Born in Heredia, i began my career with CS Herediano, until i went to England to play with Derby County along with fellow Costa Rican Mauricio Solís on 27 March 1997. I cost Derby £600,000.

i was marked for my debut with Derby in an impressive fashion, scoring a memorable goal against Manchester United at Old Trafford, beating four United players before slotting past Peter Schmeichel during a 3–2 win – the goal was later voted the greatest in the club's history by the Derby fans as part of the club's 125th Anniversary Celebrations.

I proved a treat for English football fans, as I showed my capabilities of being both sublime and ridiculous in equal measure. I scored 13 league goals in 1997–98 as Derby finished ninth – their highest finish since 1989 – and helped them go one better in 1998–99 when my nine goals that season helped the Rams finish eighth.

After scoring 28 goals in 83 games within 2 seasons for Derby, I was sold to West Ham United for £3.5 million on 28 July 1999.