The natives took to the game with aplomb, and in the early years of the 20th century semi-organized football clubs began to spring up along the length and breadth of the Central American nation. The initial fascination with the game was hinged upon open, attacking flair, with goals aplenty, and those honest, forthright roots still stick with the Tico sides of today.
Seven Costa Rican clubs came together in 1901, and again in 1912, in a vain attempt to consolidate a loose federation of clubs into a national league. The attempts failed on both occasions, but they inspired a sense of urgency and drive in an increasingly football-mad nation.
In 1921 the country looked again to organize its nascent footballing fringes into a coherent unit. There was initial mistrust and political wrangling, but with persistence a national football league and a football federation (Federación Costarricense de Fútbol) were born under the presidency of José Albertazzi Avendaño.
Seven sides battled it out for the first Costa Rican national championship, with CS Herediano bringing home the inaugural hardware in 1921. That same year, the newly born Costa Rican Federation was welcomed into FIFA’s international fold.
With the emergence of an organized league and a federation to oversee its progress, Costa Rica slowly began to turn enthusiasm for the game into technical ability and tactical awareness at the international level, and a series of regional honors followed.
The Ticos took home the Central American and Caribbean Cup in 1941, 1946, 1948, 1953, 1955, 1960 and 1961, and they won the CONCACAF championship in 1963 and 1969. More recently, Costa Rica were crowned Central American champions in 1991, 1997 and 1999.
As the most colorful feather in the nation's footballing cap, and the final corroboration of a profound ascendancy, the Ticos reached their first-ever FIFA World Cup™ in Italy in 1990, where Hernan Medford scored a dramatic late goal to knock out Sweden and send the Ticos into the second round.
The Costa Rica national football team, nicknamed Los Ticos, is the national team of Costa Rica and is controlled by the Federación Costarricense de Fútbol. They made three World Cups, including an improbable run to the 1990 World Cup second round under coach Bora Milutinovic, and a solid showing in the 2002 World Cup in which they had the misfortune to be seeded in group play with eventual champions Brazil and third-place finishing Turkey, recently Los Ticos qualified to the 2006 Germany World Cup.
Costa Rica's best finish in the CONCACAF Gold Cup was second in 2002. They won the UNCAF Nations Cup five times. Recently, Costa Rica have been invited to participate in three Copa Américas, making the quarterfinals on their last two visits.
Statistics
First International
Costa Rica 7 - 0 El Salvador
(Guatemala City, Guatemala; Sept 14, 1921)
Largest win
Costa Rica 12 - 0 Puerto Rico
(Barranquilla, Colombia; December 10, 1946)
Worst defeat
Mexico 7 - 0 Costa Rica
(Mexico City, Mexico; August 17, 1975)
Mexico 7 - 0 Costa Rica
(Mexico City, Mexico; October 23, 1975)
World Cup
Appearances 3 (First in 1990)
Best result Round 2, 1990
CONCACAF Gold Cup
Appearances 7 (First in 1991)
Best result Second place, 2002
Uniform
World Cup Germany 2006
In recent times, Costa Rica have become a regular sight at the world’s top tournaments, and the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™ will be no exception. Although their qualification was far from plain sailing, Alexandre Guimaraes’s side came good in the end and is now preparing to embark for Europe in a bid to upset the established order.
Not even the Ticos would deny that they made very hard work of the early qualifying rounds. In spite of being overwhelming favorites, they almost came unstuck against first-stage opponents Cuba, only going through on away goals after the pair played out two score draws. The first group phase was a similar story, with only a nervy 0-0 draw in their final game in Honduras putting them through to the final phase.
Things showed little sign of improving when the six-team final round got under way. A 2-1 home defeat by Mexico, a 3-0 loss away to the United States and a goalless draw in Trinidad and Tobago was not the start they had hoped for. The only encouragement came from a 2-1 win over Panama – and even that came courtesy of a last-minute Roy Myre goal.
However, the return of Guimaraes, the coach who guided the Ticos to Korea/Japan 2002, in place of Jorge Luis Pinto at the start of April 2005 coincided with an upturn in the team’s fortunes. With Guimaraes at the helm, Costa Rica defeated Guatemala (3-2), Panama (3-1), T&T (2-1) and the USA (3-0) to secure a berth in Germany. The only blemishes on the new coach’s record were losses to Mexico (2-0) and Guatemala (3-1).
Germany 2006 will be Costa Rica’s third appearance at the FIFA World Cup™. It would no exaggeration to say that both their previous appearances – Italia 90 and Korea/Japan 2002 – were memorable, with the Central Americans surprising the world with their uninhibited play and supremely talented individuals.
Scotland and Sweden fans must still have nightmares about the explosive pace of Hernan Medford and magnificent shot-stopping of Luis Gabelo Conejo, the Costa Rican heroes who helped their side reach the second round in Italy at the expense of their European rivals. Unfortunately, it was a feat they could not match in Asia, in spite of their often spectacular play.
Although their only defeat came at the hands of Brazil, Turkey’s superior goal difference prevented the Ticos from claiming a berth in the last 16. In spite of their fraught qualifying campaign, it would be a serious mistake to write off Costa Rica. The current team is every bit as talented as those of previous years and just as determined to cause an upset at the finals.
Costa Rica fans around the world will be able to enjoy the fearless defending of Gilberto Martinez, the bravery of Walter Centeno and, of course, the goal-scoring prowess of their biggest star, Paulo Wanchope. The veteran striker, who will be retiring from international football after the finals, is hoping to inspire his side to a performance at least on a par with that of Italy 90.
Few sides may fear Costa Rica, a team that is seen as good to watch and not bad to play against. The fact is however that the Central Americans have a decent World Cup record. Two times Costa Rica have appeared at the World Cup, and they have made it to the second stage once and just missed out once on goal difference - not too bad when one considers the fact that Brazil were group members in both competitions.
The fact remains that the nation of 4 million doesn't have the pedigree of regional stablemates the USA and Mexico, a fact that was borne out in qualifying as Alexandre Guimaraes led the side into third place. The former player took the reins in April as the club was floundering near the bottom of the group but four wins in six games under Guimaraes was enough to beat Trinidad and Tobago into fourth.
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