Hernán Medford

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Medford and the second or maternal family name is Bryan.
Hernán Medford
Personal information
Full name Hernán Evaristo Medford Bryan
Date of birth (1968-05-23) 23 May 1968 (age 56)
Place of birth San Jose, Costa Rica
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Forward / Winger
Team information
Current team
 C.S. Herediano (Manager)
Youth career
1980–1985 Barrio México
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1986 Sagrada Familia 21 (2)
1987–1990 Saprissa 101 (30)
1990 Dinamo Zagreb 14 (4)
1991 Rapid Wien 14 (5)
1991–1992 Rayo Vallecano 30 (6)
1992–1993 Foggia 12 (1)
1993–1994 Saprissa 47 (20)
1994–1997 Pachuca 126 (36)
1997–2000 León 92 (18)
2000–2002 Necaxa 22 (6)
2002–2003 Saprissa 29 (7)
Total 508 (135)
International career‡
1985 Costa Rica U17 11 (8)
1987–2002 Costa Rica 89 (18)
Managerial career
2003–2006 Saprissa
2006–2008 Costa Rica
2009 León
2010 Liberia Mía
2010–2011 Limón
2011–2013 Xelajú
2013–2014 Real España
2014 Honduras
2015 Real España
2015–2016 Xelajú
2016–2017 Herediano
2018 Municipal
2019 Herediano
2019 Real España
2019–2021 Cartaginés
2024– Sporting San José
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20 June 2006
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20 June 2006

Hernán Evaristo Medford Bryan (/ɜːrˈnɑːn/ er-NAHN, Spanish: [eɾˈnam ˈmeðfoɾ(ð)]; born May 23, 1968) is a Costa Rican former football player and current coach of Sporting F.C. 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.[1]

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: the winning goal of a group stage match against Sweden to qualify to the knockout stage, and the winning goal of the Aztecazo, Mexico's first defeat in a non-friendly match at the Estadio Azteca.[1]

Numerous media outlets regard Medford as the most successful coach in Central America,[2][3][4] as he also found massive success across the region, winning championships in Costa Rica, Honduras, and Guatemala.[5] He also coached Saprissa to win the 2005 CONCACAF Champions' Cup, thus qualifying to the 2005 FIFA Club World Championship, finishing on the third place.[6]

Club career

Nicknamed Pelicano, or Pelican, Medford made his league debut for Sagrada Familia on 28 September 1986 against Cartaginés and scored his first goal on 4 January 1987 against Limonense.[7] In Costa Rica's first division, he played for Deportivo Saprissa, where he won three national championships and the 1993 CONCACAF Champions Cup.[7] After three years at Saprissa he played in several different leagues worldwide, including Serie A of Italy (Foggia Calcio), the Yugoslav First League (Dinamo Zagreb), the Austrian Bundesliga (SK Rapid Wien), La Liga in Spain (Rayo Vallecano), and the Primera División de México (Pachuca, León and Necaxa).[8] Pachuca decided to retire Medford's number 17 after he scored his 100th goal in his career.[9]

International career

Medford was part of the 1985 FIFA U-16 World Championship held in China,[10] the first FIFA World Cup 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 Costa Rica in a February 1987 friendly match against South Korea and earned a total of 89 caps, scoring 18 goals.[11] He represented his country in 37 FIFA World Cup qualification matches and played in two World Cups, Italy 1990 and Japan-Korea 2002.[10] 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 against Mexico in the qualification for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. The match, known as the Aztecazo, 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[12] as well as at the 1991,[13] 2000,[14] and 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cups[15] and the 1997[16] and 2001 Copa Américas.[17] His final international was a June 2002 FIFA World Cup match against Turkey.

Managerial career

After retiring from professional football in 2003, he entered coaching.[18] He first coached Deportivo Saprissa with great success, where he has won several championships, including 2 national tournaments, the Uncaf Cup and the CONCACAF Champions Cup, giving Saprissa the right to compete in the second FIFA Club World Championship Toyota Cup 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, announced him as the new head coach for the Costa Rica national football team. 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 for the Clausura 2009 season.[19] His first game as head coach was against Tampico Madero, 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 Club León 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.[20] In 2010 Hernan Medford signed with Limón, 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.[21] He took charge of Guatemalan side Xelajú in September 2011.[22]

In May 2013, he was unveiled as the new manager of Honduran giants Real España.[23] 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,[24] leaving the post later in December due to the poor performance of the team during his tenure.[25]

Personal life

Medford is a son of Herman Medford Sterling and Gloria Bryan Givans and has two sisters. He has two daughters from his first marriage with Arlene Lewis. Currently he is married to model Ingrid Solís.[26]

Career statistics

Scores and results list Costa Rica's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Medford goal.
List of international goals scored by Hernán Medford[27]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 31 July 1988 Estadio Revolución, Panama City, Panama  Panama 2–0 2–0 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification
2 20 June 1990 Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa, Italy  Sweden 2–1 2–1 1990 FIFA World Cup
3 1 July 1991 Rose Bowl, Pasadena, United States  Trinidad and Tobago 1–0 1–2 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup
4 13 December 1992 Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2–0 5–0 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
5 17 November 1996 Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá, San José, Costa Rica  Guatemala 2–0 3–0 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
6 23 March 1997 Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá, San José, Costa Rica  United States 1–1 3–2 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
7 19 June 1997 Estadio Ramón Tahuichi Aguilera, San José, Bolivia  Mexico 1–1 1–1 1997 Copa América
8 9 November 1997 Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico  Mexico 1–2 3–3 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
9 29 December 1999 Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto, Alajuela, Costa Rica  Honduras 1–0 1–1 Friendly
10 17 February 2000 LA Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, United States  South Korea 2–2 2–2 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup
11 9 July 2000 Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá, San José, Costa Rica  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2–0 7–1 Friendly
12 3–0
13 4–1
14 23 July 2000 Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá, San José, Costa Rica  United States 2–1 2–1 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
15 3 September 2000 Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá, San José, Costa Rica  Barbados 3–0 3–0 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
16 16 June 2001 Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico  Mexico 2–1 2–1 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
17 11 January 2002 Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto, Alajuela, Costa Rica  Cameroon 2–1 2–1 Friendly
18 18 January 2002 Orange Bowl, Miami, United States  Martinique 1–0 2–0 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup

Honours

Source:[5]

Player

Pachuca

Rapid Wien

Rayo Vallecano

Saprissa

Costa Rica

Individual

Manager

Herediano[29]

Real España

Saprissa

Xelajú

Costa Rica[29]

References

  1. ^ a b Monge, Estefan (16 April 2020). "Hernán Medford: El multicampeón atraído por la administración de empresas y la actuación". ESPN.com.mx (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  2. ^ Araya, José Fernando (11 September 2012). "Medford es el que tiene más títulos". La Nación (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  3. ^ Méndez, Julio (28 March 2014). "Los técnicos más exitosos en Centroamérica". Diario Diez (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  4. ^ Zamora, Andrea (11 June 2020). "Para Claudio Ciccia, Cartaginés debe recuperar su puesto como la cuarta fuerza deportiva | Sinart". SINART (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  5. ^ a b Calvo, Rodrigo (15 May 2016). "El éxito es fiel socio del 'Pelícano' Medford | Buzón de Rodrigo" (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  6. ^ Malagón, Édgar (16 February 2022). "'Hasta aquí llegaron'; así ganó Saprissa título a Pumas en 2005". Medio Tiempo (in Mexican Spanish). Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  7. ^ a b Las vivencias de Hernán Medford en su trajinar por el futbol mundial - Nación (in Spanish)
  8. ^ Medford al Necaxa - Nación (in Spanish)
  9. ^ Se fue la 17 Hernán Medford se despidió del Pachuca con un gol - Nación (in Spanish)
  10. ^ a b Hernán Medford – FIFA competition record (archived)
  11. ^ Passo Alpuin, Luis Fernando (12 August 2009). "Costa Rica - Record International Players". RSSSF. Retrieved 18 August 2009.
  12. ^ UNCAF Tournament 1995 Archived 2011-05-14 at the Wayback Machine - RSSSF
  13. ^ CONCACAF Championship, Gold Cup 1991 - Full Details Archived 2013-10-16 at the Wayback Machine - RSSSF
  14. ^ CONCACAF Championship, Gold Cup 2000 - Full Details - RSSSF
  15. ^ CONCACAF Championship, Gold Cup 2002 - Full Details Archived 2009-10-03 at the Wayback Machine - RSSSF
  16. ^ Copa América 1997 - RSSSF
  17. ^ Copa América 2001 Archived 2013-10-19 at the Wayback Machine - RSSSF
  18. ^ Medford y Ramírez Reencuentro de amigos - Nación (in Spanish)
  19. ^ El Pelícano asumió ayer Medford se llevará cuatro ticos al León - Nación (in Spanish)
  20. ^ Hernán Medford es el nuevo técnico de Liberia Mía -
  21. ^ Hernán Medford dejó hoy la gerencia de Limón F.C. - Nación (in Spanish)
  22. ^ Hernán Medford es el nuevo técnico del Xelajú de Guatemala - Nación (in Spanish)
  23. ^ Hernán Medford, nuevo entrenador del Real España Archived 2013-06-08 at the Wayback Machine - La Prensa (in Spanish)
  24. ^ Hernán Medford es el nuevo técnico de la Selección de Honduras - Nación (in Spanish)
  25. ^ Roca, Gustavo (2 December 2014). "Hernán Medford queda fuera de la selección de Honduras!". Diez. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  26. ^ "¡Al fin! Ingrid Solís y Hernán Medford se casaron este fin de semana". AMPrensa.com (in Spanish). 2 October 2021.
  27. ^ Hernán Evaristo Medford - International Appearances
  28. ^ "Fussball in Österreich Spiel: Rapid Wien SV Stockerau". www.austriasoccer.at. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  29. ^ a b c "Hernán Medford - Estad. y palmarés". www.footballdatabase.eu. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  30. ^ "Balboa, Ramos named to CONCACAF "Team of the Century"" Archived 5 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Soccer America, 14 May 1998.