The short, winless era of Paulo “Busta-Chop” Wanchope as head of Costa Rica’s men’s football team has taken a strange and abrupt turn. On Tuesday night during an Under-23 pre-Olympics match between Costa Rica and Panama, Wanchope was involved in an ugly scuffle that could very well cost him his job.
According to Panamanian media, a stadium security guard told Wanchope that he could not enter the field towards the end of Costa Rica’s 0-0 tie with Panama, prompting Wanchope to become visibly upset. What followed is shown in the video above, as Wanchope is pushed into a child protecting the field. He then turns around and slaps a short, bald security guy.
Who fights back:
“@MiDiarioPanama: [Noticia del momento] La pelea que protagonizó Wanchope en Panamá. http://t.co/rvmb1cBXG9 pic.twitter.com/MnfD6jPls2”
— DD (@DIARIODEP0RTIVO) August 12, 2015
The security guard takes on the much taller Wanchope with an impressive flying kick. He then forces the head coach of Costa Rica’s “La Sele” to take a seat while the scuffle continues. Both men were then held back by more security guards and fans.
Wanchope, who is 0-4-5 as the head coach of Costa Rica’s men’s national team, should have known better than to lose his temper – after all, Costa Rica is known as a peaceful nation. Plus, Mexico’s now former head coach, Miguel Herrera, was sacked late last month for a fight with a reporter in a U.S. airport.
Also not helping is the fact that Wanchope has yet to establish the same credibility as a coach that he had as a player for La Sele. The 39-year-old coach took over for former manager Jorge Luis Pinto in February and has been unable to live up to expectations set by a historic World Cup run in Brazil last year.
See also: Costa Rica’s top 10 goals of all time
