Alejandro Morera Soto
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alejandro Morera Soto | ||
| Date of birth | July 14, 1909 | ||
| Place of birth | Alajuela, Costa Rica | ||
| Date of death | March 26, 1995 (aged 85) | ||
| Height | 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Alajuelense | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1925-1927 | Alajuelense | 47 | (39) |
| 1927-1928 | Centro Gallego | 19 | (21) |
| 1928-1932 | Alajuelense | 144 | (136) |
| 1933 | Espanyol | 3 | (3) |
| 1933-1935 | Barcelona | 76 | (63) |
| 1935-1936 | Hércules | 18 | (9) |
| 1936 | Le Havre | 2 | (1) |
| 1936-1947 | Alajuelense | 364 | (312) |
| Total | 673 | (584) | |
| National team | |||
| 1938-1943 | Costa Rica | 7 | (6) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1941, 1943 | Costa Rica | ||
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
Alejandro Morera Soto (July 14, 1909 in Alajuela – March 26, 1995) was a Costa Rican football player, who played as a striker mostly for Alajuelense in the Costa Rican Primera División. He is considered the best and most talented player of all time in Costa Rica.
"El fenómeno costarricense" ("The Costa Rican phenomenon"), as he was dubbed by the press in Catalonia, Spain, where he was part of FC Barcelona. However, he was known to most as "El Mago del Balón" (The Magician of the Ball) he was of small stature but a powerful striker.
In 1925 at the early age of 16, he made his debut with Alajuelense in the Costa Rican premier league Primera División in a match against Sociedad Gimnástica Española. Soon afterwards he became the star player and team's captain, showing a quality game and scoring many goals. These attributes opened doors beyond the country, initially in Cuba at Centro Gallego in 1927. He thereafter returned to Alajuelense and in 1928 helped the team obtain its first national championship, Morera scoring four goals in the last match against Herediano and becoming the top scorer with 26 goals. He shone as the team's outstanding player during Alajuelense's tours of Mexico (1931) and Perú (1932), where he received accolades for his playing ability.
In February 1933 he was invited to Spain by former Real Club Deportivo Español player Ricardo Saprissa for a tryout with Español. The Barcelona newspaper Mundo Deportivo (28/02/1968 page 8) reported that Morera had wanted to play for FC Barcelona rather than Espanyol and was able with the assistance of Sr. Esteban Sala, a club director and Sr.Gispert, also club director whom he had befriended during the ocean crossing to personally negotiate, after a successful tryout with the club's coach, a three-year contract directly with FC Barcelona's president, Joan Coma Segarrols.
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