C.S. Cartaginés

CS Cartaginés
Full name Club Sport Cartaginés S.A.D.
Nickname(s) Los Azules (The Blues)
Brumosos (The Foggers)
La Vieja Metropoli (The Old Metropolis)
El Equipo Centenario (The centenary)
Founded July 01, 1906; 109 years ago
Ground Estadio José Rafael Fello Meza Ivankovich, Cartago, Costa Rica
Ground Capacity 10,500
Chairman Daniel Vargas Aguilar
Manager Jeaustin Campos
League Primera División de Costa Rica
2014 Verano Regular Season: 9th
Playoffs: DNQ
Website Club home page

Club Sport Cartaginés Deportiva S.A. is a Costa Rican football club, that currently plays in the Costa Rican Primera División. The club plays in Estadio Jose Rafael Fello Meza, in Barrio Asis de Cartago, Costa Rica.

The club is the oldest in Costa Rica, having been founded in 1906. It has won three Costa Rican championships, in 1923, 1936, and 1940.

History

Club Sport Cartaginés was founded on July 7, 1906 by Willie Pirie, a group of Costa Ricans of English descent and English immigrants that lived in Cartago. Since there were few football teams at the time games where repeatedly held against teams in Cartago such as Combate and Monte Libano. The team's original uniform colors were red and blue. Club Sport Cartaginés' first official match was seen as a local social event as the municipal Philharmonic played prior to the game.

In 1914 Club Sport Cartaginés returned to the Costa Rican football scene but under its new name: The Americano. The name Americano lasted until 1921 when Costa Rica's Primera División started its national championship, at the time Americano reverted to its original name of Club Sport Cartaginés and changed their uniform and colors to vertical white and blue stripes, a scheme that still prevails today. The 1923 National Championship Finals saw Club Sport Cartaginés face La Libertad, a match that Cartaginés won by a score of two to one giving the club its first of three national titles.

After the seasons many of Cartaginés' players left the team to play in Europe and in teams based in San José. Due to the mass exodus of players from the team Club Sport Cartaginés disbanded in 1925. By 1934 the popularity of football in Cartago reemerged as a tournament of local Cartago teams participated. After the tournament it was decided to form Club Sport Cartaginés once again with the best players that participated in the tournament and to emerge as a third division team winning the third division title in 1935. In 1936 the team managed to be victorious in the second division winning all of its games and being crowned the second division champions, earning them a spot in first division. For the first year back in the second division the team reinforced themselves with local star players that had played for other teams. In that first year back, Club Sport Cartaginés once again made it to the Finals of Costa Rica's first division and once again facing La Libertad, defeating them by a score of one to nil and achieving the status of national champions in Costa Rica's national stadium in San Jose. By 1940 Cartaginés only had three players left from its amazing 1936 championship season, but they still managed to make it to the finals against heavily favorite Herediano. During the first half of the game the score was in favor of Herediano as they led 3–1 but amazingly Cartaginés reinforced themselves for the second half scoring three goals and beating the favorite Herediano by a score of 4–3. The 1940 Cartaginés team has been the last to win the national championship for Cartago. In the years following the 1940 Championship cartago managed to discover a new and talented player, José Rafael "Fello" Meza Ivancovich. Within a few years Jose Rafael became known as el "Maestro", the teacher. He was named so because it was said that he thought new tricks and ways of playing that had not been seen in Costa Rica. José Rafael "Fello" Meza Ivankovich was voted at the end of the century as Costa Rica's best player of the 20th century and is still recognized as the player with the biggest impact on national football.

In 1966 Cartaginés was the first club to travel to the United States playing against Guadalajara and Emelec. Cartiginés struggled during the '80s after it was relegated to the second division and was forced to play its way up in order to obtain a spot in Costa Rica's top league, "Primera División de Costa Rica". A breakthrough came for Cartaginés when in 1983 they won the "segunda" championship, during a season in which brilliant play by some newcomers, notably Mario F. Granados S. and "el Chino" gave Cartaginés an edge over its adversaries. The club has been unable to break Saprissa and Alajuelense's hold on the top position in recent years, but has frequently finished second. They did, however, win the CONCACAF Champions' Cup in 1994.

Ever since that championship, Cartaginés has been unable to win any league titles in Costa Rica, something which some believe to be the result of a curse set on the team by the priest at the Basílica de Los Ángles when 1940 players stormed the Basilica ridding on top of their horses, celebrating their championship; many others credit the lack of titles to the curse of "el muñeco", a strange voodoo-like doll that was supposedly buried under Cartaginés' turf at the "Fello Meza" stadium in order to prevent them from winning further titles and bringing bad luck to the club. Many supporters of the club believe that unless someone finds the "magical" doll Cartago will continue to struggle and not win any more championships.

Stadium

The stadium Jose Rafael "Fello" Meza is located in Barrio Asis in Cartago, it has a capacity of 13,500 and is the fourth of the highest capacity stadiums in Costa Rica.

Titles

Domestic

Champion: 1923, 1936, 1940
Runner Up: 2013 (Invierno)
2014, 2015

International

Champion (1): 1994
Runner-up (1): 1994
Runner-up (1): 1978

Player Records

Most (as of July 1, 2014)[1]
# Name Career Apps Goals

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 1 [[ ]] 1998–01 114 84

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Most goals (as of July 1, 2014)[1]
# Player Career Apps Goals

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 1 Leonel Hernández 1957–77 360 164

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Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
1 Argentina GK Facundo Crespo
3 Costa Rica MF José Eduardo Leiva
5 Costa Rica DF Kevin Fajardo
6 Costa Rica MF José Adrián Marrero
7 Costa Rica MF Paolo Jiménez
8 Costa Rica MF Danny Fonseca (Captain)
9 Costa Rica FW Jorge Alejandro Castro
10 Costa Rica FW Randall Brenes
12 Costa Rica MF Ricardo Blanco
14 Uruguay FW Nicolás Vigneri
15 Costa Rica MF Gabriel Leiva
17 Costa Rica MF José Carlos Pérez
18 Costa Rica MF Rodrigo Garita
No. Position Player
20 Costa Rica MF Randall Alvarado
21 Costa Rica MF Mauricio Castillo
22 Costa Rica FW Giovanni Clunie
23 Costa Rica MF Irving Calderón
24 Costa Rica FW Luis Sáenz
25 Argentina DF Mauricio Mazzetti
26 Costa Rica DF Kevin Vega
27 Costa Rica DF Carlos Johnson
29 Costa Rica MF Allan Duarte
30 Costa Rica MF Néstor Monge
33 Costa Rica GK Alejandro Gómez
34 Costa Rica GK Carlos Martínez Dittel


Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
- Costa Rica MF Bryan López (at Costa Rica Belén)

Retired numbers

11 – Costa Rica Leonel Hernández, Winger (1957–77)

Historical list of coaches

References

  1. 1 2 Aniversario en la Vieja Metrópoli – UNAFUT (Spanish)
  2. ↑ Checo dirigirá al Cartaginés – Nación (Spanish)
  3. ↑ Javier Delgado queda fuera del Cartaginés – Nación (Spanish)
  4. ↑ Cartaginés presentará este martes a Maurico Wright como su nuevo técnico – Al Día (Spanish)
  5. ↑ Enrique Meza Jr. es el nuevo técnico de Cartaginés – Nación (Spanish)
  6. ↑ Cartaginés eligió a Claudio Ciccia como técnico permanente – Nación (Spanish)

External links

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