Ricardo Saprissa
Saprissa playing for Español
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ricardo Juan Antonio Saprissa Aymá | ||
| Date of birth | June 24, 1901 | ||
| Place of birth | San Salvador, El Salvador | ||
| Date of death | August 16, 1990 (aged 89) | ||
| Place of death | Alajuela, Costa Rica | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1928–1932 | Espanyol | ||
| 1932 | Orión | ||
| National team | |||
| 1925–1931 | Catalonia | ||
| Teams managed | |||
| 1935–1938 | Costa Rica | ||
| 1938 | Orión | ||
| 1951 | Costa Rica | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Ricardo Juan Antonio Saprissa Aymá (June 24, 1901 in San Salvador, El Salvador – August 16, 1990) was a lifelong athlete, coach, and promoter of sports.
He spent many years in Costa Rica, playing and coaching football. In 1935 he was co-founder of Deportivo Saprissa, a highly successful football team based in San Juan de Tibás.
Born in El Salvador to Spanish parents, Saprissa played several sports, excelling at football with the team RCD Espanyol, as well as in tennis, field hockey and polo. He won Spain's football national championship with RCD Espanyol in 1928, Spain's field hockey national championship in 1924, and Spain's tennis national championships in 1923 and 1924. He participated with Spain at the Paris Olympic Games in 1924 and on the Spanish Davis Cup team in 1930. He moved to San José, Costa Rica, in 1932.
Saprissa became the coach and president of the local football team, Orión, guiding them to a championship in 1938. He coached Costa Rica's national football team, winning the silver medal at the 1935 and 1938 Central American and Caribbean Games, and in the 1951 Pan American Games in Buenos Aires.
Later that decade, Roberto Fernández started a boys football team, with children from all over San José. He asked Saprissa if he could supply the player's uniforms. He did, and the team became known as Deportivo Saprissa. The team successfully competed in local tournaments. As the young players started to grow, the team began to compete in higher categories. They reached Costa Rica's First Division in 1949.
They have won more national and international tournaments than any other Costa Rican team. They represented CONCACAF at the 2005 FIFA Club World Championship in Japan in December 2005, winning third place in the tournament.
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