Rica will not be in World Cup 2010. Centeno's goal was his last with as an International player, and it also marked the last goal of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying stage.
Shortly after that game, he announced his quitting from national team.
International goals
- Scores and results list. Costa Rica's goal tally first.
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Personal life
Centeno is a son of Benigno Centeno and Lidieth Corea and he is married to Vivian Gutiérrez with whom he has three children.
Honours
Club
- Deportivo Saprissa
- Primera División de Costa Rica (10) Titles :
- CONCACAF Champions' Cup (1):
- Copa Interclubes UNCAF (2):
- FIFA Club World Cup:
- Third Place: 2005 FIFA Club World Championship
Country
- Costa Rica
- CONCACAF Gold Cup:
- Runner-up: Details
- UNCAF Nations Cup:
- CONCACAF Gold Cup:
References
- “Paté” Centeno se despidió de la afición junto con sus amigos - CRHoy (in Spanish)
- Walter 'Paté' Centeno anunció su retiro - Mediotiempo (in Spanish)
- Walter "Paté" Centeno jugó con el AEK de Atenas el año 2002. Archived 17 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine - Al Día (in Spanish)
- Walter Centeno – FIFA competition record
- Centeno escogerá a sus compañeros en juego de hoy - Nación (in Spanish)
- Walter Centeno regresa al futbol con el Bayamón F. C. de Puerto Rico - Nación (in Spanish)
- Walter Centeno quedó fuera de Copa de Oro por esguince (with bio) Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine - Nación (in Spanish)
- Copa América 1997 - RSSSF
- Copa América 2001 - RSSSF
- Copa América 2004 - RSSSF
- Mamrud, Roberto. "Walter Centeno Corea – Century of International Appearances". RSSSF. Retrieved 12 May 2009.
External links
- Walter Centeno at National-Football-Teams.com
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