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36-465: Alajuelense was founded on the former Paris Hall, west of Alajuela's Central Park, on June 18, 1919, by six former players of a historic city club, Once de Abril , with the intention of uniting all the sportsmen and associations present at that time in Alajuela under a single banner. However, it wouldn't be until 1928 when Alajuelense managed to become national champions for the first time in a season that saw

72-647: A striker mostly for Alajuelense in the Costa Rican Primera División . He is considered one of the best and most talented players of all time in Costa Rica. "El fenómeno costarricense" ("The Costa Rican phenomenon"), as he was dubbed by the press in Catalonia, Spain, where he was part of FC Barcelona . However, he was known to most as "El Mago sin Magia" (The Magician without Magic) he was of small stature but

108-461: A 2 to 1 loss. The 1933–34 season was his most successful, scoring 41 goals becoming the team's top scorer. FC Barcelona won the 1934 championship of Catalonia but only placed ninth place in the league. The 1934–35 season was also successful, playing 24 games and scoring 12 goals, and FCB placed sixth in the Spanish league championship. Altogether Morera played 76 games and scored 68 goals for FC Barcelona,

144-433: A brick to help build the walls and stands of the stadium. The first stands to be built were located in north, west and east around the pitch. On March 19, 1970, the stadium saw its first night game when Alajuelense faced Honduran club Motagua , beating them 4–1. In 1979, the enlargement of the stadium was initiated with the project of building a second stand on top of the existing stand and adding an additional stand over

180-415: A brother. He married Julia Pacheco Pérez in 1937 and they had a daughter and 5 grandchildren. He died March 26, 1995, at the age of 85. He is fondly remembered by both Manudos (fans of Alajuelense), and Ticos (Costa Ricans) alike as a man who loved his team and as one who gave many victories and much joy to fans across the country. Alajuelense's stadium, where his heart was emtombed in a monument below

216-438: A hat trick in the final match against Herediano. He also became the league's top goalscorer again. One more championship, this time undefeated, a record title came in 1941. The last title came in 1945, where he performed in a dual role as a coach-player. He played his last match April 6, 1947, against Municipal Lima . Morera continued as a coach until March 1949. He also managed the national team. After retiring from sports he

252-528: A powerful striker. His stint with Barcelona made Morera the first Costa Rican to play in La Liga . In 1925 at the early age of 16, he made his debut with Alajuelense in the Costa Rican premier league Primera División in a match against Sociedad Gimnástica Española . Soon afterwards he became the star player and team's captain, showing a quality game and scoring many goals. These attributes opened doors beyond

288-519: A successful tryout with the club's coach, a three-year contract directly with FC Barcelona's president, Joan Coma Segarrols. Thus Morera made his debut with Catalonia's foremost club on May 18, 1933, in a match against Tenerife, and scored 2 goals in a 3 to 1 win. One of his best remembered strikes was scoring his team's only goal in September of that year versus Real Madrid , beating Spain's fabled and Europe's best goalkeeper Ricardo Zamora "El Divino" in

324-626: A very high output. His scoring record: 39 goals in friendlies; 13 goals in the Spanish League; 11 goals in the Catalan Championship and 5 goals in the Spanish Cup. Against fan opposition he was sold for a sum of 10,000 pesetas to Hércules Alicante , a recently promoted club in Alicante. In his first year, he helped the upstart team obtain the league's sixth place ahead of six other teams with

360-416: 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,

396-433: Is one of the most successful teams in Costa Rica and Central America , having won 30 national championships, 2 CONCACAF Champions Cup titles, 1 CONCACAF League , 1 CONCACAF Central American Cup , and 3 UNCAF Interclub Cup . Alajuelense was the first Costa Rican club to win an official international competition when they defeated Suranamese club Transvaal in the final series in 1986. Alajuelense has also participated in

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432-532: The Copa Merconorte , Alajuelense was ranked 27th in IFFHS 's Club World Ranking. It is the best rank any Central American club has reached. The club struggled with 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

468-669: The Interamerican Cup , Copa Merconorte , and Copa Sudamericana . In 1996, Alajuelense became the first club in the world to reach 100 points in any national league, finishing with a total of 102 points. This feat was repeated in 1998 and 2000 with 105 and 102 points gained, respectively. Alajuelense plays its home matches at the Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto . Alajuelense's home kit is composed of red and black vertical striped shirts, with black shorts, accompanied by red or black socks. This combination has been used since

504-640: The Torneo Grandes de Centroamerica . In 1998, the tournament was renamed Copa Interclubes UNCAF . It was held on an annual basis between 1998 and the last edition played in 2007. In 2016, a new women's tournament was introduced. In 2016, the Central American Football Union revived the competition by inaugurating a tournament open to women's clubs. Costa Rican side Moravia obtained the first tournament contested in Costa Rica . As opposed to

540-512: 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 Trophies and a CONCACAF Club Championship , 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, and after participating in

576-603: The CONCACAF Champions' Cup, to which the top three teams advanced. Starting in 2008, all of the Central American nations have one or two teams qualifying directly to the expanded CONCACAF Champions League , thus this tournament ceased to be played. The tournament had been known as the Copa Fraternidad Centroamericana from 1971 to 1983. It was discontinued between 1983 and 1996, when it was revived as

612-545: The East section seats, was named after him. In 1998, he was voted Costa Rica's player of the century by the IFFHS . Copa Interclubes UNCAF The UNCAF Interclub Cup was an annual international football competition held in the UNCAF region (Central America). The competition was open to the leading domestic club teams in the region. The winners of each national league qualified automatically. It also provided qualification places for

648-528: The Group D. They would face Cartaginés , that they would defeat 6–1 on aggregate, advancing to semifinals, where they would face Herediano , defeating them 5–4 on penalties after a 4–4 aggregate draw. In the final, they would face Real Estelí , but they would defeat them easily after a 4–1 victory on aggregate, being the first champions of the CONCACAF Central American Cup, and qualifying directly for

684-448: 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

720-482: The National League in Costa Rica , back in 1921, along with La Libertad, Gimnástica Española , Herediano , Cartaginés , CS Tres Rios de La Union, 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. In 1960, the team made a tour around the world, leaving Costa Rica on September 17. In 78 days,

756-415: 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. On June 10, 2019, the club celebrated its 100th anniversary, being the second Costa Rican team to do so. On 2023, Alajuelense participated on the 2023 CONCACAF Central American Cup , and they would advance to quarter-finals after being leaders on

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792-417: The club's first star: Alejandro Morera . Morera, who would later go on to become Barcelona 's main striker for two seasons, is regarded as one of the finest players Costa Rica has ever produced. He would later manage Alajuelense to their second national title in 1939 as well as two others in 1941 and 1945. Since then, Alajuelense has become one of the most supported football clubs in Costa Rica. Alajuelense

828-413: The club's foundation. Kelme are the kit manufacturers. Alajuelense holds many long-standing rivalries, most notably against Saprissa , Herediano , and Cartaginés . It has contributed many key and famous players towards Costa Rica 's FIFA World Cup squads such as José Carlos Chaves , Óscar Ramírez , Mauricio Montero , Wilmer López , Luis Marín , Jhonny Acosta , and Patrick Pemberton . The team

864-449: The club's history performances in national compétition. As of 17 September 2024 Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. 20 – [REDACTED] Mauricio Montero , defender (1987–98) Alejandro Morera Soto Alejandro Morera Soto (July 14, 1909 – March 26, 1995) was a Costa Rican professional footballer who played as

900-498: The country, initially in Cuba at Centro Gallego in 1927. He thereafter returned to Alajuelense and in 1928 helped the team obtain its first national championship, Morera scoring four goals in the last match against Herediano and becoming the top scorer with 26 goals. He shone as the team's outstanding player during Alajuelense's tours of Mexico (1931) and Perú (1932), where he received accolades for his playing ability. In February 1933 he

936-410: The dressing and conference rooms (south) and also adding a roof to the stands located to the east and the south. The project was fully completed in 1984. The stadium was re-inaugurated that year along with the new illuminations, which were amongst the best illuminations systems at the time. On 8 April 2021, the team announced plans for a new stadium , with an expected opening by January 2025. The team

972-414: The magician of the ball . He was a notable former player of Alajuelense, Barcelona , and Hércules , and for commercial purposes, in an agreement with the financial institution Scotiabank in 2011, the name Scotiabank was added. 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

1008-505: The round of 16 of the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup . The Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto is the home of Alajuelense and is owned and operated by La Liga Deportiva Alajuelense. It is located in El Llano neighborhood of Alajuela . On July 20, 1966, due to a motion by the Municipality of Alajuela, the stadium was renamed in honor of Alejandro Morera , nicknamed el mago del balón , which means

1044-452: The same number of points as FC Barcelona, who finished fifth due to better goal average. While playing for FC Barcelona, he fully identified with Catalonia, even being named to the Catalan regional team and playing two games against Brazil, scoring goals in both matches. With outbreak of Spain's civil war, he was forced to return to his homeland. He was unable to withdraw his money from the bank;

1080-570: The smaller amount of money he had on hand he chose to place in a coffer which was lost. With the urgent need to return to Costa Rica but with empty pockets, he briefly offered his services to the French team Le Havre , played two games and in usual fashion scored two goals for them. He arrived back in Costa Rica in November 1936 where he was to continue his outstanding career. Again he joined Alajuelense obtaining another championship in 1939 won when he scored

1116-458: The team played 24 games, winning 12, losing seven and drawing five. They scored 71 goals and allowed 47, with a remarkable performance from Juan Ulloa Ramírez, the best player and top scorer of this tour. Throughout their history, 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

Liga Deportiva Alajuelense - Misplaced Pages Continue

1152-467: 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. [REDACTED] Banco General [REDACTED] Volaris [REDACTED] Mobil [REDACTED] Bridgestone [REDACTED] Kolbi [REDACTED] Gatorade [REDACTED] Master Card [REDACTED] BAC Credomatic Below are listed

1188-431: 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 Cartaginés getting their first victory, 3–1. Alajuelense was part of the 7 teams that built and formed

1224-439: Was invited to Spain by former Real Club Deportivo Español player Ricardo Saprissa for a tryout with Español . The Barcelona newspaper Mundo Deportivo (28/02/1968 page 8) reported that Morera had wanted to play for FC Barcelona rather than Espanyol and was able with the assistance of Sr. Esteban Sala, a club director and Sr.Gispert, also club director whom he had befriended during the ocean crossing to personally negotiate, after

1260-539: Was purchased on October 7, 1940, but the terrain would not be football-ready until when the first game was played on January 18, 1942, when Alajuelense played against Cartaginés ; 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 , meaning The March of Bricks in which every student would donate

1296-498: Was voted a member of the country's legislature for his native province of Alajuela (1958–1962), where he also later served as Mayor and Governor. Morera made his debut for Costa Rica against El Salvador in February 1938 and won 5 caps, scoring 4 goals during the 1938 Central American and Caribbean Games or scored 6 in 7 international matches. Morera Soto was a son of Juan Morera Miranda and Eufemia Soto Soto and had 4 sisters and

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