| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Wálter Centeno Corea | ||
| Date of birth | October 6, 1974 | ||
| Place of birth | Palmar Sur, Costa Rica | ||
| Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 8 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Saprissa | ||
| Number | 8 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Deportivo Saprissa | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1994–1996 | → Belen (loan) | ? | (?) |
| 1996–2002 | Saprissa | 57 | (19) |
| 2002–2003 | AEK Athens | 18 | (4) |
| 2003– | Saprissa | 173 | (29) |
| National team | |||
| 1995–2010 | Costa Rica | 137 | (24) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Wálter Centeno Corea, (born 6 October 1974 in Palmar Sur) is a Costa Rican midfielder, who currently plays for C.D. Saprissa. He is one of Costa Rica's best players in the past decade. He has sublime vision and passing skills. He also has good dribbling abilities, great technique and a top eye for goal. He dictates play for the National Team. He holds the record for appearances with the Costa Rican national team, having gained 137 caps ( 135 FIFA official caps) and scored 24 goals along the way.
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Before played Saprissa, Centeno played for Belén, also Costa Rican to loan of Saprissa, and AEK Athens FC of Greece. He was named the best player of the 2003-04 Costa Rican season by the Costa Rican sports media, after scoring 9 goals while orchestrating Saprissa's offense, helping the team to win the league.
With Saprissa, he has won 10 national championships and 1 CONCACAF Champions Cup, won the title with a 3-2 aggregate win over Mexico's UNAM Pumas in the final, and was part of the team that played the 2005 FIFA Club World Championship Toyota Cup, where Saprissa finished third behind São Paulo Futebol Clube and Liverpool F.C.. His appearance at this tournament was considered as outstanding by FIFA experts.
While playing for AEK Athens FC of Greece, he participated in the UEFA Champions League Group Stage managing to score in the team's away home draws against Real Madrid at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu (2-2) and AS Roma at Stadio Olimpico (1-1).
Centeno played his first game for the Costa Rican national team on September 27, 1995 against Jamaica. He has been a fixture for the team for the last thirteen years, playing in the Pan American Games held in Mar del Plata, Argentina, in 1995; the Copa America tournaments of 1997, 2001 and 2004; plus the FIFA World Cup in 2002 and 2006.[1] On April 1, 2009, he surpassed the record of caps for Costa Rica (held then by Luis Marín, 124 caps, 5 goals) as at November 18, 2009 he has 137 caps and 24 goals.[2] He was the captain of Costa Rica national football team for the last part of 2010 Fifa World Cup qualifications. Rodrigo Kenton, the appointed manager replacing the fired Hernan Medford, chose him for covering this important role in the team because of his experience, hardening and leadership. Centeno played his last game on the national team on November 18, 2009, where they tied 1-1 to Uruguay. The game meant that Costa Rica will not be in World Cup 2010.
Shortly after that game, he announced his quitting from national team.
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