Costa Rica Soccer: La Liga vs. Saprissa
Written by Claire
While a few people have the talent and determination to reach the professional level of Division 1 Costa Rica soccer, the rest of us spend our time living vicariously through them as we gloat about how well our teams did as though it were a personal achievement. “Mae, did you see the save Porras made for Saprissa on Thursday?” “Huevon, forget that! Did you see the Alajuela game on Sunday?!”
Costa Rica Sports — National Soccer
To understand Costa Rica soccer, you only have to look back a couple decades to the first face-offs between these two teams: the Liga Deportiva Alajuense (L.D.A. or simply “La Liga”) and Saprissa.
The beginning of “professional” soccer in Costa Rica took place in the early 1900s. La Liga was founded in 1919 and since the first national championship in 1920, it has been classified as a Division 1 team. La Liga is often considered to be the best Costa Rican soccer club if you look at its overall performance and the number of points that it has accumulated throughout all of the national tournaments.
La Liga is the only Central American club team to have ever been invited to the South American tournaments Copa Merconorte and Copa Sudamericana
It’s strongest streak came between the years of 1999 and 2003 when it won four consecutive national championships. It was also the first Costa Rican soccer club to classify for the World Club Championship organized by FIFA in 2004, however, they didn’t make it to the tournament because of problems and disorganization by the administration.
La Liga’s main competition, Deportivo Saprissa, has become an important institution in Costa Rica soccer history, with 72 years of existence, and 59 years in Division 1. They were founded in 1935 and entered in Division 1 in 1948.
Saprissa is the current reigning champion in Costa Rica having won the last two national tournaments. Overall, they hold the most national wins and international titles of any team in Costa Rica.
Saprissa and Liga Deportiva Alajuelense are without doubt the two most popular teams in Costa Rica. A 2006 poll by the University of Costa Rica showed that 40.3% of the population supported La Liga, 39.9% Saprissa, 8.3% Herediano, 3.2% Puntarenas, 2% Cartagines and 6.3% “others”.
The next game between La Liga and Saprissa is today, Thursday, Nov. 1 in Alajuela as part of the UNCAF Cup. Go take part in this historical obsession with Costa Rica soccer. If you make it to the game, be careful as fights and rowdy behavior are likely. If you can’t make it, round up some friends and head to your local bar, as it is almost 100 percent likely that you will find the game on the television.
This post's rating:
(2 votes, average: 3.5 out of 5)
Loading ...Related Stories
Filed under: Sports on November 1st, 2007
[…] Ministry of Health also required that the Saprissa soccer club get vaccinated early this month in order to travel to Uruguay to play in the Copa […]
[…] with a side that has massively under performed, failing to produce results against the big sides (La Liga and Saprissa) as well as failing to pick up points against sides further down the […]