Cristian Gamboa

Cristian Esteban Gamboa Luna (born 24 October 1989), commonly known as Cristian Gamboa, is a Costa Rican footballer who plays for VfL Bochum. He is a pacy right back with both attacking and defensive capabilities.

Cristian Gamboa
Gamboa with Costa Rica at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
Personal information
Full name Cristian Esteban Gamboa Luna
Date of birth (1989-10-24) 24 October 1989
Place of birth Liberia, Costa Rica
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Playing position(s) Right Back
Club information
Current team
 VfL Bochum
Number 2
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2010 Municipal Liberia 68 (0)
2010–2011 Fredrikstad 27 (1)
2011–2012 Copenhagen 0 (0)
2012 → Rosenborg (loan) 10 (0)
2013–2014 Rosenborg 30 (0)
2014–2016 West Bromwich Albion 11 (0)
2016–2019 Celtic 20 (0)
2019– VfL Bochum 26 (1)
National team‡
2010– Costa Rica 78 (3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 9 August 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 29 June 2019
This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Gamboa and the second or maternal family name is Luna.

Gamboa is an international player for Costa Rica and played in the team at the 2014 FIFA World Cup that reached the quarter-finals.

Club career

Gamboa was born in Liberia, Costa Rica. At age 15, he was deemed not good enough to play for Costa Rican clubs Saprissa and Alajuelense.[2] He played from the 2006–2007 season for hometown club Municipal Liberia. He then moved abroad and joined Norwegian side Fredrikstad in summer 2010[3] and played there for two half seasons, before he joined Copenhagen in summer 2011.[4] He made his debut in a 0–1 loss against Standard Liege in the UEFA Europa League.

Gamboa joined Rosenborg on a three-month-loan deal in August 2012 with the Norwegian club having an option to buy.[5] He made his debut on 3 September 2012 in a Tippeligaen match away at Stabæk, winning 2–0.[6] By November he had impressed sufficiently in the ten games he played in for Rosenborg for them to offer him a permanent deal, and he signed five-year contract with the club.[7][8]

In late July 2014, English Premier League club West Bromwich Albion agreed to sign Gamboa for a fee estimated in the media as around £2 million. Because the player had insufficient recent international appearances for a work permit to be granted automatically, completion of the deal was dependent on a successful appeal to the Football Association, which was confirmed on 5 August. The player signed a three-year contract.[9][10][11]

He made his debut on 26 August 2014, coming on as a second-half substitute in a League cup tie against Oxford United.[12] He made his League debut a few days later against Swansea City, after which further substitute appearances followed.[12] Gamboa finally made a starting appearance on 4 October in a 2–1 loss away at Liverpool in the league. Despite the defeat, he was reported as having turned in an impressive performance.[13][14][15][16] It was however to be Gamboa's only league start that season,[12] and he fell further out of favour when manager Alan Irvine was sacked in December[17] and replaced by Tony Pulis.[18] From January 2015 onwards to the end of the season, Gamboa only played one minute of first team football, coming on as an injury-time substitute in a fifth round FA Cup tie against West Ham in February 2015.[12][18]

Gamboa continued to struggle to hold down a first team place in his second season in England, playing only two games early on in the season. He then went five months without a first team appearance, before making a return to the side in February 2016 in an FA Cup fourth round replay tie against Peterborough United.[19]

On 30 August 2016, Gamboa signed for Scottish Premiership club Celtic on a three-year deal.[20]

On 27 August 2019, Gamboa joined VfL Bochum on a two-year deal.[21]

International career

He participated in the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup for Costa Rica[22] where they finished in fourth place. He has represented Costa Rica in other international games.[23][24][25]

He made his debut for the Costa Rica national football team in January 2010, in a friendly match against Argentina. Gamboa scored his first goal in a 7–0 home win against Guyana in a 2014 World Cup qualifier. He was selected for the Costa Rica squad that took part at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and played in all five games, reaching the quarter final where they were eventually knocked out on penalty kicks by the Netherlands.[26]

In May 2018 he was named in Costa Rica's 23 man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.[27]

Career statistics

Club
As of 9 August 2020[12]
Club Season League Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Municipal Liberia 2006-07 Primera División 16000------160
2007-08 26000------260
2008-09 13000------130
2009-10 13000------130
Total 68000000000680
Fredrikstad 2010 Adeccoligaen 11100––--30141
2011 Tippeligaen 16010––----170
Total 27110000030311
Copenhagen 2011–12 Superliga 0010--00--10
2012–13 000000000000
Total 001000000010
Rosenborg 2012 Tippeligaen 10000--60--160
2013 28020--40--340
2014 2000--00--20
Total 400200010000520
West Bromwich Albion 2014–15 Premier League 1001030----140
2015–16 101010----30
Total 11020400000170
Celtic 2016–17 Scottish Premiership 170101020--210
2017–18 20000010--30
2018–19 10001050--70
Total 20010208000310
Bochum 2019–20 2. Bundesliga 261000000--261
Total 26100000002610
Career Total 19227060180302262

International
As of 29 June 2019[28]
Costa Rica
YearAppsGoals
201040
201140
201231
2013120
2014100
2015121
201671
2017110
2018110
201940
Total783

International goals
Scores and results list Costa Rica's goal tally first.
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competitions
1 16 October 2012 Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica, San José  Guyana
2–0
7–0
 2014 World Cup qualifier
2 13 November 2015  Haiti
1–0
1–0
 2018 World Cup qualifier
3 28 May 2016  Venezuela
2–1
2–1
 Friendly

Personal life

Gamboa is married to Melissa Salazar and they have two children, Felipe and Julián.[29]

Honours

Club
Municipal Liberia
  • Costa Rican short championship winner: 2009 Clausura[28]
Copenhagen
Celtic

International
Costa Rica

Individual
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References
  1. "2018 FIFA World Cup: List of players" (PDF). FIFA. 24 June 2018. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 June 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
  2. Cristian Gamboa fue descartado por la Liga y Saprissa Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine - Al Día (in Spanish)
  3. Cristian Gamboa se va a préstamo al Fredrikstad Archived 20 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine - Nación (in Spanish)
  4. Cristian Gamboa jugará en el FC Copenhague danés - Nación (in Spanish)
  5. Sagbakken, Ole Kristian (23 August 2012). "Gamboa klar for Rosenborg". Aften Posten (in Norwegian). Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  6. "Christian Gamboa". Altom Fotball. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  7. Vikan, Tore (3 November 2012). "Gamboa blir i fem år". Trønderavisa (in Norwegian). Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  8. Stenseth, Jørgen (8 November 2012). "Gamboa med 5-årskontrakt". RBK. Archived from the original on 15 September 2016. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  9. "West Brom face snag on Cristian Gamboa". Express & Star. 30 July 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  10. "West Brom: Jason Davidson and Cristian Gamboa join Baggies". BBC Sport. 5 August 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  11. "Premier League Player Profile Cristian Gamboa". Premier League. Barclays Premier League. 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  12. "C. Gamboa". Soccerway. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  13. "Liverpool v West Bromwich Albion, Premier League: as it happened". The Telegraph. 4 October 2014. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  14. Dick, Brian (4 October 2014). "Liverpool 2 West Bromwich Albion 1 - Brian Dick's on-the-whistle report with stats and pictures". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  15. "Cristian Gamboa warning for Andre Wisdom". Express & Star. 7 October 2014. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  16. Dick Brian (7 October 2014). "West Bromwich Albion defender reveals his dream to play against Manchester United". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  17. "Alan Irvine: West Brom sack manager after Stoke defeat". BBC Sport. 30 December 2014. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  18. Jones, Dean (14 March 2015). "West Brom's Cristian Gamboa reckons he is TOO SHORT to be picked by new boss Tony Pulis". The Mirror. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  19. Suart, Paul (18 February 2016). "West Brom: Tony Pulis cheers me up, says Cristian Gamboa". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  20. McClymont, Scott (30 August 2016). "Celtic complete deal for Costa Rica international Cristian Gamboa". STV Sport. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  21. "VfL verpflichtet Cristian Gamboa" (in German). VfL Bochum. 27 August 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  22. "FIFA U-20 World Cup Egypt 2009 List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  23. "Slovakia beats Costa Rica 3–0 in World Cup warmup". Kitsap Sun. Archived from the original on 8 March 2012. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  24. "Valbuena nets winner as France beat Costa Rica". Gulf News. Archived from the original on 22 September 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  25. "France v Costa Rica – 26th May 2010". Sky Sports. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  26. "2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™". FIFA.com.
  27. https://www.goal.com/en/amp/news/costa-rica-names-23-man-world-cup-squad-featuring-keylor/1bw2iz8pkma5614bzushqyyo7g
  28. "Cristian Gamboa". National Football Teams. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
  29. Esperan a Felipe Archived 5 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine - Al Día (in Spanish)
  30. "Horsens vs. København - 17 May 2012". Uk.soccerway.com. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
  31. English, Tom (27 November 2016). "Aberdeen 0–3 Celtic". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  32. "Copa Centroamericana 2011 (UNCAF Nations Cup)". RSSSF. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  33. "2017 CONCACAF Award Winners Announced". CONCACAF. 19 December 2017. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
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