Michael Umaña


Míchael Umaña Corrales is a Costa Rican footballer who plays as a defender for Comunicaciones in the Liga Nacional.

Club career

Early career

Born in Santa Ana, Umaña played for Carmelita and Herediano in his native Costa Rica before coming to the United States in 2005 to play on loan in Major League Soccer with Los Angeles Galaxy.
Umaña was released by Galaxy after the 2005 season after an unsuccessful campaign, and returned to Costa Rica to play for Brujas. He moved back to Herediano in 2006, but asked the club to be transferlisted after a move to Israeli side MS Ironi Ashdod fell through.
He eventually transferred to Liberia Mia in 2007, where he spent the next three seasons.

Chivas USA

After winning the 2009 Torneo Verano of the Primera División de Costa Rica in with Liberia Mia, Umaña returned to the United States in 2010 to play for his former club's cross-town rivals, Chivas USA. Umaña scored his first goal with Chivas USA in a Superliga 2010 match against Puebla. Umaña spent the 2010 and 2011 seasons with Chivas USA.

Central America

In January 2012, after his release from Chivas, he signed with Guatemalan side Comunicaciones and a year later he returned to Costa Rica to play for Saprissa.

Persepolis

On 17 August 2014, Umaña joined Persepolis after passing medical tests, thus became the first ever Costa Rican footballer to play in Iran. He signed a two-year contract with the club and was given the number 4 shirt. He made his debut for the club on 25 August in a 1–1 draw against Padideh.

Club career statistics

[|1] Includes Open Cup and Hazfi Cup.
2 Includes North American SuperLiga, CLC and ACL.
3 Includes 5 matches in League Play-offs.

International career

Umaña played for the Costa Rican national team at various youth levels, and was part of their squad at the 2004 Summer Olympics.
He made his senior debut for Costa Rica in a June 2004 friendly match against Nicaragua and has, as of December 2014, earned a total of 87 caps, scoring 1 goal. He played at the 2005 UNCAF Nations Cup and the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup before becoming part of the senior squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign. He played in all three of Costa Rica's group matches at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, as the team was eliminated without winning a point.
In June 2014, Umaña was named in Costa Rica's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. In the team's team's first two group matches, he and his central defensive colleagues Giancarlo González and Óscar Duarte allowed only one goal as Los Ticos beat Uruguay and Italy to qualify for the knockout stage. During the round of 16, Umaña converted Costa Rica's decisive fifth kick in a 5–3 penalty shootout defeat of Greece. In the quarter-final against the Netherlands, Umaña was one of two Costa Ricans to have his kick saved by Tim Krul in a 4–3 penalty shootout loss.

International goals

DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.26 March 2013Estadio Nacional, San José, Costa Rica1–02–02014 FIFA World Cup qualification

Personal life

Umaña is the youngest of three brothers, his brother Erick played in the second division.

Honours

Club

Los Angeles Galaxy
Perspolis