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 lea ...

who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

and is the manager of the

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, Al ...

. During the first half of the 2010s, he managed

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. Ramírez is also known for being one of the few coaches to continue using the

sweeper Sweepers are small, tropical marine (occasionally brackish) ray-finned fish of the family (biology), family Pempheridae. Found in the western Atlantic Ocean and Indo-Pacific region, the family contains about 80 species in two genus, genera. One ...

position after its waning days in the early 2000s.

Club career

He played for the two teams in his country,

and

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. Their colours are burgundy and white. It ...

, 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 Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, a ...

in 1986. During the 1993's season, ''El Macho'' switched to Alajuela's arch-rival team Saprissa, causing a commotion among Liga's fans. With

, 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 Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

in a February 1985

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

against

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

and earned a total of 75 caps, scoring 6 goals. He represented his country in 21

FIFA World Cup qualification The FIFA World Cup qualification is a set of competitive matches that a national association football team plays in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the men's FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments ar ...

matches and played at the

1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second ...

held in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. He also played at the

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

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 Participating teams 6 Central American Football Union, UNCA ...

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 The 1997 Copa America was the 38th edition of the Copa America. It was held in Bolivia from 11 to 29 June. It was organized by CONMEBOL, South America's football governing body. In this edition, Costa Rica and Mexico were the invited teams to br ...

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

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

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 clu ...

. As of 28 October 2006, the

Costa Rican Football Federation The Costa Rican Football Federation (, 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 team and the Costa Rica women's national fo ...

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

Costa Rica national football team The Costa Rica national football team () represents Costa Rica in men's international Association football, football. The national team is administered by the Costa Rican Football Federation, Federación Costarricense de Fútbol (), the governi ...

. 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. 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 who is the manager of Deportivo Saprissa. As a player he was a striker who notably ...

'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 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 Liga de Fútbol de Primera División (Liga FPD), and Liga Promerica for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional association football division in Costa Rica. It is administered by the Uni ...

: 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, abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; typeset for branding purposes since 2018 as Concacaf), is one of FIFA's six continental governing bodies for association football. Its 4 ...

Coach of the Year:

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

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 Footballers from Heredia Province Men's association football midfielders Costa Rican men's footballers Costa Rica men's international footballers 1990 FIFA World Cup players 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 1997 Copa América players Liga Deportiva Alajuelense footballers Deportivo Saprissa players Belén F.C. players Liga FPD players Costa Rican football managers Liga Deportiva Alajuelense managers Costa Rica national football team managers Copa América Centenario managers 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup managers 2018 FIFA World Cup managers CONCACAF Champions Cup–winning players