Costa Rica: Paulo Wanchope

Kevin Keegan’s World Cup dream was rudely interrupted by a split-second of German opportunism, but he will watch on admiringly as Paulo Wanchope makes the trek east with Costa Rica.

Now manager of Manchester City, following his brief and ill-fated tenure as England coach, Keegan has seen in fits and starts this season the brilliance of Wanchope as the Blues lifted the Division One championship.

Against Burnley in December the lanky frontman bagged a first-half hat-trick and Keegan later purred: ‘‘Paulo has what it takes to be a major star in the World Cup finals.’’

But therein lies the trouble with the Costa Rican, who can delight and dismay to equal measure.

He has what it takes, but performs to his full potential only rarely.

His arrival in England came in March 1997, just before Derby took on Manchester United at Old Trafford on the biggest stage in English club football.

He took the chance to impress with the most graceful of debut goals, hurdling a string of challenges before tucking the ball past Peter Schmeichel.

Jim Smith looked to have made his smartest acquisition at Derby, but inconsistency and injury meant his spell there failed to live up to early promise.

It has been a similar story since, with his year at West Ham bringing 12 league goals but too many misses as he suffered sometimes vitriolic abuse from the Upton Park crowd.

Former England captain Alan Shearer, like many, has been mesmerised by the beguiling frontman.

He once said, somewhat cryptically: ‘‘Wanchope is totally unpredictable, but you know what you’re going to get when you buy him.’’

City felt confident of his qualities when they came in with a £3.65million bid to take him to Maine Road two summers ago.

Their then-manager Joe Royle felt he needed Premiership experience to bolster his team’s first season back in the top-flight.

Wanchope notched a hat-trick against Sunderland on his home debut but finished the season with just six more league goals.

It all ended in tears for Royle, as he was sacked and City relegated, with a bust-up between player and coach seeing Wanchope transfer-listed in the spring.

Several clubs were alerted to Wanchope’s availability, including Spanish Primera Liga side Malaga and Argentinians Boca Juniors.

Despite this interest, he stayed on last summer following Royle’s departure and travels to the Far East as a player high on confidence.

A troublesome right knee injury dogged him in the autumn, but supreme showings at the Gold Cup for Costa Rica have restored his confidence.

Wanchope is a giant in footballing terms at 6ft 4in, but he had harboured hopes of making it in the NBA when at high school.

Basketball’s loss will prove football’s gain this summer, with Keegan backing the man with the telescopic legs to shine.

‘‘He’s a better player than I ever thought he was,’’ said Keegan.

‘‘You certainly would not put a question mark over his ability to cut it in the Premiership.

‘‘He is world-class.’’