Rónald Gómez Gómez (born 24 January 1975) is a

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 ...

n former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

forward and manager. He is the current manager for Liga Nacional club Achuapa. An important player on 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 ...

during the 1990s and 2000s, Gómez is regarded as one of Costa Rica's best forwards, known for his rocket shots and top dribbling. Gómez is, along with Paulo Wanchope, the top scorer for Costa Rica in the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

with three goals.

Club career

Early years

Born in

Puntarenas Puntarenas () is a city in the Puntarenas Province, on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. As the seat of the Municipality of Puntarenas canton, it is awarded the title of city, which comprises the Puntarenas, Chacarita and El Roble districts. A ...

as the 12th child of Francisca Gómez, he was raised in the village Pilas de Canjel in

Guanacaste Province Guanacaste () is a Provinces of Costa Rica, province of Costa Rica located in the northwestern region of the country, along the coast of the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Alajuela Province to the east, and Puntarenas Pro ...

. Nicknamed ''La Bala'' (The Bullit), Gómez started his career at Carmelita and scored his first league goal on 20 September 1992 against

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 ...

.Rónald Gómez debuta como técnico carmelo
– Nación He then scored 45 goals for

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 ...

before moving abroad.

Years abroad

He has played in 6 different countries: in Spain with

Sporting Gijón Sporting may refer to: *Sport, recreational games and play *Sporting (neighborhood), in Alexandria, Egypt Sports clubs *Alexandria Sporting Club, a sports club from Alexandria, Egypt *BFA Sporting, a football club from Beirut, Lebanon *Real Sporti ...

and

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

Alicante Alicante (, , ; ; ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean port. The population ...

, in

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

with

Municipal A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the gov ...

, in

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

with OFI, in

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

with Al Qadsia, in Mexico with

Irapuato Irapuato is a Mexican city and municipalities of Mexico, municipality located at the foot of the Arandas Hill (in Spanish Language, Spanish: ''Cerro de Arandas''), in the central region of the Mexican state, state of Guanajuato. It lies between the ...

and in

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

with APOEL where he won the

Cypriot First Division The Cypriot First Division (), also known as the Cyprus League by Stoiximan for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Cyprus and the highest level of the Cypriot football league system. Operated by the Cyprus Fo ...

OFI

In the summer of 1999,

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

OFI made the decision to sign Ronald Gómez from Guatemalan club

, marking the Costa Rican striker's return to Europe after spells with

Sporting de Gijón Real Sporting de Gijón, S.A.D. (), commonly known as Real Sporting, Sporting Gijón, or simply Sporting is a Spanish professional association football, football club from Gijón, Principality of Asturias. Founded on 1 July 1905, it plays in the ...

and

Hércules CF Hércules de Alicante Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. () is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team in Alicante, in the Valencian Community. Founded on 25 October 1922, it currently plays in Primera Federación and plays its home games ...

. Despite some hesitation from the

Cretan Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

club due to the risks involved, the transfer was completed within a matter of hours, and Gómez quickly established himself as one of the most significant players to have graced Greek football during that era. Known as a classic " number 9" of the 1990s, Gómez became a cult figure in

due to his exceptional goal-scoring ability. He made a lasting impact on OFI, scoring 48 goals in 105 appearances. His performance helped lead the team to the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

in the 2000–01 season, thanks to an impressive tally of 19 goals that season. One of his most memorable moments came with a stunning goal against

Proodeftiki Proodeftiki Football Club, also known as Proodeftiki Piraeus, simply as Proodeftiki, or with its full name as A.O. Proodeftiki Neolea (, transliterated "Athlitikós Όmilos Proodeftiki Neolea", ''Athletic Club Progressive Youth''), is a Greek fo ...

, considered one of the finest in Greek football history. Gómez’s tenure at OFIcemented his legacy, and he remains a beloved figure among the club’s supporters.

Saprissa

With Saprissa, he has won 4

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

; and 1

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 ...

, and was part of the team that played the 2005 FIFA Club World Championship Toyota Cup where

finished third behind

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

and

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. He scored the winning goal in the final minutes of the game that

won in order to achieve the third place of the tournament against

Al-Ittihad Al-Ittihad may refer to: Sports Football Men Teams * Al-Ittihad Club (Jeddah), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia * Al Ittihad SCSC (Tripoli), Tripoli, Libya * Al Ittihad Gheryan, Gharyan, Libya * Al Ittihad Misurata SC, Misurata, Libya * Al Ittihad SC ...

. His goal was considered among the best of the cup.

Return from retirement

In June 2009, Gómez came out of playing retirement for a final season at Santos after he was relegated to the second division as manager of Carmelita. After the season, he became manager of Santos.

International career

Gómez made his debut for

in a February 1993

UNCAF Nations Cup The Copa Centroamericana () was an association football competition organized by UNCAF as its top regional tournament for men's senior national teams from Central America. The tournament was held from 1991 to 2017, every two years in the years be ...

qualification match against

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

and earned a total of 93 caps, scoring 26 goals. He represented his country in 27

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 figured at the

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

and

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

World Cups. He also played at the

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

and

2001 UNCAF Nations Cup The 2001 UNCAF Nations Cup was played in Honduras. Participating teams Squads Venues First round Group 1 ---- ---- Group 2 ---- ---- Final round ---- ---- Champions *''Guatemala national football team, Guatemala ...

s as well as at the

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

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 forma ...

and the

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, 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 in P ...

. His final international was a March 2008

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

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

International goals

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

Managerial career

He made his debut as manager of Carmelita in January 2009. In October 2010 he was dismissed by Santos de Guápiles and he later managed second division sides Deportivo Cartagena and Juventud Escazuceña. In September 2013, he took charge of Guatemalan side Halcones and in May 2014 he returned to Costa Rica to take charge at

Limón Limón (), also known as Puerto Limón, is the capital city of both the province and canton of the same name. One of Costa Rica's seven "middle cities" (i.e., main cities outside of San José's Greater Metropolitan Area), Limón has a populat ...

. In August 2023, Ronald Gómez, a former OFI player, returned to

as the head coach of Apollon Smyrnis, a team that was preparing for the upcoming season in the Greek Football League (Gamma Ethniki). His appointment marked the return of a familiar face to Greek football, having been one of the top strikers for OFI during his playing career between 1999 and 2003. Prior to joining Apollon Smyrnis, Gómez had managed Santa Lucia F.C. in Guatemala. However, his tenure with Apollon Smyrnis ended on 28 February 2024. After his departure from Apollon Smyrnis, Gómez took on the role of head coach at Deportivo Achuapa in Guatemala, where he began a new challenge, aiming to lead the team to the final phase of the Torneo Clausura 2024.

Personal life

He is married to Gina Soto and they have two sons, Esteban and Daniel.Ronald Gómez con su primer trofeo europeo La Bala no sigue en Chipre
– Nación

Honours

* Primera División de Costa Rica (3): **1995-96, 2005–06, 2007–08 * Copa Interclubes UNCAF (1): **1996 *

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 ...

(1): **

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

(1): ** 2006–07

References

External links

*
2006 World Cup profile
– Nación {{DEFAULTSORT:Gomez, Ronald 1975 births Living people Sportspeople from Puntarenas Footballers from Puntarenas Province Men's association football forwards Costa Rican men's footballers Costa Rican expatriate sportspeople in Spain Costa Rica men's international footballers 2002 FIFA World Cup players 2006 FIFA World Cup players 1997 Copa América players 2001 Copa América players 2004 Copa América players 1993 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup players A.D. Carmelita footballers Liga Deportiva Alajuelense footballers Sporting de Gijón players Hércules CF players C.S.D. Municipal players OFI Crete F.C. players C.D. Irapuato footballers Qadsia SC players Deportivo Saprissa players APOEL FC players Santos de Guápiles F.C. footballers Liga FPD players Super League Greece players La Liga players Cypriot First Division players Costa Rican expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Guatemala Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in Kuwait Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus Costa Rican football managers Expatriate football managers in Guatemala Costa Rican expatriate sportspeople in Kuwait Costa Rican expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Costa Rican expatriate sportspeople in Guatemala Costa Rican expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Costa Rican expatriate sportspeople in Greece Kuwait Premier League players Apollon Smyrnis F.C. managers CONCACAF Champions Cup–winning players