| Full name | Club Sport Cartaginés S.A.D. | |||
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| Nickname(s) | Los Azules (The Blues) Brumosos (The Foggers) |
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| Founded | July 01, 1906 | |||
| Ground | Estadio José Rafael Fello Meza Ivankovich, Cartago, Costa Rica (Capacity: 12,900) |
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| Chairman | Jose Luis Rodríguez Solano | |||
| Manager | Johnny Chávez | |||
| League | Primera División de Costa Rica | |||
| Verano 2011 | 4th | |||
| Website | Club home page | |||
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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.
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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.
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 back 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 Jose. 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 Club Sport Herediano. During the first half of the game the score was in favor of Herediano as they led 3 to 1 but amazingly Cartaginés reinforced themselves for the second half scoring three goals and beating the favorite Herediano by a score of 4 to 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 Ivankovich. 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 second division and was forced to play its way up in order to obtain a spot in Costa Rica's top league, "el futbol de primera." 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.
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.
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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11 – Leonel Hernández, Winger(1957–1977)
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