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If Derby County fans knew little about Paolo Wanchope before his
Premiership debut they certainly knew all about him afterwards. The
Costa Rican marked his debut against Manchester United with a goal of
the most stunning quality to help Derby to a shock 3-2 win. Picking the
ball up around the half-way line the gangly striker danced his way
through the United defence before slipping the ball past Peter
Schmeichel - what a way to announce yourself! All this in front of 55,243 at Old Trafford - which was rather more than Wanchope was used to
playing in front of back home in Costa Rica.
His first full season with
the club saw him contribute 13 goals in 32 League outings to finish as
the Rams leading scorer. At times Paolo was virtually untouchable and
produced some quite magical performances which had respected pundits
such as Alan Hansen waxing lyrical. On his off days, however, Wanchope
could look like he had never played the game and if ever the phrase
'sublime to the ridiculous' could be applied to a player it is Paolo
Wanchope!
The 1998/99 season was much the same with Paolo enjoying his
great days and his off days during a good year for the Rams which
resulted in an 8th place finish in the Premiership. Wanchope weighed in
with nine goals to top the scoring charts along with Deon Burton but in
the summer he opted to move on from the East Midlands outfit. West Ham
boss Harry Redknapp splashed out £3, 500, 000 to secure the signature of
the unpredictable front-runner but the move did not work out and the
player was on his way to Manchester City after just a year at Upton
Park. (David Scranage)
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