Míchael Umaña Corrales (born 16 July 1982) is a Costa Rican professional

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 le ...

who last played as a defender for

Comunicaciones Comunicaciones Fútbol Club S.A., better known as Comunicaciones F.C. or Comunicaciones, are a football club based in Guatemala City. They compete in the Liga Nacional, the top tier of Guatemalan football. The most popular and successful footba ...

in the Liga Nacional. He represented the Costa Rica national team.

Club career

Early career

Born in Santa Ana, Umaña played for Carmelita and

Herediano Club Sport Herediano (), commonly known as Herediano and nicknamed El Team, is a Costa Rican multisport club based in Heredia, Heredia province. Although they compete in a number of different sports, Herediano is mostly known for its association ...

in his native Costa Rica before coming to the United States in 2005 to play on loan in

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

with

Los Angeles Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began play ...

.Defensor se integró esta semana al Galaxy Umaña quiere saltar a Europa
- Nación Umaña was released by Galaxy after the 2005 season after an unsuccessful campaign, and returned to Costa Rica to play for Brujas. He moved back to

in 2006, but asked the club to be transferlisted after a move to Israeli side MS Ironi Ashdod fell through. He eventually transferred to Liberia Mia in 2007, where he spent the next three seasons.

Chivas USA

After winning the 2009 Torneo Verano of the

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 ...

in with Liberia Mia, Umaña returned to the United States in 2010 to play for his former club's cross-town rivals,

Chivas USA Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional soccer team based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California. The club played from 2005 to 2014 in Major League Soccer (MLS) and was a subsidiary of Mexican club C.D. Guada ...

. Umaña scored his first goal with Chivas USA in a Superliga 2010 match against Puebla. Umaña spent the 2010 and 2011 seasons with

Central America

In January 2012, after his release from Chivas, he signed with Guatemalan side

and a year later he returned to Costa Rica to play for Saprissa.

Persepolis

On 17 August 2014, Umaña joined

Persepolis , native_name_lang = , alternate_name = , image = Gate of All Nations, Persepolis.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = Ruins of the Gate of All Nations, Persepolis. , map = , map_type ...

after passing medical tests, thus became the inaugural Costa Rican footballer to play in Iran. He signed a two-year contract with the club and was given the number 4 shirt. He made his debut for the club on 25 August in a 1–1 draw against Padideh.

International career

Umaña played for the Costa Rica national team at various youth levels, and was part of their squad at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

. He made his senior debut in a June 2004

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

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

and has, as of October 2017, earned a total of 103 caps, scoring one goal. He played at the

2005 UNCAF Nations Cup The eighth edition of the bi-annual UNCAF Nations Cup was held in Guatemala, from February 19 to 27, 2005. All matches were played at the Estadio Mateo Flores in Guatemala City. The four semifinalists qualified for 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Squads : ...

and the

2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the eighth edition of the Gold Cup, the football championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF). It was contested in the United States in July 2005. The United States emerged victorious ...

before becoming part of the senior squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign. He played in all three of Costa Rica's group matches at the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...

, as the team was eliminated without winning a point. In June 2014, Umaña was named in Costa Rica's squad for the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

. In the team's first two group matches, he and his central defensive colleagues

Giancarlo González Giancarlo González Castro (born 8 February 1988) is a Costa Rican professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Liga FPD club Alajuelense and the Costa Rica national team. Club career Early career González spent his youth career wit ...

and Óscar Duarte allowed only one goal as ''Los Ticos'' beat

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

(3–1) and

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 re ...

(1–0) to qualify for the

knockout stage A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

. During the

round of 16 A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

, Umaña converted Costa Rica's decisive fifth kick in a 5–3

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pen ...

defeat of

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. In the

quarter-final A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

against the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, Umaña was one of two Costa Ricans to have his kick saved by Tim Krul in a 3–4 shoot-out loss.

Career statistics

Club

¹ Includes U.S. Open Cup and

Hazfi Cup Hazfi Cup (Jām-e Hazfi; ) is the Iranian football knockout cup competition, run by the Iranian Football Federation. The Iranian football league was not held during the 1980s, hence the winner of Hazfi Cup represented Iran in the Asian Club Cha ...

.
² Includes

UNCAF Interclub Cup The UNCAF Club Tournament was an annual international football competition held in the UNCAF region (Central America). The competition was open to the leading domestic club teams in the region. The winners of each national league qualified automat ...

North American SuperLiga The SuperLiga was an official North American association football competition between teams from the Liga MX of Mexico and Major League Soccer of the United States and Canada, the top divisions in each country. The competition was sanctioned by C ...

CONCACAF Champions League 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 Ameri ...

and

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...

.
³ Includes four matches in league play-offs.

International goals

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

Personal life

Umaña is the youngest of three brothers; his brother Erick played in the Costa Rican second division.

Honours

Los Angeles Galaxy * U.S. Open Cup:

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

MLS Cup The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conference ...

* Western Conference Championship:

Individual *

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup ( es, Copa de Oro de la CONCACAF, french: Coupe D'or CONCACAF) is the main association football competition of the men's national football teams governed by CONCACAF, determining the continental champion of North Ameri ...

Best XI (Honorable Mention):

References

External links

*
2006 World Cup profile
- Nación *
Profile
at Nacion.com
All-Time MLS Player Register
{{DEFAULTSORT:Umana, Michael 1982 births Living people People from San José Province Association football defenders Costa Rican footballers Costa Rica international footballers Olympic footballers of Costa Rica Footballers at the 2004 Summer Olympics 2004 Copa América players 2005 UNCAF Nations Cup players 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2006 FIFA World Cup players 2007 UNCAF Nations Cup players 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2009 UNCAF Nations Cup players 2013 Copa Centroamericana players 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2014 FIFA World Cup players 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Copa América Centenario players 2017 Copa Centroamericana players 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Copa Centroamericana-winning players A.D. Carmelita footballers C.S. Herediano footballers LA Galaxy players Brujas FC players Municipal Liberia footballers Chivas USA players Comunicaciones F.C. players Deportivo Saprissa players Persepolis F.C. players Costa Rican expatriate footballers Expatriate soccer players in the United States Expatriate footballers in Guatemala Expatriate footballers in Iran Liga FPD players Major League Soccer players Persian Gulf Pro League players Costa Rican expatriate sportspeople in the United States FIFA Century Club