Fire forward Wanchope retires

Chicago Fire forward Paulo Wanchope announced his retirement Friday in a press conference held in San Rafael de Heredia, Costa Rica.

Wanchope, 31, ended a 13-year professional career that included appearances in Costa Rica, England, Qatar, Spain, Japan, and the United States.

After signing with the Fire in July of 2007, Wanchope appeared in 12 games, starting in 11 and scoring 2 goals.

"It was difficult, but this decision had to be made," said Wanchope. "The truth is that in these past six months, I had to put a big effort into recovery after matches and training."

"It's a shame that Paulo has to retire at such a young age for a professional footballer. Because of physical problems, I can only agree with him that it was the best thing he could do," said Fire head coach Juan Carlos Osorio.

Wanchope began his career with Club Sport Herediano (1994-97), before moving on to England to play with Derby County (1997-1999), West Ham United (1999-00), and Manchester City (2000-04), where he played under Osorio. Wanchope has since seen stints with Malaga CF (2004-05), Al-Gharrafa Sports Club (2005), CS Herediano (2006), Rosario Central (2006), and most recently FC Tokyo (2007). The Costa Rican international is his country's second all-time leading goal scorer and has played in the 2000 and 2002 Gold Cups, as well as the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups.