Hernán Evaristo Medford Bryan ( , ; born May 23, 1968) is a Costa Rican former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player and coach. Highly regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of Central American football, Medford achieved success as both a player and a coach. As a player, Medford is fondly remembered in Costa Rica for two historic goals, both of which he considers his favorite, while playing for

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

: the winning goal of a group stage match against Sweden to qualify to the knockout stage, and the winning goal of the ''

Aztecazo The Mexico versus Costa Rica football match took place on 16 June 2001 at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, Mexico on the fourth matchday of the final round in the qualification process for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Mexico and Costa Rica reach ...

'', Mexico's first defeat in a non-friendly match at the Estadio Azteca. Numerous media outlets regard Medford as the most successful coach in Central America, as he also found massive success across the region, winning championships in Costa Rica, Honduras, and Guatemala. He also coached

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 ...

to win the

2005 CONCACAF Champions' Cup The 2005 CONCACAF Champions' Cup was the 40th. edition of the annual international club football competition held in the CONCACAF region (North America, Central America and the Caribbean), the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. The tournament was also a qua ...

, thus qualifying to the

2005 FIFA Club World Championship The 2005 FIFA Club World Championship (officially known as the FIFA Club World Championship Toyota Cup Japan 2005 for sponsorship reasons) was the second FIFA Club World Championship, a football competition organised by FIFA for the champion cl ...

, finishing on the third place.

Playing career

Club

Nicknamed ''Pelicano'', or ''Pelican'', Medford made his league debut for

Sagrada Familia Sagrada is a Spanish word meaning "sacred". It may refer to: *Sagrada, Missouri, a community in the United States * La Sagrada Família, a church in Barcelona, Spain *Rhamnus purshiana ''Frangula purshiana'' (cascara, cascara buckthorn, cascara ...

on 28 September 1986 against Cartaginés and scored his first goal on 4 January 1987 against Limonense. In Costa Rica's first division, he played for

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 ...

, where he won three national championships and the 1993

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 ...

. After three years at Saprissa he played in several different leagues worldwide, including

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

of Italy (

Foggia Calcio Calcio Foggia 1920, commonly referred to as Foggia, is an Football in Italy, Italian football club based in Foggia, Apulia. It currently plays in Serie C, having last been in the top level Serie A in 1995. The team gained nationwide popularity ...

), the

Yugoslav First League The Yugoslav First Federal Football League ( Serbian: Прва савезна лига у фудбалу / ''Prva savezna liga u fudbalu'', hr, Prva savezna liga u nogometu, sl, Prva zvezna nogometna liga, mk, Прва сојузна лига, ...

(

Dinamo Zagreb Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb ( en, Dinamo Zagreb Citizens' Football Club, link=yes, italics=yes), commonly referred to as GNK Dinamo Zagreb or simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinamo ...

), the

Austrian Bundesliga The Austrian Football Bundesliga (german: Österreichische Fußball-Bundesliga, italic=no , "Austrian Football Federal League"), also known as Admiral Bundesliga for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Austrian football league system. Th ...

(

SK Rapid Wien Sportklub Rapid Wien (), commonly known as Rapid Vienna, is an Austrian football club playing in the country's capital city of Vienna. Rapid has won the most Austrian championship titles (32), including the first title in the season 1911–12, ...

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...

in Spain playing for

Rayo Vallecano Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, S.A.D. (), often abbreviated to Rayo (Spanish for "thunderbolt"), is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid, in the neighbourhood of Vallecas. Rayo was founded on 29 May 1924, and currently compete in La Lig ...

, and the Mexican Primera Division, with

Pachuca Pachuca (; ote, Nju̱nthe), formally known as Pachuca de Soto, is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Hidalgo. It is located in the south-central part of the state. Pachuca de Soto is also the name of the municipality of whic ...

, León and

Necaxa Impulsora del Deportivo Necaxa S.A. de C.V. (); often simply known as Necaxa, is a Mexican professional football club in Liga MX based in the city of Aguascalientes. It plays in the Estadio Victoria. History Foundation (Light and Power Comp ...

. Pachuca decided to retire Medford's number 17 after he scored his 100th goal in his career.

International

Medford was part of the

1985 FIFA U-16 World Championship The 1985 FIFA U-16 World Championship, the first edition of the tournament, was held in the cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, and Dalian in People's Republic of China from July 31, 1985, to August 11, 1985. Players born after August 1, 1968, ...

held in China, the first

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

tournament where Costa Rica ever appeared, and scored the first goal ever for his home country in this type of tournaments. He made his senior debut for

in a February 1987

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

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

and earned a total of 89 caps, scoring 18 goals. He represented his country in 37

FIFA World Cup qualification The FIFA World Cup qualification is a competitive match that a national association football team takes in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the (men's) FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments are hel ...

matches and played in two

World Cups A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

, Italy 1990 and Japan-Korea 2002. He scored a goal against Sweden in the 1990 World Cup, which resulted in qualification for the second round. He also scored the winning goal at the

Azteca Stadium Estadio Azteca () is a multi-purpose stadium located in Mexico City. It is the official home of football clubs Club América and Cruz Azul as well as the Mexico national football team. The stadium sits at an altitude of above sea level. Wit ...

against

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

in the qualification for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. The match, known as the ''

'', is one of only two World Cup qualifiers that Mexico have ever lost on home soil. He also played at the

1995 UNCAF Nations Cup Six national football teams from Central America competed in the 1995 UNCAF Nations Cup (''Copa Centroamericana''). The winning team was Honduras, defeating Guatemala in the final. Squads Preliminary round Stadium First round Group A ' ...

as well as 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 Phil ...

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, and

2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the sixth edition of the Gold Cup, the soccer championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF). The tournament was once again held in the United States, in Miami and Pasadena. The format ...

s and the

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

and

2001 Copa América The 2001 Copa América was held in Colombia, from 11 to 29 July. It was organised by CONMEBOL, South America's football governing body. Colombia won the tournament for the 1st time without conceding a goal. Brazil national football team, Brazil ...

s. His final international was a June

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

match against

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

International goals

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

Managerial career

After retiring from professional football in 2003, he entered coaching. He first coached

with great success, where he has won several championships, including 2 national tournaments, the Uncaf Cup and the

, giving Saprissa the right to compete in the second

FIFA Club World Championship Toyota Cup The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 200 ...

in Japan, in December 2005, in which Saprissa finished 3rd. As of October 28, 2006, the Costa Rican Football Federation, or

Federación Costarricense de Fútbol 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 him as the new head coach for 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 fo ...

. He was sacked on 28 June 2008 after a string of poor results and only a few wins, and showing unprecedent bias in favor of his old former players of Saprissa. He took the reins of

Club León Club León Fútbol Club, also known as León, is a Mexican professional football club based in León, Guanajuato, that competes in the Liga MX, the top flight of Mexican football. León has won the Primera División de México/Liga MX title ...

for the Clausura 2009 season. His first game as head coach was against

Tampico Madero Club Deportivo y Social Tampico Madero is a Mexican professional football club based in Tampico, Tamaulipas that plays in the Liga Premier de México. History CD Tampico The club was founded on July 8, 1945 soon after the club played a promot ...

, ending in a 1–1 tie. He was fired as manager by the president of the club owing to poor results in the pre-season and the season itself. After leaving

Medford decided to take a break in coaching and decided to work as an ''administrator/manager'' but he was appointed manager of Liberia Mía in December 2009. In 2010 Hernan Medford signed with

Limón Limón (), commonly known as Puerto Limón, is a district, the capital city and main hub of Limón province, as well as of the Limón canton in Costa Rica. It is the seventh largest city in Costa Rica, with a population of over 55,000, and is ho ...

, a club team from the province of Limon. He signed also as an administrator. The team seemed to have benefited from his previous experience as administrator. In June 2011 Carlos Pascal the team’s chairman was arrested due to accusations of drug trafficking leaving the club without a president. Medford tried to help the team survive this set back since without Pascal the team was left without financial support. Medford endured a difficult season with Limon F.C. In August 2011 Medford resigned, claiming it had nothing to do with the financial problems the club had suffered, but because of personal decisions. He took charge of Guatemalan side Xelajú in September 2011. In May 2013, he was unveiled as the new manager of Honduran giants

Real España Real may refer to: Currencies * Brazilian real (R$) * Central American Republic real * Mexican real * Portuguese real * Spanish real * Spanish colonial real Music Albums * ''Real'' (L'Arc-en-Ciel album) (2000) * ''Real'' (Bright album) (2010) ...

. Under his direction Real España became the 2013 champion of the Honduran league. In July 2014 Medford was appointed the new national team manager of Honduras, leaving the post later in December due to the poor performance of the team during his tenure.

Personal life

Medford is a son of Herman Medford Sterling and Gloria Bryan Givans and has two sisters. He is married to Arlene Lewis and they have two daughters themselves.Las vivencias de Hernán Medford en su trajinar por el futbol mundial
- Nación

Honours

Source:

Player

;Pachuca *

Primera División A Primera may refer to * Nissan Primera, a car * Primera Air, a former airline * Primera división (disambiguation), multiple top division football leagues * Primera, Texas, a town in Cameron County, Texas * Alí Primera, Venezuelan musician, compos ...

: 1995–96 ;Rapid Wien *

Austrian Cup The Austrian Cup (german: ÖFB-Cup), known as UNIQA ÖFB Cup for sponsorship purposes, is an annual football competition held by the Austrian Football Association, the ÖFB. During the 2008–09 season, Austria Wien won the tournament for 27th t ...

runner-up: 1990–91 ;Rayo Vallecano *

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commercially known as LaLiga SmartBank for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. Administrated by the Lig ...

runner-up: 1991–92 ;Saprissa * Primera División: 1988, 1989, 1993–94 *

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 Ameri ...

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

;Costa Rica *

CONCACAF Championship The CONCACAF Championship was an association football tournament that took place between 1963 and 1989. The competition is sometimes referred to as CONCACAF Campeonato de Naciones. The first Championship took place in 1963 and was CONCACAF's firs ...

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

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 ...

runner-up:

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

Manager

;Herediano *

Liga FPD 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 ...

: 2016 Verano, 2017 Verano; runner-up: 2016 Invierno, 2017 Apertura ;Real España * Honduran Liga Nacional: 2013 Apertura ;Saprissa * Primera División: 2003–04, 2005–06; runner-up: 2004–05 *

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 ...

; runner-up:

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

FIFA Club World Championship The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 2000 ...

third place:

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 ...

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

; runner-up:

;Xelajú * Guatemalan Liga Nacional: 2012 Clausura ;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 ...

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

References

External links

*
Hernán Medford
at Footballdatabase {{DEFAULTSORT:Medford, Hernan 1968 births Living people Footballers from San José, Costa Rica Association football forwards Costa Rican footballers Costa Rica international footballers Costa Rica youth international footballers 1990 FIFA World Cup players 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 1997 Copa América players 2001 Copa América players 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2002 FIFA World Cup players Deportivo Saprissa players GNK Dinamo Zagreb players SK Rapid Wien players Rayo Vallecano players Calcio Foggia 1920 players C.F. Pachuca players Club León footballers Club Necaxa footballers Liga FPD players Yugoslav First League players Austrian Football Bundesliga players La Liga players Serie A players Liga MX players Costa Rican expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Mexico Expatriate footballers in Austria Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate footballers in Italy Expatriate footballers in Yugoslavia Costa Rican football managers Deportivo Saprissa managers Deportivo Saprissa non-playing staff Costa Rica national football team managers Real C.D. España managers Club Xelajú MC managers Honduras national football team managers Expatriate football managers in Guatemala Expatriate football managers in Honduras Costa Rican expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Costa Rican expatriate sportspeople in Austria Costa Rican expatriate sportspeople in Spain Costa Rican expatriate sportspeople in Italy Costa Rican expatriate sportspeople in Yugoslavia C.S.D. Municipal managers