Óscar Antonio Ramírez Hernández (; born 8 December 1964), is a Costa Rican former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

and was most recently the manager of the Costa Rica national team. During the first half of the 2010s, he managed

Alajuelense Liga Deportiva Alajuelense (LDA, ), commonly known as Alajuelense and nicknamed La Liga (), is a Costa Rican multisport club based in the borough of El Llano, Alajuela, Alajuela province. Although they compete in a number of different sports, Ala ...

in two separate stints. Regarded as the most successful manager in the club's history, he won five league titles. Shortly after his second departure, he was appointed as the head coach of the Costa Rica national team.

Club career

He played for the two teams in his country,

and Saprissa, becoming a star and an idol for both teams' fans. He made his debut for ''Liga'' on 13 November 1983 against Ramonense and scored his first goal a week later against Municipal San José.Historia en la red
- Nación With Alajuelense he won four national championships during the 1980s and early 1990s, as well as a

CONCACAF Champions Cup The CONCACAF Champions League, known officially as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons, is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONCACAF. The tournament is contested by clubs from North Americ ...

in 1986. During 1993's season, ''El Macho'' switched to Alajuela's arch-rival team Saprissa, causing a commotion on Liga's fans. With Saprissa, he won a total of three more national championships and two CONCACAF Champions Cup titles. In 1995, he moved to hometown club Belén but returned to Saprissa in 1997. He retired in March 2000 when at second division Guanacasteca.

International career

Ramírez made his debut for Costa Rica in a February 1985

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

against El Salvador and earned a total of 75 caps, scoring 6 goals. He represented his country in 21 FIFA World Cup qualification matches and played at the 1990 FIFA World Cup held in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. He also played at the

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

and

1997 UNCAF Nations Cup This page details the 1997 UNCAF Nations Cup, played in Guatemala. Squads :For a complete list of all participating squads see ''UNCAF Nations Cup 1997 squads'' Preliminary round Venue First round Group A ---- ---- Group B ---- ...

s as well as at the

1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the first edition of the Gold Cup, the soccer championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF), and the eleventh overall CONCACAF tournament. The last time the CONCACAF Championship was he ...

and the

1997 Copa América Bolivia hosted the Copa América for the second time in its 38th edition. It was held from 11 to 29 June. It was organized by CONMEBOL, South America's football governing body. There is no qualifying for the final tournament. All South Ameri ...

in Bolivia. He collected his final cap in an August 1997 World Cup qualifier against El Salvador.

International goals

:''Scores and results list Costa Rica's goal tally first.''

Managerial career

After his retirement, Ramírez began working as Hernán Medford's assistant coach in Saprissa, winning in less than three years, a national championship, a UNCAF Cup title, and a

title, thus earning a berth at the FIFA Club World Championship Toyota Cup. As of 28 October 2006, the

Costa Rican Football Federation The Costa Rican Football Federation ( es, Federación Costarricense de Fútbol, FCRF), also known as FEDEFUTBOL or FEDEFUT, is the official association football governing body in Costa Rica and is in charge of the Costa Rica national football tea ...

announced that Medford and his coaching staff would take charge of the

Costa Rica national football team The Costa Rica national football team ( es, Selección de fútbol de Costa Rica) represents Costa Rica in men's international football. The national team is administered by the Costa Rican Football Federation (FEDEFUTBOL), the governing body f ...

. Thus making him the new assistant coach for the Costa Rica national football team. In May 2010, Ramírez took charge of

, assisted by his former World Cup teammate

Mauricio Montero Mauricio Antonio Montero Chinchilla (born 19 October 1963 in Costa Rica) is a retired Costa Rican footballer. Nicknamed ''El Chunche'' (The Thing), Montero is widely known for his humble origins, which molded his behavior and charisma. His coll ...

. He was voted Costa Rica manager of the year 2012,Oscar Ramírez es el mejor técnico del país
- CR Hoy but resigned in January 2013 only to return at the helm in May 2013. In August 2015, Ramírez was appointed as

Paulo Wanchope Paulo César Wanchope Watson (; born 31 July 1976), more commonly known as Paulo Wanchope, is a Costa Rican football coach and former professional footballer As a player he was a striker who notably played in the Premier League for Derby Cou ...

's assistant coach for the Costa Rica national team. However, a week after his appointment, Wanchope was involved in a fight in Panama and announced his departure from the national team. Ramírez was then appointed as head coach a week after. He led the team at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Managerial statistics

Club

International

Honours

Alajuelense

Ramirez is the most successful manager in the club's history winning five consecutive league titles and being Costa Rica manager of the year 2012. *

Primera División de Costa Rica The Primera División of Costa Rica, commonly known as Fútbol de Primera División (FPD), and Liga Promerica for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional association football division in Costa Rica. It is administered by the Unión de Clubes ...

: Invierno 2010–11 *

: Verano 2010–11 *

: Invierno 2011–12 *

: Invierno 2012–13 *

: Invierno 2013–14

Individual Awards

*Costa Rica manager of the year 2012 *

CONCACAF The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football,, ; french: Confédération de football d'Amérique du Nord, d'Amérique centrale et des Caraïbes, . Dutch language, Dutch uses the English name. abbreviated as CON ...

Coach of the Year:

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

Others

At the beginning of his managerial career, Ramírez worked as Hernán Medford's assistant coach in

Deportivo Saprissa Deportivo Saprissa is a Costa Rican sports club, mostly known for its football team. The club is based in San Juan de Tibás, San José, and play their home games at the Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá. The team's signature colours are purple ...

, winning in less than three years, a national championship, a UNCAF Cup title, and a

title, thus earned a berth at the FIFA Club World Championship Toyota Cup.

Personal life

Ramírez is married to Jeannette Delgado, and they have four children.Medford y Ramírez Reencuentro de amigos
- Nación

References

External links

*
Profile
- Alajuelense

- Nación {{DEFAULTSORT:Ramirez, Oscar 1964 births Living people People from Heredia Province Association football midfielders Costa Rican footballers Costa Rica international footballers 1990 FIFA World Cup players 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 1997 Copa América players L.D. Alajuelense footballers Deportivo Saprissa players Belén F.C. players Liga FPD players Costa Rican football managers L.D. Alajuelense managers Copa Centroamericana-winning players Costa Rica national football team managers Copa América Centenario managers 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup managers 2018 FIFA World Cup managers