Steven Bryce Valerio (born August 16, 1977) 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 ...

. Bryce was well known throughout his career for his versatility, playing as an attacking midfielder, winger, striker or right back, as needed; and possessing good skills, pace, and strength.

Club career

Bryce began his career in the Costa Rican first division on loan from

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 ...

with AD Goicoechea, making his debut on September 22, 1996 against

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 ...

. After that he played for

and

Liga Deportiva 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 ...

whom he joined in August 2000. In his 9 years in Costa Rica, Bryce won 6 national championships, in 1997-98, 1998–99, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03 and 2003-04. In addition, he won a CONCACAF Champions' Cup in 2004. After his tenure with Alajuelense, he went to play with

Anorthosis Anorthosis Famagusta ( el, Ανόρθωση Αμμοχώστου, translit=Anorthosi Ammochostou), commonly known as Anorthosis in English or Anorthosi in Greek, is a Cypriot football club, part of the Anorthosis Famagusta multi-sport club fo ...

of the

Cypriot First Division The Cypriot First Division ( el, Πρωτάθλημα Α΄ Κατηγορίας) is the top tier football league competition in Cyprus, run by the Cyprus Football Association. Since February 2016, it is sponsored by Cyta and is thus officially ...

and

OFI Crete OFI may refer to: * Overseas Filipino Investors, Filipino expatriates who contribute to the economy of the Philippines through remittances, buying property, and creating businesses * OFI Crete, a Greek association football club based on the islan ...

of the

Greek Super League The Super League Greece 1 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λιγκ 1), or Super League 1, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced ''Alpha Ethniki'' at the top of ...

. He came back to America after a couple of unsuccessful season in Europe and was signed by Brujas, a new club in his native Costa Rica owned by a local magnate. Six months later he decided to move to Marathón in Honduras and then to

F.C. Motagua Club de Fútbol Motagua (), formerly Club Deportivo Motagua up to 2017, is an association football club, located in Tegucigalpa, capital of Honduras. F.C. Motagua was founded as ''Club Deportivo Motagua'' on 29 August 1928. The club competes ...

. He never found his form and game in Honduras and by the end of his contract with

, he suffered and injury that took him out of the fields for almost a year. He signed for

and started his recovery but did not make it to the pitch one game and was released in summer 2008. In the 2009-2010 season, Bryce was called up by

Universidad de Costa Rica The University of Costa Rica (Spanish: ''Universidad de Costa Rica,'' abbreviated UCR) is a public university in the Republic of Costa Rica, in Central America. Its main campus, Ciudad Universitaria Rodrigo Facio, is located in San Pedro Mo ...

a team that desperatively needed players with experience, but again, he never found his form and was released after a few months. In January 2010, Bryce signed a 1-year deal with

Brisbane Roar Brisbane Roar Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland and has won the domestic title on three occasions, as well as holding the longest unbeaten record of 36 league matches without defeat. Brisba ...

, but the story repeated itself and just after a few games he decided to put an end on his contract and definitively retire from football.

International career

At junior level, Bryce played in 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship held in

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

, playing in all three of the team's matches, scoring once against Paraguay. He made his debut for the senior

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

in a January 1998

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 Honduras and collected a total of 73 caps, scoring 9 goals. He has represented his country in 18 FIFA World Cup qualification matches. and played at the

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

and

2003 UNCAF Nations Cup The 2003 UNCAF Nations Cup was an association football tournament. It was held in two venues in Panama in February 2003, and was played in a round robin tournament, each of the 6 teams playing each other once. Costa Rica won their record fourt ...

s as well as at the 2002, 2003 and

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 ...

s and the 2001 and

2004 Copa América The 2004 Copa América was the 41st edition of the Copa América, the South-American championship for international association football teams. The competition was organized by CONMEBOL, South America's football governing body, and was held i ...

. Most notably however, he represented Costa Rica in the

2002 World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football world championship for men's national teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea an ...

, playing in all three of the team's matches, and assisting on one goal against each of Brazil and Turkey. He also was a non-playing squad member at the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup. He played his final international in a July

match against Honduras.

International goals

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

Personal life

He is a son of Eustace Bryce and Mildred Valerio, with whom he lived in Canada in 1991 and 1992. He is married to Cristina Páez. They have a daughter, Sarah, and a son, Samuel.Bryce: “Casi me muero, es un milagro”
- Diez

Honours

With Costa Rica: *

UNCAF Nations Cup The Copa Centroamericana (, Spanish for "Central American Cup") was the main association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ''Unión Centroamericana de Fútbol'' (UNCAF), the sport's Central Am ...

, 2005 With

: *

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 ...

: 1997-98, 1998–99 With

: *

: 2000-01, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2004–05 * CONCACAF Champions' Cup: 2004 *

Copa Interclubes UNCAF 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 automa ...

: 2002 * Copa LG Uncaf (Panama) Champions: 2000 With

: * UNCAF Interclub Cup: 2007

References

External links

*
2002 World Cup profile
- Nación {{DEFAULTSORT:Bryce, Steven 1977 births Living people Footballers from San José, Costa Rica Association football wingers Costa Rican footballers Costa Rica international footballers 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2001 Copa América players 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2002 FIFA World Cup players 2003 UNCAF Nations Cup players 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2004 Copa América players 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Deportivo Saprissa players L.D. Alajuelense footballers Anorthosis Famagusta F.C. players OFI Crete F.C. players Brujas FC players C.D. Marathón players F.C. Motagua players C.F. Universidad de Costa Rica footballers Brisbane Roar FC players Costa Rican expatriate footballers Expatriate soccer players in Australia Expatriate footballers in Greece Expatriate footballers in Cyprus Expatriate footballers in Honduras Costa Rican expatriate sportspeople in Australia Costa Rican expatriate sportspeople in Greece Costa Rican expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Costa Rican expatriate sportspeople in Honduras Liga FPD players Super League Greece players A-League Men players Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional de Honduras players Cypriot First Division players Copa Centroamericana-winning players Central American Games gold medalists for Costa Rica Central American Games medalists in football