# 2018–19 Liga FPD

The 2018–19 Liga FPD season, also known as Campeonato Banco Popular for sponsorship reasons, is the 98th since its establishment. The tournament is the second since the 2006–07 season to use the Apertura and Clausura names to their short tournaments, marking a departure from the Invierno and Verano tournaments.
The Voit Lummo is the official match ball of the tournament. Deportivo Saprissa are the defending champions, after defeating Herediano in the Clausura 2018 tournament.

## Teams and Structure Changes

A total of 12 teams will contest the league, including 11 sides from the 2017–18 season, one team promoted from the Liga de Ascenso.
San Carlos were promoted for the first time to the Liga FPD after defeating Jicaral in the Liga de Ascenso final, thus replacing Liberia in the Liga FPD.
For this season, the league has changed the playoff format. The top 4 teams in the regular season will progress to a two-legged knockout tournament. If the same team that wins the regular season wins the playoff, that team wins the season championship immediately. Should a different team win the playoff than won the regular season, those two teams will meet in a two-legged Grand Final for the season championship.

### Personnel, kits and Stadia

    Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.
| Team | Manager | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor(s) | Stadium | Capacity |
| Alajuelense | Luis Diego Arnáez | Kelme | Claro | Alejandro Morera Soto | 18,000 |
| Carmelita | Mario Víquez | Monarca | Almacenes Decavisa | Estadio Rafael Bolaños | 4,500 |
| Cartaginés | Martin Arriola | Joma | Bancrédito | "Fello" Meza | 13,500 |
| Municipal Grecia | Walter Centeno | Living Sports | Super Rosvil | Estadio Allen Riggioni | 3,000 |
| Guadalupe F.C. | Geiner Segura | Pirma | Papa John's Pizza | Estadio José Joaquín "Coyella" Fonseca | 4,500 |
| Herediano | Jaime de la Pava | Umbro | kölbi | Eladio Rosabal Cordero | 8,721 |
| Limón | Ricardo Allen Thomas | Sportek | APM Terminals | Estadio Juan Gobán | 3,000 |
| Pérez Zeledón | José Giacone | Textiles JB | kölbi | Municipal de Pérez Zeledón | 6,000 |
| San Carlos | Martin Cardetti | ARN | Dos Pinos | Estadio Carlos Ugalde Álvarez | 5,600 |
| Santos | Johnny Chaves | Capelli Sport | Grupo Colono | Ebal Rodríguez | 3,000 |
| Saprissa | Vladimir Quesada | Kappa | Bimbo, Ibérico | Ricardo Saprissa | 23,000 |
| UCR | Minor Díaz | Saeta | TBD | Estadio Jorge Hernán "Cuty" Monge | 5,500 |

## Managerial changes
### Before the start of the season

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of appointment | Position in table |
| CF Universidad de Costa Rica | TBD | Resigned | June 2018 | Octavio Bermúdez | July 2018 | TBD (2017–2018) |
| Herediano | TBD | Resigned | June 2018 | Jaime de la Pava | July 2018 | TBD (2017–2018) |
| Cartaginés | TBD | Resigned | June 2018 | Paulo Wanchope | July 2018 | TBD (2017–2018) |

### During the Apertura season

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of appointment | Position in table |
| Limón F.C. | Horacio Esquivel | Resigned | September 2018 | Ricardo Allen Thomas | September 2018 | 12th (Apertura 2018) |
| Herediano | Jaime de la Pava | Sacked | September 2018 | Jafet Soto | September 2018 | th (Apertura 2018) |
| C.S. Cartaginés | Paulo Wanchope | Resigned | September 2018 | Martin Arriola | September 2018 | th (Apertura 2018) |
| Limón F.C. | Ricardo Allen Thomas | Moved to assistant coach | September 2018 | Marvin Solano | September 2018 | th (Apertura 2018) |
| UCR | Octavio Bermúdez | Sacked | October 2018 | Minor Díaz | October 2018 | 12th (Apertura 2018) |
| Herediano | Jafet Soto | Sacked | October 2018 | Paulo Wanchope | October 2018 | th (Apertura 2018) |
| Carmelita | Mario Víquez | Sacked | October 2018 | Luis José Herra y Luis Carlos Mejías | October 2018 | th (Apertura 2018) |

### Between the Apertura and Clausura season

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of appointment | Position in table |
| Herediano | Jafet Soto | Sacked | December 2018 | Hernan Medford | December 2018 | 12th (Apertura 2018) |

### During the Clausura season

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of appointment | Position in table |
| San Carlos | Martin Cardetti | Sacked | January 2019 | Luis Marin | January 2019 | th (Apertura 2018) |
| Alajuelense | Luis Diego Arnáez | Sacked | January 2019 | Hernán Torres | January 2019 | th (Apertura 2018) |
| Herediano | Hernan Medford | Sacked | March 2019 | Jafet Soto | March 2019 | th (Apertura 2018) |
| Limon | Marvin Solano | Sacked | February 2019 | Ricardo Allen | February 2019 | th (Apertura 2018) |

## Apertura

The Apertura tournament will be played in the second half of 2018, starting on 21 July.

### Regular season

The regular season began on 21 July 2018 and ended on 11 November 2018.
On 17 October 2018, the match between Limón and Grecia was suspended in the 25th minute due to a waterlogged pitch. The remaining 65 minutes were played the next day.

#### Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Saprissa | 22 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 45 | 17 | +28 | 48 | Advance to Playoffs and (if necessary) Grand final |
| 2 | Alajuelense | 22 | 16 | 0 | 6 | 44 | 22 | +22 | 48 | Advance to Playoffs |
| 3 | San Carlos | 22 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 38 | 29 | +9 | 38 | Advance to Playoffs |
| 4 | Herediano | 22 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 35 | 26 | +9 | 38 | Advance to Playoffs |
| 5 | Pérez Zeledón | 22 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 31 | 24 | +7 | 37 | |
| 6 | Cartaginés | 22 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 40 | 34 | +6 | 32 | |
| 7 | Santos de Guápiles | 22 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 26 | 29 | −3 | 25 | |
| 8 | Carmelita | 22 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 31 | 40 | −9 | 24 | |
| 9 | Grecia | 22 | 7 | 3 | 12 | 27 | 36 | −9 | 24 | |
| 10 | Guadalupe | 22 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 25 | 40 | −15 | 23 | |
| 11 | Limón | 22 | 5 | 5 | 12 | 27 | 43 | −16 | 20 | |
| 12 | UCR | 22 | 2 | 4 | 16 | 23 | 52 | −29 | 10 | |

#### Results

| Home \ Away | ALA | CARM | CART | GRE | GUA | HER | LIM | PER | SCA | SNT | SAP | UCR |
| Alajuelense | — | 2–3 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 6–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 5–1 |
| Carmelita | 0–1 | — | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–4 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 3–2 |
| Cartaginés | 2–3 | 3–2 | — | 2–3 | 5–1 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 4–3 | 0–1 | 2–2 |
| Grecia | 1–4 | 2–0 | 1–1 | — | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 |
| Guadalupe | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | — | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 |
| Herediano | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 4–2 | 2–1 | — | 6–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 4–0 |
| Limón | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 5–2 | 3–0 | — | 0–3 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 |
| Pérez Zeledón | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | — | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 |
| San Carlos | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | — | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 |
| Santos de Guápiles | 0–2 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | — | 0–0 | 2–1 |
| Saprissa | 2–1 | 3–0 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 3–3 | 2–1 | — | 4–0 |
| UCR | 1–2 | 3–4 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–4 | — |

### Playoffs

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| 1 | Saprissa | 0 | 1 | 1 (2) | | | | | |
| 4 | Herediano | 1 | 0 | 1 (4) | | | | | |
| 4 | Herediano | 1 | 0 | 1 (4) | 4 | Herediano | 2 | 1 | 3 (4) |
| | | | | | 2 | Alajuelense | 1 | 2 | 3 (2) |
| 2 | Alajuelense | 1 | 1 | 2 (3) | 2 | Alajuelense | 1 | 2 | 3 (2) |
| 3 | San Carlos | 1 | 1 | 2 (1) | | | | | |

#### Finals
##### First leg
##### Second leg
### Grand final

If the regular season winners are unable to win the playoffs, a double-legged final will be played against the playoffs winner in order to determine the champions of the Apertura tournament. The team with the better accumulated record over the regular season and playoffs will host the second leg.

#### Second leg

* Apertura 2018 champions
* Herediano 27th title

## Clausura
### Regular season

The regular season began on 12 January 2019 and will end of 28 April 2019.

#### Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | San Carlos | 22 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 36 | 20 | +16 | 39 | Advance to Playoffs and (if necessary) Grand final |
| 2 | Saprissa | 22 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 41 | 27 | +14 | 38 | Advance to Playoffs |
| 3 | Pérez Zeledón | 22 | 9 | 10 | 3 | 35 | 27 | +8 | 37 | Advance to Playoffs |
| 4 | Herediano | 22 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 31 | 24 | +7 | 34 | Advance to Playoffs |
| 5 | Cartaginés | 22 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 34 | 28 | +6 | 34 | |
| 6 | Alajuelense | 22 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 33 | 27 | +6 | 32 | |
| 7 | Grecia | 22 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 31 | |
| 8 | UCR | 22 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 35 | 38 | −3 | 31 | |
| 9 | Santos de Guápiles | 22 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 33 | 39 | −6 | 27 | |
| 10 | Limón | 22 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 22 | 32 | −10 | 26 | |
| 11 | Guadalupe | 22 | 4 | 6 | 12 | 20 | 37 | −17 | 18 | |
| 12 | Carmelita | 22 | 2 | 5 | 15 | 19 | 40 | −21 | 11 | |

#### Results

| Home \ Away | ALA | CARM | CART | GRE | GUA | HER | LIM | PER | SCA | SNT | SAP | UCR |
| Alajuelense | — | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–3 |
| Carmelita | 1–1 | — | 0–3 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 2–4 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 |
| Cartaginés | 2–4 | 2–1 | — | 1–1 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 |
| Grecia | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | — | 2–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 5–0 | 0–5 | 2–0 |
| Guadalupe | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 1–2 | — | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–4 |
| Herediano | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 1–0 | — | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 |
| Limón | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | — | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 |
| Pérez Zeledón | 2–4 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | — | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 3–1 |
| San Carlos | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 5–1 | 2–2 | — | 1–0 | 0–2 | 3–1 |
| Santos de Guápiles | 1–3 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 0–1 | 1–5 | — | 5–3 | 2–1 |
| Saprissa | 0–0 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 4–2 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | — | 4–0 |
| UCR | 2–2 | 3–1 | 4–4 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 0–2 | — |

### Playoffs

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| 1 | San Carlos | 0 | 4 | 4 | | | | | |
| 4 | Herediano | 2 | 1 | 3 | | | | | |
| 4 | Herediano | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | San Carlos | 1 | 0 | 1 (a) |
| | | | | | 2 | Saprissa | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2 | Saprissa | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | Saprissa | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | Pérez Zeledón | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | |

#### Semifinals
##### Second legs

San Carlos progress 4–3 on aggregate.
Saprissa progress 3–2 on aggregate.

#### Finals
##### Second leg

1–1 on aggregate. San Carlos wins 1–0 on away goals.

### Grand final

If the regular season winners are unable to win the playoffs, a double-legged final will be played against the playoffs winner in order to determine the champions of the Clausura tournament. The team with the better accumulated record over the regular season and playoffs will host the second leg. For this tournament, San Carlos won both the regular season and playoffs, so they were declared champions without a grand final.
* Clausura 2019 champions
* San Carlos 1st title

## Aggregate table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Saprissa (Q) | 44 | 25 | 11 | 8 | 86 | 44 | +42 | 86 | CONCACAF League preliminary round |
| 2 | Alajuelense | 44 | 24 | 8 | 12 | 77 | 49 | +28 | 80 | |
| 3 | San Carlos (Q) | 44 | 22 | 11 | 11 | 74 | 49 | +25 | 77 | CONCACAF League round of 16 |
| 4 | Pérez Zeledón | 44 | 19 | 17 | 8 | 66 | 51 | +15 | 74 | |
| 5 | Herediano (Q) | 44 | 20 | 12 | 12 | 66 | 50 | +16 | 72 | CONCACAF League round of 16 |
| 6 | Cartaginés | 44 | 17 | 15 | 12 | 74 | 62 | +12 | 66 | |
| 7 | Grecia | 44 | 15 | 10 | 19 | 59 | 68 | −9 | 55 | |
| 8 | Santos de Guápiles | 44 | 15 | 7 | 22 | 59 | 68 | −9 | 52 | |
| 9 | Limón | 44 | 12 | 10 | 22 | 49 | 75 | −26 | 46 | |
| 10 | UCR | 44 | 10 | 11 | 23 | 58 | 90 | −32 | 41 | |
| 11 | Guadalupe | 44 | 10 | 11 | 23 | 45 | 77 | −32 | 41 | |
| 12 | Carmelita (R) | 44 | 8 | 11 | 25 | 50 | 80 | −30 | 35 | Relegated to Liga de Ascenso |
* ↑ As non-champions with best aggregate record (CRC3)
* ↑ As Clausura champions (CRC1)
* ↑ As Apertura champions (CRC2)

## List of foreign players in the league

This is a list of foreign players in the 2018–19 season. The following players:
* Have played at least one game for the respective club.
* 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 is released and it's before the close of the season transfer window.
(player released during the Apertura season) (player released between the Apertura and Clausura seasons) (player released during the Clausura season)