Cristian Gamboa

Deportivo Saprissa

With Saprissa Bolaños won various national championships as well as a UNCAF Cup title and a CONCACAF Champions Cup title. Bolaños participated in the 2005 FIFA Club World Championship with his team, and was awarded by FIFA as the third best player of the tournament. Following this success he was invited to attend a ten-day trial with Liverpool, although he was not signed on a permanent basis. On 9 August 2006, he signed a one-year loan deal with Premier League side Charlton Athletic. However, he failed to obtain a work permit having not played enough games for his country, and the deal fell through.

OB

On 2 June 2007, Bolaños signed a three-year contract with the Danish side OB in the top-flight Danish Superliga championship. Struggling to make an impact on the strong Danish midfield, Bolaños was a target for other clubs.

Start

On 6 November 2008, Bolaños signed a contract with newly promoted Norwegian side Start starting 1 January 2009. In IK Start's first test against a Tippeligaen side, Bolaños received rave reviews from the media after outplaying Norwegian international Trond Erik Bertelsen of Viking, who a few days earlier had controlled Bastian Schweinsteiger during Norway's] win against Germany. Start coach Knut Tørum said after the game that he will be playing on the right wing during the 2009 season. In his first official match for Start, Bolaños scored two goals against Strømsgodset.

FC Copenhagen

On 30…

Bolaños played in the 2001 FIFA U-17 World Championship held in Trinidad and Tobago. He made his debut for the Costa Rica senior national team in a May 2005 friendly match against Norway and by November 2016 had collected a total of 71 caps, scoring 6 goals. He has represented his country in 25 FIFA World Cup qualification matches and played at both the 2006 FIFA World Cup and the 2014 FIFA World Cup as well as at the 2005, 2007 and 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cups. In May 2018 he was named in Costa Rica's 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. By entering as a substitute in the first matchday defeat against Serbia, Bolaños became the only Costa Rican to play at three different FIFA World Cups, and overtook Michael Umaña as the Costa Rican with most matches played at the competition.

Club

International

Scores and results list Costa Rica's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Bolaños goal.

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. He played from the 2006–2007 season for hometown club Municipal Liberia. He then moved abroad and joined Norwegian side Fredrikstad in summer 2010 and played there for two half seasons, before he joined Copenhagen in summer 2011. He made his debut in a 0–1 loss against Standard Liège 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. He made his debut on 3 September 2012 in a Tippeligaen match away at Stabæk, winning 2–0. 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. 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. He made his debut on 26 August 2014, coming on as a second-half substitute in a League cup tie against Oxford United. He made his League debut a few days later against Swansea City, after which further substitute appearances followed. Gamboa…

He participated in the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup for Costa Rica where they finished in fourth place. He has represented Costa Rica in other international games. 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 national team against 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. In May 2018, he was selected in Costa Rica's 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

Club

As of match played 10 May 2025

International

Scores and results list Costa Rica's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Gamboa goal.

Gamboa is married to Melissa Salazar and they have three children.

Saprissa

Primera División: 2003–04, 2005–06, 2006–07 Costa Rican short championship: 2003–04 Apertura, 2005–06 Apertura, 2005–06 Clausura, 2006–07 Apertura, 2006–07 Clausura, 2015–16 Apertura, 2017–18 Clausura, 2019–20 Clausura, 2020–21 Clausura FIFA Club World Cup third place: 2005 CONCACAF Champions League: 2005; runner-up: 2004 Copa Interclubes UNCAF: 2003; runner-up: 2007 Copenhagen

Danish Superliga: 2010–11, 2012–13 Danish Cup: 2011–12 Individual

FIFA Club World Cup Bronze Ball: 2005 CONCACAF Best XI: 2016