Óscar Javier de Paula Gamero (born 31 May 1975) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a striker, currently a manager.

Most of his 18-year senior career was associated with Real Sociedad, for which he appeared in 11 La Liga seasons, playing 300 competitive matches and scoring 60 goals.El adiós de Óscar De Paula (Óscar De Paula's farewell); Noticias de Gipuzkoa, 1 June 2011 (in Spanish)

Club career Born in Durango, Basque Country, de Paula began his football career with lowly clubs in the Province of Badajoz as his family hailed from Olivenza (Extremadura). He signed for CD Badajoz while still a junior, and made his professional debut midway through the 1992–93 campaign in the Segunda División.Adiós de un grande a los 36 años (Farewell to a great at the age of 36); Hoy, 1 June 2011 (in Spanish)

At the beginning of 1995–96, de Paula moved back to his native region to play for La Liga side Real Sociedad. His first game came on 10 September 1995, featuring three minutes in the 2–0 home win against Sporting de Gijón.Karpin marca diferencias y da el triunfo a la Real (Karpin makes the difference and gives win to Real); Mundo Deportivo, 11 September 1995 (in Spanish) He went on to spend 11 seasons at the former, all of them in the top flight.

De Paula's time as a player for Real Sociedad was very successful, but he was never a regular starter, more often than not scoring after coming in as a substitute and with a good goal scored/minutes played ratio.La cifra goleadora más sorprendente de Leo Messi (Leo Messi's most surprising scoring statistic); Sport, 16 October 2016 (in Spanish) Through 1999 to 2001, he netted nine goals in each season;Qué fue de... Óscar de Paula: el suplente que solía 'mojar' (What happened to... Óscar de Paula: the reserve who usually 'bagged them'); 20 minutos, 18 January 2017 (in Spanish) still, he made only 11 appearances in 2002–03 as they finished runners-upMemoria de La Liga de Fútbol Profesional Temporada 2002/2003 (Memory of the Professional Football League 2002/2003 season); at La Liga (in Spanish) and, in his last year, managed just six matches (280 minutes) with three goals.Memoria de La Liga de Fútbol Profesional Temporada 2005/2006 (Memory of the Professional Football League 2005/2006 season); La Liga, 17 December 2019 (in Spanish)

In June 2006, de Paula's contract expiredDe Paula signs out at Real Sociedad; UEFA, 9 June 2006 and he left and moved south to Cádiz CF in the second division.De Paula: "El Cádiz tiene un proyecto muy serio" (De Paula: "Cádiz have a very serious project"); Diario AS, 28 June 2006 (in Spanish) He descended yet another tier to Segunda División B at the end of the 2007–08 campaign after joining SD Ponferradina, totalling 32 league goals over his first two seasons (16 apiece).Los goles de De Paula son sinónimo de victoria (De Paula's goals equal wins); Marca, 17 November 2010 (in Spanish)

De Paula scored 11 times in 25 games in 2009–10 as the Castile and León team returned to division two after a three-year absence. However, Ponfe would be immediately relegated and, aged 36, he announced his professional retirement due to a recurrent knee injury, having appeared in 356 league matches across both major levels and scored 71 goals.Óscar de Paula se retira del fútbol tras 21 temporadas como professional (Óscar de Paula retires from football after 21 seasons as a professional); El Diario Vasco, 31 May 2011 (in Spanish)

International career De Paula won eight caps for Spain at under-21 level in one year. His made his debut on 8 October 1996, when he started the 2–1 away victory over the Czech Republic for the 1998 UEFA European Championship qualifiers.Arnau, héroe en Praga (Arnau, hero in Prague); Mundo Deportivo, 9 October 1996 (in Spanish)

Coaching career In January 2012, de Paula returned to Badajoz, where he was hired as youth system coordinator.De Paula regresa al Badajoz como director del fútbol base (De Paula returns to Badajoz as youth system coordinator); El Periódico Extremadura, 20 January 2012 (in Spanish) In April 2013, he started working with the Extremaduran Football Federation as a regional coach in the sub'12 and sub'16 categories, also being head director of its football academy.Óscar de Paula, nuevo director de la escuela de entrenadores (Óscar de Paula, new manager school director); Extremaduran Football Federation, 19 December 2014 (in Spanish)Óscar De Paula, una vida dedicada al fútbol (II) (Óscar De Paula, a life dedicated to football (II)); Badajoz Deportes, 29 December 2015 (in Spanish)

On 11 June 2015, de Paula was appointed head coach of Badajoz ahead of the season in the Tercera División, declaring the side's intentions to promote.Óscar De Paula ilusiona al Badajoz (Óscar de Paula has Badajoz dreaming); Hoy, 11 June 2015 (in Spanish) They eventually reached the play-offs, but he had already been dismissed on 26 January 2016 after six matches without a win.El nuevo tropiezo del Badajoz le cuesta el puesto a Óscar de Paula (Badajoz's new setback costs Óscar de Paula his job); Cadena SER, 26 January 2016 (in Spanish)

De Paula became the new manager of CD Palencia Balompié in mid-August 2016, after signing a one-year contract.De Paula como entrenador, y cinco jugadores, primeros fichajes de la "era Serrano" (De Paula as a manager, and five players, first signings of the "age of Serrano"); Cadena SER, 16 August 2016 (in Spanish) He left the position in March 2017, following a poor string of results.Óscar de Paula ya es historia en el Palencia (Óscar de Paula is already history at Palencia); El Bierzo Digital, 16 March 2017 (in Spanish)

On 8 June 2019, after one season as coach of Extremadura UD's reserves,De Paula, ex de la Real, nuevo director deportivo del Badajoz (De Paula, formerly of Real, new Badajoz sporting director); Diario AS, 8 June 2019 (in Spanish) de Paula returned to Badajoz as director of football.Óscar De Paula, nuevo director de fútbol del CD Badajoz (Óscar De Paula, new CD Badajoz director of football); Badajoz Deportes, 8 June 2019 (in Spanish) He worked again as head coach in the following campaigns, with amateurs CP OlivaÓscar de Paula retoma los banquillos en el Oliva (Óscar de Paula returns to the benches at Oliva); Badajoz Deportes, 8 December 2021 (in Spanish) and Jerez CF.Óscar De Paula, nuevo entrenador del Jerez Club de Fútbol (Óscar De Paula, new manager of Jerez Club de Fútbol); El Diario Vasco, 21 June 2022 (in Spanish)

Honours Ponferradina Segunda División B: 2007–08Ponferradina, el orgullo de una región (Ponferradina, pride of a region); Marca, 25 May 2010 (in Spanish)

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