Liga Deportiva Alajuelense: Difference between revisions
Shoplifter (talk | contribs) mNo edit summary |
Shoplifter (talk | contribs) rearrange the first paragraph and the information of the championships with a neutral point of view and more precise. |
||
| Line 52: | Line 52: | ||
}} |
}} |
||
'''Liga Deportiva Alajuelense''' |
'''Liga Deportiva Alajuelense''', often known as '''La Liga''', is a professional [[football club]], based in [[Alajuela]], [[Costa Rica]]. |
||
Founded on June 18, 1919 by a group of seven members of the former team ''Once de Abril'', and currently playing at the [[Primera Division de Costa Rica]], their headquarters are located at the [[Alejandro Morera Soto]] Stadium in ''El Llano'' neighboorhood of Alajuela<ref>{{Coord|10|1|18|N|84|12|32|W|type:landmark_region:CR-A|name=Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto}}</ref>. Alajuelense is a founder member and one of most successful teams of the Costa Rican football history, having won 27 times the ''Primera División'' title, being the only Costa Rican club with least one title gained in each decade. They are one of the two teams alongside [[CS Herediano]] that has played in every season and never have been relegated. |
|||
Alajuelense was the first Costa Rican team to win a [[CONCACAF]] Champions' Cup in 1986, which led them to become the first Costa Rican team to play the [[Copa Interamericana|Interamerican Cup]] against [[CA River Plate]]. The club is known by their fans as "La Liga" and had the privilege to be the only Central American club to participate in [[South American]] competitions such as [[Copa Merconorte]] in 2000 <ref>[http://www.senorgol.nu/tournaments/merconorte2000.htm Copa Merconorte 2000]</ref> and the [[Copa Sudamericana]] in 2006. |
|||
In [[international club football]] Alajuelense has imposed important marks, they have won 3 [[Copa Interclubes UNCAF|UNCAF Club Championships]] and 2 [[CONCACAF Champions' Cup]]<ref>http://www.lda.cr/titulos_internacionales.php</ref>, which led them to become the first Costa Rican team to play the [[Copa Interamericana|Interamerican Cup]]. Alajuelense is the only [[Central American]] football team who took part in [[CONMEBOL]] competitions such as [[Copa Merconorte]] in 2000<ref>http://www.rsssf.com/sacups/merconorte00.html</ref> and the [[Copa Sudamericana]] in 2006<ref>http://www.rsssf.com/sacups/sudamcup06.html</ref>. |
|||
They are the only club in Costa Rica football history with at least one Championship gained in each decade. It also shares along with [[CS Herediano]] being the only team that has never descended nor played in the Second nor Third division. |
|||
Alajuelense is the Central American team that has reached the highest position in the [[IFFHS]] Club's World Ranking, back in 2000 they reached the 27th spot.<ref>http://wvw.nacion.com/ln_ee/2000/diciembre/02/deportes2.html</ref>. |
|||
==History== |
==History== |
||
| Line 255: | Line 255: | ||
==Honors== |
==Honors== |
||
===National=== |
===National competitions=== |
||
*'''[[Primera División de Costa Rica| |
* '''[[Primera División de Costa Rica|Primera División]]'''<ref>http://www.unafut.com/site/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=38%3Aprimera-division&catid=3&Itemid=35</ref> |
||
::1928, 1939, 1941, 1945, 1949, 1950, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1966, 1970, 1971, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03, [[Primera División de Costa Rica 2004/05|2004–05]], Invierno 2010, Verano 2011, Invierno 2011 |
|||
: ''Winners (27):'' [[1928 Primera División Costa Rica|1928]], [[1939 Primera División Costa Rica|1939]], [[1941 Primera División Costa Rica|1941]], [[1945 Primera División Costa Rica|1945]], [[1949 Primera División Costa Rica|1949]], [[1950 Primera División Costa Rica|1950]], [[1958 Primera División Costa Rica|1958]], [[1959 Primera División Costa Rica|1959]], [[1960 Primera División Costa Rica|1960]], [[1966 Primera División Costa Rica|1966]], [[1970 Primera División Costa Rica|1970]], [[1971 Primera División Costa Rica|1971]], [[1980 Primera División Costa Rica|1980]], [[1983 Primera División Costa Rica|1983]], [[1984 Primera División Costa Rica|1984]], [[1991 Primera División Costa Rica|1991]], [[1992 Primera División Costa Rica|1992]], [[1995–96 Primera División Costa Rica|1995–96]], [[1996–97 Primera División Costa Rica|1996–97]], [[199–00 Primera División Costa Rica|1999–00]], [[2000–01 Primera División Costa Rica|2000–01]], [[2001–02 Primera División Costa Rica|2001–02]], [[2002–03 Primera División Costa Rica|2002–03]], [[Primera División de Costa Rica 2004/05|2004–05]], [[2010–11_Costa_Rican_Primera_División_season#Campeonato_de_Invierno|Invierno 2010-11]], [[2010–11_Costa_Rican_Primera_División_season#Campeonato_de_Verano|Verano 2010-11]], [[2011–12_Costa_Rican_Primera_División_season#Campeonato_de_Invierno|Invierno 2011-12]] |
|||
*Runner-up (20): |
|||
::1930, 1938, 1944, 1952, 1957, 1962, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1972, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2007–08, 2008 (Apertura), 2009 (Clausura) |
|||
: ''Runners-up (20):'' [[1930 Primera División Costa Rica|1930]], [[1938 Primera División Costa Rica|1928]], [[1944 Primera División Costa Rica|1944]], [[1952 Primera División Costa Rica|1952]], [[1957 Primera División Costa Rica|1957]], [[1962 Primera División Costa Rica|1962]], [[1965 Primera División Costa Rica|1965]], [[1967 Primera División Costa Rica|1967]], [[1969 Primera División Costa Rica|1969]], [[1972 Primera División Costa Rica|1972]], [[1985 Primera División Costa Rica|1985]], [[1986 Primera División Costa Rica|1986]], [[1989 Primera División Costa Rica|1989]], [[1993–94 Primera División Costa Rica|1993–94]], [[1994–95 Primera División Costa Rica|1994–95]], [[1997–98 Primera División Costa Rica|1997–98]], [[1998–99 Primera División Costa Rica|1998–99]], [[2006–07 Primera División Costa Rica|2006–07]], [[2007–08_Primera_División_(Costa_Rica)#Verano_2008 Verano|2007–08]], [[2008–09_Primera_División_(Costa_Rica)#Invierno_2008|Invierno 2008]] |
|||
'''Costa Rican Short-Tournament Championships:''' |
'''Costa Rican Short-Tournament Championships:''' |
||
Revision as of 03:56, 8 August 2012
| File:Alajuelense.png | ||||
| Full name | Liga Deportiva Alajuelense | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | La Liga Manudos Rojinegros Erizos | |||
| Founded | 18 June 1919 | |||
| Ground | Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto, Alajuela | |||
| Capacity | 17,895 | |||
| Chairman |  Raúl Pinto Odio | |||
| Manager | Oscar Ramírez | |||
| League | Primera División, Costa Rica | |||
| 2012 Verano | 5th | |||
| Website | http://lda.cr/ | |||
|
| ||||
Liga Deportiva Alajuelense, often known as La Liga, is a professional football club, based in Alajuela, Costa Rica.
Founded on June 18, 1919 by a group of seven members of the former team Once de Abril, and currently playing at the Primera Division de Costa Rica, their headquarters are located at the Alejandro Morera Soto Stadium in El Llano neighboorhood of Alajuela[1]. Alajuelense is a founder member and one of most successful teams of the Costa Rican football history, having won 27 times the Primera División title, being the only Costa Rican club with least one title gained in each decade. They are one of the two teams alongside CS Herediano that has played in every season and never have been relegated.
In international club football Alajuelense has imposed important marks, they have won 3 UNCAF Club Championships and 2 CONCACAF Champions' Cup[2], which led them to become the first Costa Rican team to play the Interamerican Cup. Alajuelense is the only Central American football team who took part in CONMEBOL competitions such as Copa Merconorte in 2000[3] and the Copa Sudamericana in 2006[4].
Alajuelense is the Central American team that has reached the highest position in the IFFHS Club's World Ranking, back in 2000 they reached the 27th spot.[5].
History
The team was created in 1919 when a group of friends that used to play in a team called the "Electra" at first and then "Once de Abril" (April the 11th) met at "Salon París". They wanted to give the city a team that could represent them at a national level. They played their first official game on August 2 of that same year against CS Cartaginés getting their first victory, 3 – 1.
Alajuelense was part of the 7 teams that built and formed the National League in Costa Rica, back in 1921, along with La Libertad, Sociedad Gimnástica Española, CS Herediano, CS Cartaginés, CS La Unión de Tres Ríos, and Sociedad Gimnástica Limonense. They won their first championship in 1928. They are the only team to win the championship with a perfect record; in 1941 they won all 6 games.[6] In 1960, the team made a tour around the world, leaving Costa Rica on September 17. In 78 days the team played 24 games, winning 12, losing 7 and the other 5 ended up tied. They scored 71 goals and received 47, with a remarkable performance from Juan Ulloa Ramírez, being the best player and top scorer of this tour.
Throughout their history, Liga Deportiva Alajuelense has generated a lot of great players and stunning performances. They are known as one of the best teams in the Central America area. Their best decade was the 1990s, during which they won 4 Championships and 4 sub-championships (runner up) as well. In addition to that, by the end of the 90's and the middle of the 2000s, they won a total of 5 local championships (4 of them in a row), 2 Copa Interclubes UNCAF Throphies and a CONCACAF Club Champions, being the base for the Costa Rican football team in the Korea and Japan 2002 FIFA World Cup, with 9 players.
By November 11, 2000[7] and after participating in the Copa Merconorte, Alajuelense was ranked in the 27th spot, based on IFFHS's Club World Ranking. It has been the best rank by the team and the best any other Central American club have reached.
The club struggled with some financial and administrative problems in the second part on the 2000s decade, so they decided to end contract with a lot of their regular and known players and started to build a team based on their younger divisions and make some structural changes. Nowadays the club is free of debts and with a team averaging 25 year-old players is still one of the best teams in the area and one of the teams with most fans in Costa Rica. They have won the last 3 championships in its country and participated in the last CONCACAF Champions League being eliminated in the group stage for just one away goal.
Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto – Scotiabank
The stadium is owned and operated by La Liga Deportiva Alajuelense, and is located in El Llano de Alajuela.
The project to find a proper site for a permanent home started in 1938, when the director of the club, Carlos Bolaños, proposed that the club should purchase its own land. The land was purchased on October 7, 1940, but the terrain would not be football-ready until 1942, when Alajuelense played its first match at the site. The first game was played on January 18, 1942, when Liga Deportiva Alajuelense played Club Sport Cartagines; the stadium only had a simple wooden stand that was previously used in the Estadio Nacional.
On September 27, 1949, a professor from a local high school named Armando Morux Sancho started what was called "La marcha del ladrillo" (The Brick's March) in which every student would donate a brick to help building the concrete walls of the stadium and start building the concrete stands. The first stands that were built were the ones located in north, west an east around the pitch.
On July 20, 1966, due to a motion by the Municipality of Alajuela, the stadium was renamed to honor the great Alajuelense and FC Barcelona player Alejandro Morera Soto. On March 19, 1970, the stadium saw its first night game when Alajuelense faced Honduran club Motagua, beating them 4–1. The stadium is not only home to Liga Deportiva Alajuelense, but it is also shares itself along with Estadio Ricardo Saprissa as the home of the Costa Rican national team.
In 1979, the enlargement of the stadium was initiated with the project of building a second stand on top of the first already built and add an additional stand over the dressing and conference room (south) and also, add roof to the stand located on east and the one located on south after was finished. The project was fully completed in 1984. The stadium was re-inaugurated that year along with the new illumination, which was at the moment, in the top illuminations systems.
In the mid 1990s and with the Costa Rican football getting more attention by the international press after the team winning he CONCACAF Cup, the national team assisting to the World Cup in 1990 and with footballers playing abroad, the club decided to built a royal box in the top of the west stand, which would have a two-floor royal box with TVs, carpet, bathrooms, elevator and air conditioner. The royal box was finished in 1999 and is the only team in Costa Rica with such an especial treatment to their fans.
In 2002, the illumination system was upgraded, being the stadium with the best illumination in the country.
Until 2005, the Morera Soto's grass was known as the best natural one in Central America, but a combination of fungus and hurricanes destroyed the grass and it never fully recovered. By the end of 2008, the management of the team decided to install a fifth-generation synthetic grass, in order to have the field always ready for games no matter the weather, also have the availability to rent the venue for music concerts and/or special events and have the possibility for the younger divisions to train in the same field. The last game the team played on the natural turf was the first game of the 2008 winter's final, beating their archrival Deportivo Saprissa 2–0 on December 17, 2008.
In 2009, the club installed a synthetic turf called Xtreme Turf from ACT Global Sports.[8] This football turf has achieved FIFA two-star certification for approval for top international matches. This is the only FIFA two-star installation currently in Central America. After a long delay, the field was ready to be used by July 18, 2009. The field's re-opening game was held against Caracas FC from Venezuela; the game ended up with a tie 1–1.
Now the stadium has a gym, museum with pictures, wallpapers, banners and approximately 500 trophies, physiotherapy center, clinic (Clinica Deportiva Longino Soto Pacheco), meeting rooms, press conference room and two additional smaller pitches so all the first division and their minor divisions can have the same treatment (Gimnasio multiuso Salvador Soto Villegas). The size of the field was shrunk a little bit; it used to be the biggest in Costa Rica.
From 2011 on, the international bank Scotiabank signed a sponsor agreement in which both LDA and they are going to have control of the stadium for extra-football activities; this led the stadium to have the "last name" Scotiabank.
Mascot
The team is now represented by a Lion dressed with the team uniform and wearing cleats as if he was going to play.
In every home game, the mascot comes out at the pitch before the game starts and plays on the field with fans, jokes with rival's fans, walk through the pitch with models giving away gifts from their sponsors and cheers the team with a huge team's flag. Before the game starts and during the half-time break, the Lion walks among the crowd and stands for pictures with the children.
The original mascot used to be a Mango, this because the team is located in Alajuela that is known as "La Ciudad de los Mangos" ("The Mangoes' City") because of the high amount of Mango Trees that could be located in the province due its weather, but later on in the early 80's, the mascot was changed into a Lion.
The Lion was chosen years ago because it represents four main attributes of the major king of the jungle, that are reflected on the team's vision and mission: Courage, Strength, Dynamism and Fidelity.
Sponsors
Shirt supplier
PUMA (for all divisions)
Shirt sponsors
Movistar – Tuasa - Citroen - Repretel - Mobil - SONY
Stadium sponsor
Youth Division sponsors
Banco Nacional de Costa Rica - Colchones Luxor - Coca Cola
Notable players
Nationals
.svg){kind=small}
Foreigners
|
|
|
Retired numbers
20 – 
Mauricio Montero, defender (1987–1998)
Notable coaches
|
Honors
National competitions
- Winners (27): 1928, 1939, 1941, 1945, 1949, 1950, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1966, 1970, 1971, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1991, 1992, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2004–05, Invierno 2010-11, Verano 2010-11, Invierno 2011-12
- Runners-up (20): 1930, 1928, 1944, 1952, 1957, 1962, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1972, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2006–07, 2007–08, Invierno 2008
Costa Rican Short-Tournament Championships:
- Apertura (6): 1997, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2010, 2011
- Clausura (7): 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2011
- Copa Argentor (1): 1928 (One of the oldest and important titles of Costa Rica, since in this tournament the clubs participated of first, second and third divisions of the country eliminating itself to each other)
- Copa de Campeones del Futbol Nacional (1): 1967
- Supercopa de Costa Rica (1): 2012
Tournament cups
- 3 Costa Rican Great Britain Cup
- 1 Costa Rican Tournament Cup
- 2 Relampago Tournament
- 1 Estadio Nacional Cup
- 1 Borsalino Trophy
- 1 Guatemala Cup
- 1 Camel Cup
- 1 Costa Rican Tournament (The first official tournament played in Costa Rica in 1919. The team won the championship under the name of "Electra")
International
- 1986, 2004
- Runner-up (3): 1971, 1992, 1999
- 1996, 2002, 2005
- Runner-up (2): 1999, 2000
- Runner-up (1): 1986
Other Internacional Championships
- 1961: (Central American & Caribbean Champions)
- 1992: (Central American Champions)
- 2000: (Copa LG Uncaf (Panama) Champions)
- 2004: (Fifa Japan World Club Cup Classified. 1rst Costa Rica Club Classified.(Fifa decline to do the championship)
Friendly Tournaments:
- 2004: Copa Taca de Campeon de Campeones de America, against Once Caldas (former Copa Libertadores Champion)
Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
(+) Long term injury
Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
Notes
- ^ 10°1′18″N 84°12′32″W / 10.02167°N 84.20889°W
- ^ http://www.lda.cr/titulos_internacionales.php
- ^ http://www.rsssf.com/sacups/merconorte00.html
- ^ http://www.rsssf.com/sacups/sudamcup06.html
- ^ http://wvw.nacion.com/ln_ee/2000/diciembre/02/deportes2.html
- ^ "Unbeaten during a League Season". www.rsssf.com. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
- ^ [1]
- ^ synthetic turf
- ^ http://www.unafut.com/site/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=38%3Aprimera-division&catid=3&Itemid=35