Getting to know C.S. Herediano

Team info:

Full Name: Club Sport Herediano

Nicknames: El Equipo Florense, Los Gloriosos Florenses , Rojos y Amarillos

Founded: June 12, 1921

League: Primera Division de Costa Rica

Manager: Jacques Odir

Team Website:http://www.herediano.com/

Current roster:http://www.herediano.com/plantel

Accomplishment Timeline (Spanish):http://www.herediano.com/historia

CONCACAF Team Profile:http://www.concacafchampions.com/page/CL/TeamProfileDetail/0,,12856~1021723,00.html

Honors: Costa Rican league - 22 (1921, 1922, 1924, 1927, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1935, 1937, 1947, 1948, 1951, 1955, 1961, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1985, 1987, 1992-93, 2012).

History:

Club Sport Herediano is one of the oldest clubs in Costa Rica. Founded in 1921, Herediano was the first Costa Rican national champion and has since collected 22 league titles. In 1987, they became the first team in CONCACAF to reach 20 league titles.

According to the club’s website, only two Costa Rican teams have had more success than Herediano. One of those teams is Deportivo Saprissa, which RSL beat 3-2 on aggregate in the semifinals of the 2010-11 CONCACAF Champions League.

C.S. Herediano’s official constitution was signed in June 1921. The club started to take shape shortly thereafter, successfully lobbying the Costa Rican government to form a FA and winning the inaugural national championship before the end of the calendar year. The club would go on to win six national titles – including four in a row – in its first decade of existence.

Though they aren’t the most domestically decorated team in Costa Rica, Herediano is considered the Costa Rican club team with the most international experience. The club qualified for the old CONCACAF Champions Cup six times (advancing as far as the semifinals in 1989), won the 1988 “Copa Camel” and qualified for the CCL in 2009-10 and 2011-12. 

Most recently, Herediano ended a 19-year championship drought, getting some brilliant attacking play at the end of the season to win the Verano 2012 tournament on May 19.

Herediano has undergone a significant amount of turnover since winning the championship, most notably losing second-leading goalscorer Jorge Barbosa in the summer transfer window.

CONCACAF Champions League:

Qualification method: Costa Rican Invierno runner-up

Previous CONCACAF Champions League appearances: 2009-2010, 2011-12

Herediano returns this year for a third try in the CONCACAF Champions League. It qualified for the 2012-2013 tournament by finishing runner-up in the 2011 Invierno and having a better record than Verano runner-up San Carlos over the course of both the Invierno and Verano tournaments. The club was eliminated in the Group Stage of the 2011-12 CCL, finishing in last place in Group D, behind Mexican club Monterrey, Seattle Sounders FC and Guatemalan club C.S.D. Comunicaciones. Herediano didn’t even make the Group Stage of the 2009-10 tournament, falling 6-2 on aggregate to Mexican club Cruz Azul in the competition’s old Preliminary Round. 

Player to watch:

FW Victor Nuñez: The 32-year-old forward – and teammate of RSL’s Álvaro Saborío on Costa Rica’s 2006 World Cup squad – led Herediano with 18 total goals in the 2011 Invierno and 2012 Verano campaigns. Nuñez has a solid amount of experience with the Costa Rican national team, scoring five goals in 17 caps for the Ticos.

Stadium:

Regular stadium: Estadio Eladio Rosabal Cordero

Stadium used for CCL matches: Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica

C.S. Herediano plays their home league matches at the Estadio Eladio Rosabal Cordero, a 15,000 seat venue with a turf field located about 10 kilometers north of the Costa Rican capital of San Jose. However, Herediano will host its CONCACAF Champions League games at the Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica, a one-year-old, 35,000 seat stadium with a grass field that serves as the permanent home for the country’s national team. RSL and Costa Rican international striker Álvaro Saborío is very familiar with the Estadio Nacional, having scored the first goal in stadium history during its inaugural match in March 2011.

Full Roster: