Full name | Club Deportivo Luis Ángel Firpo | ||
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Nickname(s) | Pamperos Los Toros Los Ultralempinos |
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Founded | September 17, 1923 | ||
Ground | Estadio Sergio Torres, Usulután, El Salvador (Capacity: 5,000) |
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Chairman | Enrique Escobar | ||
Manager | Nelson Mauricio Ancheta | ||
League | Primera Division | ||
Clausura 2011 | Primera Division 4th | ||
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Club Deportivo Luis Ángel Firpo is an football club based in Usulután, El Salvador that plays in the Primera División de Fútbol Profesional. It has been one of the most successful clubs in El Salvador, having won 9 titles, firstly in 1989. Only FAS and Águila hold more league titles than Firpo, just one fewer that Alianza. Firpo's success was at one of its highest ever during the decade of the '90s, having disputed 9 out of 11 finals, winning 5 and losing 4.
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Club Deportivo Luis Ángel Firpo is the oldest club in El Salvador. The club was founded on September 17, 1923 by a group of local citizens. Originally named Tecún Umán, the club was soon renamed in honor of Luis Ángel Firpo, a famous Argentine boxer, who almost became the first Latin heavyweight champion by knocking Jack Dempsey out of the ring on September 24, 1923.
Some of the greatest Salvadoran football players, including Mauricio Cienfuegos and Raúl Díaz Arce, have played for L.A. Firpo at some point in their careers. The team has won a total of nine Primera División de Fútbol Profesional championships in 1988–89, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1997–98, 1999 Clausura, 2000 Clausura, 2007 Apertura and 2008 Clausura. Their most recent title came June 1, 2008 after defeating C.D. FAS 1–0. The game ended 0–0 after the first 90 minutes, so the game went to extra time, where Firpo took the advantage by winning and converting a penalty in the dying seconds of extra time to claim its second consecutive, and ninth title overall.
The team plays its home games at Estadio Sergio Torres in Usulután. The team's mascot is the bull, a reference to the nickname of the team's namesake who was called "El Toro de las Pampas", which translates to "The Wild Bull of the Pampas" Furia Pampera was the first to have two different representative locations; Usulután (Furia Usulután) and San Salvador (Furia SS).
Early history
On September 17, 1923, a group of Usulután citizens, mostly of European descent decided to form a team which represent their community passion for football. The club first elected Gustavo Denys as their first club chairman. They decided to choose red and blue as their teams colours. Originally named Tecún Umán, the club was soon renamed in honor of Luis Ángel Firpo, a famous Argentine boxer, who almost became the first Latin heavyweight champion by knocking Jack Dempsey out of the ring on September 24, 1923. The members of C.D. Luis Ángel Firpo acquired land near Sergio Torres creek to develop and build a stadium. Slowly but surely the team gained prestige in 1941–1942, when it labeled the best team in the eastern zone of El Salvador. After defeating Chinameca Sporting Club and Corona F.C. they succeed in participating in the triangular series, but were no match to Quequeisque of Santa Ana.
Luis "el Loco" Regalado was the first Firpo player to earn selection to El Salvador's national football team, he was followed by Ricardo and Miguel Zamora, Leonidas and Lázaro Quinteros, along with Ramón and Mario Águila. Their first football manager was Manuel "el Zancudo" Segurado.
In the early '40s, although Firpo were decently skilled football team, its leadership, was not economically stable. In the '50s despite being bi-champions along with Atlético Marte they were relegated. However, due to the command of Narciso Romagoza, they returned to the first division the very next year. The team discovered some great talents such as Félix Quinteros and Roberto Aguila, however due to poor economic stability they lost both players and were relegated in 1962. In 1967, Firpo were promoted once again thanks to the efforts of Francisco Contreras, Daniel Martínez, Napoleón Regalado, Ramón Tenorio, Raúl Corcio Zavaleta and Miguel Deras. The acquisition of Chilean Andrés Paretti and Julio Escobar breathed fresh air into the team. Once again poor management and financial control lead to Firpo being demoted once again. In 1972 Firpo returned to first division and has stayed there ever since.
The team first great joy came in the 1988–1989 season, after finishing third on the table (with 12 wins, 16 draws, 8 loses) despite this amazing effort, the team's leadership dismissed their Argentinian coach Juan Quarterone and replaced him with the former Luis Ángel Firpo player, Chilean Julio Escobar. The club won their first title after 66 years, They beat Cojutepeque F.C. 4–3 on penalties in the final at the Estadio Cuscatlán, after a 1–1 draw in normal time. The same team roster reached the 1990 final, however they were outplayed by Alianza F.C. and were defeated. In the 1991 final, Firpo defeated C.D. Águila under the direction of Juan Carlos Masnick, winning their second title in just three years.
At the beginning of the nineties they participated in their first international tournament, the and surpassed expectation by defeating Pumas UNAM 1–0 in the first round however they lost in the second round by penalties against Alajuelense. For the 2008–09 CONCACAF Champions League, they were eliminated in the group stage, after having qualified directly into the round as El Salvador's champions. They once again participated in the 2009–10 CONCACAF Champions League, however they were eliminated in the preliminary round by D.C. United.
C.D. Luis Ángel Firpo plays its home games at Estadio Sergio Torres in Usulután, better known throughout Central America as the Devil's Cauldron because it is close to impossible to defeat Firpo there. Located in the Barrio La Parroquia, the stadium is an exception in El Salvador's professional football: As Firpo is the only team in the First Division that plays in its own stadium. Firpo's first president, Mr. Gustavo Demis, bought two thirds of the stadium and, in 1950, the then president, Mr. Juan Boillat, bought the other third. In 1987, the stadium was renamed after the legendary former owner and president of the team. The stadium known as Usulután Stadium became known as Sergio Torres Rivera Stadium.
Their first logo contained a figure of a bull in honour of the "toro de las pampas" of the boxer Luis Ángel Firpo. However, later the board of Luis Ángel Firpo decided to replace the bull with the official coat of arms of Luis Ángel Firpo which consisted of a triangle with two half circles and containg blue and white letters of the club. On top of the coat of arms contains stars which indicate the amount of titles the team has won which currently is at 9.
Despite having a growing fan base across the country, there were no official fan groups until 1990 when Manuel Viagra founded the Furia Pampera in Usulután. They are currently the second largest fan base in San Salvador and the fourth largest nationwide.
Luis Ángel Firpo has had numerous presidents over the course of their history, some of which have been the owners of the club while others have been honorary presidents. Here is a complete list of them.[1]
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Elmer Antonio Landaverde
As of Apertura 2011:
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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In:
Out:
Position | Name |
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Manager | Nelson Mauricio Ancheta |
Assistant Manager | Ivan Ruiz |
Fitness Coach | Luis Ríos |
Goalkeeper Coach | Carlos Rivera |
Club Doctor | Dr. Quintanilla |
knesliogiocal | Miguel Angel Barrera |
Utility | Julio Ernesto Méndez |
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1940s
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
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2000s to date
2010s to date
Others Coaches
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