2017–18 Liga FPD – Apertura season

Liga FPD
Season2017–18
Dates29 July[1] – 23 December[2]
ChampionsPérez Zeledón (1st title)
CONCACAF League or CONCACAF Champions LeaguePérez Zeledón
Matches played146
Goals scored426 (2.92 per match)
Top goalscorerJonathan McDonald
(15 goals)
Biggest home winSaprissa 6–1 Grecia
(3/4 September 2017)
Santos 5–0 Grecia
(29 October 2017)
Herediano 5–0 UCR
(1 November 2017)
Biggest away winGuadalupe 0–4 Santos
(15 October 2017)
Cartaginés 2–6 Carmelita
(25 October 2017)
Liberia 1–5 Saprissa
(19 November 2017)
Highest scoringCartaginés 2–6 Carmelita
(25 October 2017)
Longest winning run5 matches
Herediano (Two times)
Longest unbeaten run22 matches
Herediano
Longest winless run8 matches
Guadalupe
UCR (Two times)
Longest losing run6 matches
Alajuelense
Guadalupe
Liberia
Highest attendance17,037
Saprissa 2–0 Alajuelense
(29 October 2017)[3]
Lowest attendance210
Santos 4–0 Pérez Zeledón
(30 July 2017)[3]
Total attendance388,793[3]

The 2018 Apertura season served as the opening half of the 2017–18 Liga FPD association football season. It began on 29 July 2017 and ended on 23 December 2017.

Herediano entered as the defending champions, but lost the title in the Apertura finals to Pérez Zeledón.

Personnel and kits

Team Chairman Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
Alajuelense Fernando Ocampo Uruguay Wílmer López Costa Rica Patrick Pemberton Puma Toyota, Claro, Volaris
Carmelita Isidro Zamora Costa Rica Mario Víquez Costa Rica Carlos Acosta Sportek Great Wall Motors, Universidad Santa Lucía
Cartaginés Luis Vargas Costa Rica Adrián Leandro Costa Rica Danny Fonseca Joma Bancrédito, Premium, TWO
Grecia Dagoberto Matamoros Costa Rica Walter Centeno Costa Rica Daniel Vallejos ProSport ROES, Super Rosvil
Guadalupe Vacant[4] Mexico Antonio Abasolo To be determined Pirma Dream Travels, Papa John's[5]
Herediano David Patey Hernán Medford Costa Rica Óscar Granados Umbro Kölbi, Huawei, San Miguel, Coca-Cola, Papa John's, Toyota
Liberia Julio Salas Uruguay Víctor Abelenda Costa Rica Rafael Núñez Prosport[6] Pulmitan, Condovac, Toyota, Philips, Papa John's
Limón Noel Ferguson Costa Rica Horacio Esquivel Costa Rica Kareem McLean Sportek Reina's
Pérez Zeledón Juan Artavia Argentina José Giacone Costa Rica Keilor Soto Living Sport Kölbi, Tracopa
Santos Rafael Arias Costa Rica Johnny Chávez Costa Rica Edder Monguío Living Sport El Colono, Eusse, CopyVisión
Saprissa Carlos Watson Costa Rica Vladimir Quesada Costa Rica Daniel Colindres Kappa Bimbo, Ibérico
UCR Fernando Ocampo Cano Colombia Marco Arias Costa Rica Darío Delgado Roma INS

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing manager Manner of
departure 		Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of
appointment
UCR Costa Rica Mauricio Wright Sacked 17 April 2017[7] Pre-season Colombia Marco Arias 26 May 2017[8]
Cartaginés Costa Rica Jeaustin Campos Resigned 29 May 2017[9] Costa Rica Javier Delgado 30 May 2017[10]
Liberia Costa Rica Erick Rodríguez Resigned 27 July 2017[11] Costa Rica Vinicio Alvarado 31 July 2017[12]
Alajuelense Spain Benito Floro Sacked 21 August 2017[13] 7th[13] Costa Rica Wílmer López 21 August 2017[13]
Guadalupe Costa Rica Luis Fallas Sacked 4 September 2017[14] 12th Mexico Antonio Abasolo 4 September 2017[14]
Carmelita Portugal Guilherme Farinha Sacked 28 September 2017[15] 11th Costa Rica Mario Viquez1 24 November 2017[16]
Liberia Costa Rica Vinicio Alvarado Resigned 7 November 2017[17] 12th Costa Rica Fernando Castro (interim) 7 November 2017[17]
Cartaginés Costa Rica Javier Delgado Mutual consent 10 November 2017[18] 10th Costa Rica Adrián Leandro2 22 November 2017[19][18]
Saprissa Costa Rica Carlos Watson Resigned 17 December 2017[20] 2nd (Quadrangular) Costa Rica Vladimir Quesada 18 December 2017[21]
Notes
  • 1: Mario Viquez had already assumed as interim manager of Carmelite following Farinha's departure on 28 September.
  • 2: Adrián Leandro had already assumed as interim manager of Cartaginés following Delgado's departure on 10 November.

League table

Regular season

Defending champions Herediano topped the season undefeated with 54 points. By achieving this, Herediano broke two records in the league. They became the first team with the longest undefeated streak (surpassing the 21-match streak by Saprissa in the 2003–04 season, the team being coincidentally managed by Hernán Medford). The team also broke the record for more points achieved in a regular season, surpassing Alajuelense in the 2014 Invierno season.[22]

On 3 September 2017, the match between Saprissa and Grecia was suspended at the 81st minute due to a false bomb threat.[23] The remaining nine minutes were played the next morning.[24]

Standings

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Herediano 22 16 6 0 41 12 +29 54 Advanced to the quadrangular and a possible final
2 Saprissa 22 13 4 5 50 27 +23 43 Advanced to the quadrangular
3 Santos de Guápiles 22 11 7 4 46 28 +18 40
4 Pérez Zeledón 22 10 6 6 43 33 +10 36
5 Alajuelense 22 8 7 7 38 31 +7 31
6 Grecia 22 8 7 7 31 37 −6 31
7 Limón 22 7 9 6 35 36 −1 30
8 Cartaginés 22 4 11 7 27 38 −11 23
9 UCR 22 4 8 10 16 28 −12 20
10 Carmelita 22 4 6 12 29 38 −9 18
11 Guadalupe 22 3 7 12 22 36 −14 16
12 Liberia 22 4 2 16 23 57 −34 14
Updated to match(es) played on 16 November 2017. Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) goals scored; 4) head-to-head points; 5) head-to-head goal difference; 6) head-to-head goals scored; 7) draw

Positions by round

Quadrangular and possible final
Quadrangular
Relegation (Aggregate table)
Team ╲ Round12345678910111213141516171819202122
Herediano7421111111111111111111
Saprissa3112222222222222222222
Santos1256377767676433333333
Pérez Zeledón1212129643346743344444444
Alajuelense2335765433334567776775
Grecia11763436654457756665566
Limón4584554575565675557657
Cartaginés5891111119888888991011109988
UCR864789101111119109888888899
Carmelita1010101212121110910111111111099910101010
Guadalupe6971091012121212121212121211121111111111
Liberia9111181088910910910101112101212121212
Source: [citation needed]

Results

Home \ Away ALA CRM CAR GRE GUA HER LIB LIM PEZ SAN SAP UCR
Alajuelense 1–3 3–3 3–0 0–1 0–1 3–0 3–2 3–3 2–2 2–0 2–1
Carmelita 1–1 1–1 0–1 3–1 0–1 1–4 0–1 2–1 1–1 0–2 1–2
Cartaginés 2–2 2–6 2–2 0–0 0–1 1–0 0–0 2–0 0–0 3–4 1–1
Grecia 0–3 1–1 0–0 1–1 0–1 4–0 3–3 0–3 2–1 1–1 1–0
Guadalupe 1–1 1–1 2–3 0–3 1–2 4–0 1–3 1–2 0–4 1–2 1–1
Herediano 3–2 2–0 3–0 2–1 0–0 4–1 2–0 2–1 2–2 1–1 5–0
Liberia 0–2 2–1 0–3 1–4 4–1 0–2 3–1 2–2 0–2 1–5 2–3
Limón 1–1 2–2 3–1 1–2 2–1 1–1 2–1 2–2 1–1 3–1 2–1
Pérez Zeledón 3–2 3–1 3–3 2–2 1–1 0–1 4–0 2–0 4–1 1–2 3–1
Santos 2–1 3–2 4–0 5–0 0–2 1–4 4–2 2–2 4–0 3–2 0–0
Saprissa 2–0 4–2 3–0 6–1 1–0 1–1 4–0 5–2 1–2 1–2 1–0
C.F. Universidad de Costa Rica 0–1 1–0 0–0 1–2 2–1 0–0 0–0 1–1 0–1 0–2 1–1
Updated to match(es) played on 22 November 2017. Source: UNAFUT.com
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Quadrangular – Apertura

Teams qualified

Standings

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Pérez Zeledón 6 4 1 1 9 6 +3 13 Final
2 Saprissa 6 3 1 2 7 6 +1 10
3 Herediano 6 2 0 4 5 5 0 6 Final
4 Santos de Guápiles 6 1 2 3 3 7 −4 5
Source: UNAFUT.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) goals scored; 4) head-to-head points; 5) head-to-head goal difference; 6) head-to-head goals scored; 7) draw

Positions by round

Champions
Team ╲ Round123456
Pérez Zeledón112111
Saprissa321222
Herediano443333
Santos234444
Source: [citation needed]

Results

Home \ Away HER PEZ SAN SAP
Herediano 1–2 2–0 0–1
Pérez Zeledón 1–0 1–0 3–2
Santos 0–2 1–1 0–0
Saprissa 1–0 2–1 1–2
Updated to match(es) played on 17 December 2017. Source: UNAFUT.com
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Apertura finals

Since regular season leaders Herediano were unable to top the quadrangular stage, a double-legged final will be played against the quadrangular winner Pérez Zeledón in order to determine the champions of the Apertura tournament. By getting more points in the aggregate table, Herediano will host the second leg.[25]

Pérez Zeledón1–0Herediano
Venegas 15'
Referee: Ricardo Montero[26]
Herediano0–0Pérez Zeledón
Referee: Keylor Herrera

Season statistics

Scoring

Saprissa's Luis Stewart Pérez scored the first goal of the Apertura tournament

Top goalscorers

Source: [28]

Rank Player Club Goals
1 Costa Rica Jonathan McDonald Alajuelense 15
2 Costa Rica Randall Azofeifa Herediano 10
Costa Rica Josué Mitchell Pérez Zeledón
4 Costa Rica Marvin Angulo Saprissa 9
Paraguay Lauro Cazal Pérez Zeledón
Costa Rica José Guillermo Ortiz Herediano
7 Costa Rica Randall Brenes Cartaginés 8
Costa Rica Andrey Francis Limón
Mexico Aldo Magaña Guadalupe
Costa Rica David Ramírez Saprissa
Costa Rica Keilor Soto Pérez Zeledón

Hat-tricks

Player For Against Result Date Round Reference
Costa Rica Randall Azofeifa Herediano Santos 4–1 (A) 27 September 2017 10 [1]
Mexico Julio César Cruz UCR 5–0 (H) 1 November 2017 18 [2]

Goalkeeping

Leonel Moreira's four consecutive clean sheets helped him become the goalkeeper with the most consecutive minutes without receiving a goal in Herediano, and eighth in the history of the league[29]
Rank Player Club Matches Goals
Against 		Average[30]
1 Costa Rica Leonel Moreira Herediano 21 11 0,52
2 Costa Rica Daniel Cambronero Herediano 4 3 0,75
3 Costa Rica Marco Madrigal Cartaginés 5 4 0,80
4 Costa Rica Kevin Briceño Saprissa 19 17 0,89
5 Costa Rica Bryan Morales Santos 13 13 1,00
6 Costa Rica Luis Carlos Zamora Carmelita 3 3 1,00
7 Costa Rica Carlos Méndez UCR 17 18 1,06
8 Costa Rica Bryan Segura Pérez Zeledón 19 21 1,11
9 Costa Rica Patrick Pemberton Alajuelense 18 22 1,22
10 Costa Rica Alejandro Gómez Santos 14 18 1,29

Foreign players

This is a list of foreign players in the 2017 Apertura season. The following players:

  1. Have played at least one game for the respective club.
  2. Have not been capped for the Costa Rica national football team on any level, independently from the birthplace

A new rule was introduced this season, that clubs can have four foreign players per club and can only add a new player if there is an injury or a player(s) is released and it's before the close of the season transfer window.

Team Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 Player 4
Alajuelense Colombia Iván Luquetta Trinidad and Tobago Jamille Boatswain Saint Lucia Kurt Frederick Brazil Iago Soares
Carmelita Argentina Cristian Tissone Brazil Anderson Andrade
Cartaginés Argentina Hernán Fener Uruguay Fabrizio Ronchetti Argentina Nelson González
Grecia Team has no foreign players in its squad
Guadalupe Mexico Aldo Magaña Argentina Lautaro Ayala Mexico César Martínez
Herediano Mexico Luis Ángel Landín Argentina Jonathan Hansen Mexico Julio César Cruz
Liberia Serbia Boris Balinovic Serbia Vladimir Vujasinović Serbia Zoran Zec Italy Alessio Lava
Limón Colombia Cristian Rivas Venezuela Jorge Luis Ruiz Venezuela Víctor Pérez
Pérez Zeledón Argentina Paulo Azcurra Paraguay Lauro Cazal Argentina Luis Aseff Argentina Milton Martínez
Santos Team has no foreign players in its squad
Saprissa Brazil Henrique Moura Honduras Jerry Bengtson Argentina Mariano Torres Brazil Anderson Leite
UCR Colombia Mike Campaz Colombia Darío Bustos Colombia Edwards Jiménez Colombia Daniel Ocampo

[31]

References

  1. ^ Molina, José Pablo (28 July 2017). "A las puertas de un nuevo certamen". UNAFUT.com (in European Spanish). UNAFUT. Archived from the original on 29 July 2017. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  2. ^ Molina, José Pablo (20 June 2017). "Últimos campeones abrirán en casa el certamen de Apertura 2017". www.unafut.com (in European Spanish). Archived from the original on 2017-06-25. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  3. ^ a b c "Asistencia y recaudación". UNAFUT.com. Archived from the original on 24 December 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  4. ^ Martínez, Daniel (15 June 2017). "Olman Vega no es más presidente de Guadalupe FC". Radio Monumental. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  5. ^ Jiménez, Daniel (27 July 2017). "Uniforme de local de Guadalupe FC @nacion @PuroDeporteLNpic.twitter.com/F2flcMe1W5". Twitter. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  6. ^ "Nuestras equipaciones para el Torneo de Apertura 2017.pic.twitter.com/6L7tSyURsS". Municipal Liberia on Twitter. 27 July 2017. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  7. ^ Oviedo, Steven (17 April 2017). "Mauricio Wright queda fuera de la UCR". La Nación (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  8. ^ Retana, Pedro (26 May 2017). "UCR apuesta por un D.T. tipo Pinto". Diario Extra (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  9. ^ Brenes, Cristian (29 May 2017). "Jeaustin Campos deja el Cartaginés y apunta al Blooming de Bolivia". La Nación (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  10. ^ Villarreal, Juan Diego (30 May 2017). "El primer rival de Javier Delgado será un Cartaginés en problemas económicos". La Nación (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  11. ^ Martínez, Daniel (27 July 2017). "Erick Rodríguez renunció a la dirección técnica de Liberia". Radio Monumental. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  12. ^ "Vinicio Alvarado asume la dirección técnica del Municipal Liberia - Website Oficial Municipal Liberia". Website Oficial Municipal Liberia (in European Spanish). Municipal Liberia. 31 July 2017. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
  13. ^ a b c Tayver, Fanny (21 August 2017). "Alajuelense confirma: Wílmer López asume en lugar de Benito Floro". La Nación (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  14. ^ a b Araya, José Fernando (4 September 2017). "Guadalupe FC separa a Luis Fernando Fallas como técnico". Teletica (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2017-09-06. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  15. ^ Oviedo, Steven (28 September 2017). "Carmelita destituye a Guilherme Farinha". La Nación (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  16. ^ Solano Salas, Adriana (25 November 2017). "Junta directiva de Carmelita ratificó la dupla de Mario Víquez-Luis José Herra para Clausura 2018". El Mundo CR (in European Spanish). Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  17. ^ a b Jiménez, Daniel. "Vinicio Alvarado renunció a Liberia". La Nación (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  18. ^ a b Contreras, Paulo (10 November 2017). "Javier Delgado no continúa en el Cartaginés - Club Sport Cartaginés". C.S. Cartaginés (in European Spanish). Archived from the original on 10 November 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  19. ^ Contreras, Paulo (22 November 2017). "Adrián Leandro es oficialmente Director Técnico del Cartaginés". cartagines.cr (in European Spanish). C.S. Cartaginés. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  20. ^ "Urgente: Carlos Watson no sigue en el Saprissa | laprensalibre.cr". www.laprensalibre.cr. 17 December 2017. Archived from the original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  21. ^ Naranjo, Julio. "Vladimir Quesada es el nuevo técnico del Saprissa". Teletica (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  22. ^ Brenes, Cristian (21 November 2017). "Herediano impone récords aplastando dentro y fuera de casa". La Nación (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  23. ^ Álvarez, Cristian (3 September 2017). "El partido Saprissa-Grecia fue suspendido por una falsa amenaza de bomba". Diario Digital Nuestro País (in European Spanish). Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  24. ^ "Comunicado Oficial: Evacuación del estadio Ricardo Saprissa". UNAFUT.com. 18 December 2017. Archived from the original on 18 December 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  25. ^ "Resultados". unafut.com (in European Spanish). Retrieved 17 December 2017. En esta serie final el equipo local en el segundo juego sera el mejor ubicado en la tabla acumulada
  26. ^ "FIFA Referees News: Costa Rica : 2017 Torneo Apertura Final". 23 December 2017.
  27. ^ Álvarez, Cristian (30 July 2017). "Luis Stewart Pérez anotó el primer gol del Apertura 2017". Diario Digital Nuestro País. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  28. ^ "Goleadores". UNAFUT.com. Archived from the original on 24 December 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  29. ^ Segura, Geovany (20 August 2017). "¡Mejor que Hermidio y Wardy! Esto logró Leonel Moreira". La Prensa Libre. Archived from the original on 24 August 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  30. ^ "Porteros". UNAFUT.com. Archived from the original on 24 December 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  31. ^ "Extranjeros Campeonato BP Apertura 2017". www.unafut.com (in European Spanish). UNAFUT. Archived from the original on 2017-08-19. Retrieved 2018-01-11.