Deportivo Saprissa

Deportivo Saprissais a Costa Ricansports club, mostly known for itsfootballteam. The club is based in San Juan de Tibás,San José, and play their home games at theEstadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá. Their colours are burgundy and white. It is the main team representing the capital, but with the distinction of being massively followed throughout the whole country and overseas. The club was founded in 1935 and has competed in the Costa Rican first division since 1949. The name of the team comes from one of the club's main founders, Ricardo Saprissa Aymá. One of the most popular nicknames for the teamEl Monstruo Morado(The Purple Monster) can be traced back to 1987, when the Costa Rican newspaperDiario Extragave the team the nickname during a derby, because of the club's enormous following. A reporter commented that the sea of fans in the stands at the Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá inTibáswearing purple, and the tremendous noise they were generating, made him feel like he was "in the presence of a thousand headed monster". Saprissa immediately adopted the nicknameEl Monstruo Morado. It remains the most laudedfootballteam in the whole region.
Saprissa has won 40Primera División de Costa Ricachampionships, including six consecutive national titles in the 70s. It stands as one of the more successful teams in theCONCACAFregion as well, having won theCONCACAF Champions' Cupthree times – in1993,1995, and2005. Saprissa has also won fiveCentral American crownsin 1972, 1973, 1978, 1998, and 2003.
For the period 1 September 2007 to 31 August 2008 the club was ranked the 106th best team in the world by theInternational Federation of Football History & Statistics, an organization recognized byFIFA.
Saprissa has regularly appeared in the CONCACAF Champions Cup finals in recent decades, with three first-place finishes and four runners-up finishes. One of the club's most notable moments came in 2005 when Saprissa became the second club inCONCACAFto finish third in theFIFA Club World Cuptogether with the Mexican clubNecaxawho accomplished it in 2000 and were joined by two more Mexican clubs, in 2012 byC.F. Monterreyand in 2017 by C.F Pachuca.
The club was chosen by the IFFHS as theCONCACAF team of the 20th Century.This event gave Saprissa worldwide recognition.
Their main partner is a Costa Rican Investment Consortium named Horizonte Morado (Purple Horizon), composed mainly of Juan Carlos Rojas Callán, Edgar Zurcher, and Televisora de Costa Rica.
Deportivo Saprissa was founded on 16 July 1935, by Roberto Fernández who named his team after the man who sponsored their uniform, DonRicardo Saprissa Aymá.  The club entered the Costa Rican Third Division asSaprissa F.C.They were promoted to thePrimera División de Costa Rica, making their debut in the top flight on 21 August 1949. That year Saprissa actually won the first final match against Gimnástica Española with 0–3 score, then lost the away game by 6–2 to be defeated again 2–1 in a third game. They were accepted in 1st category as a favor granted by the administrative entity of that time. One of the most notable achievement of their early years, was to win the third and second division titles undefeated. The club has remained in the Costa Rican top flight ever since.
In 2003, the majority of the club's stock was bought by Mexican entrepreneurJorge Vergara, the owner of Mexican football clubClub Deportivo Guadalajaraand soon after the operator ofMajor League SoccerclubClub Deportivo Chivas USAin the United States.
Saprissa won the2005 CONCACAF Champions Cup, beating Mexican clubUNAMin the final over two legs, in May 2005. AsCONCACAFclub champions they qualified for the2005 FIFA Club World Championship, held in Japan in December 2005. They beatAustralianclubSydney FCin the quarter-finals thanks to a goal byChristian Bolaños. In the semi-finals they were beaten 3–0 byEnglishclubLiverpool, who were the Champions League holders that year, making it the strongest team in Europe. In the third place match they beatAl IttihadofSaudi Arabia3–2.Álvaro Saboríoscored two goals, andRónald Gómezscored an astonishing free-kick final goal in the 89th minute to seal the win. After this "late goal" Costa Rican people start calling the late-game goal "La Saprihora" (The Sapritime) in honor to this late goal even though this event happened in 2005 people still using this name for most of the Saprissa goals scored after the minute 85. They finished the competition in third place behindSão PauloofBraziland Liverpool. Saborío was joint top scorer, and Bolaños was awarded the Bronze Ball byFIFAas third best player of the championship out of 5 teams.
Even though the original colours were red and white, the team is known by their purple-burgundy colour. Red and white were utilised very briefly, and Ricardo Saprissa's influence from the Polo Club of Barcelona had the team try red and blue instead, even though this is the origin of the colour used throughout all of its history. When the new kit for 1937 (red and blue) was being manufactured, some of the threads got mixed evenly along the sides of the jerseys, producing a type of purple, resembling a burgundy/maroon colour. This new colour went down well with everyone involved, it reflected class and originality, and it was selected as the team's official colour. It was decided that the team's shield would appear on the chest of the uniform, with a notable bold white letter "S".
Saprissa utilizes a purple/burgundy jersey with white and grey details, and white shorts with burgundy and grey details for home games. For away games, a white jersey with burgundy and grey details is used, and white shorts with burgundy and grey details.
Saprissa plays home games at the Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá named after Ricardo Saprissa. They originally played at theCosta Rica National Stadium, which they rented and shared.
A new site for a stadium was bought in 1965 and on 27 August 1972 after six years of construction and upgrades, Estadio Ricardo Saprissa was officially opened. The first match was between Deportivo Saprissa and Comunicaciones of Guatemala. The match ended in a 1–1 draw with Peter Sandoval of Comunicaciones scoring the first goal at the new stadium.
The stadium is calledEstadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá, named after the founder of the club. There is a bust ofDon Ricardoin one of the corners of the stadium. The stadium is also nicknamedLa Cueva del Monstruo(The Monster's Cave/Lair) orLa Cueva(The Lair), after the nickname of the club,El Monstruo Morado("The Purple Monster"). It has aseating capacityof 24,000 and is overlooked by local mountains and downtown San Jose.
The stadium has great fame internationally, especially with all the national teams that play against Costa Rica.
La Ultra Morada(The Purple Ultra) is the club's most radical supporters group, even though it is not recognized as an official or formal part of the club. This group is always set on the south side of the stadium. La Ultra Morada is categorized as an "ultras group" or "ultras movement", being similar to what is more commonly known to outsiders as "hooligans"; even though members ofLa Ultra Morada, or simplyLa Ultra, emphasize their support for the club by creating a passionate atmosphere during matches.
The group was the firstUltrasgroup in Costa Rica, formed in 1995 when then-Saprissa president Enrique Artiñano brought fans from the Chilean football clubUniversidad Católicato help build a similar ultras group to theirLos Cruzadosfor Saprissa. In the mid-to-late 1990s the Ultras began to develop the image of beingfootball hooliganswhen violence began to break out with opposition fans during games. Due to the negative atmosphere and press coverage, Saprissa officials stepped in to restore order to a group that they had help create. The group is sub-divided in smaller groups calledpeñas. They maintain the style of a classic Ultras group, with chants, choreos, pyro shows (flares and gunpowder), abundant flags, giant banners, and the constant beat of an oversized bass drum.
There are, however, several different other supporter group that are legally recognized by the club. These groups occupy different zones in the stadium, and they are mainly groups that get organized with transportation, original merchandise, and massive displays for the team during a game (confetti, balloons, banners, flares, etc.)
The official mascot of the team is a cartoonish purple dragon, which was based on the Dragon Elliot fromPete's Dragon,and similar to one fromDragon Talesand many other dragons from children's shows. Because of this, many of the fans call the mascotUn monstruo amigablewhich means "a friendly monster". The mascot was meant to appeal to children in general, but it ended up being loved by the entirety of the fans. This caused it to be present in all kinds of paraphernalia and merchandise. It is the most recognizable and appreciated mascot in all the region.
However, in early 2010, a new mascot was introduced. The mascot was designed in Mexico and many club supporters felt that it was a campy, superhero-like purple monster. As a result, the new mascot was highly rejected by the fans, claiming that "No queremos un dinosaurio super héroe, queremos al espíritu del equipo" (We don't want a super hero dinosaur, we want the original spirit of the team).
The new mascot was replaced immediately after the strong rejection, and the team now has a new mascot that resembles the original. The new costume was manufactured by Fernando Thiel, a widely recognized Argentina-born puppeteer who lives in Costa Rica.
When Deportivo Saprissa facesAlajuelense, it is known asEl Clásico. Saprissa is the team fromTibás, inSan José, while Alajuelense is fromAlajuela. The first duel between these teams was on October 12, 1949, in a match where 
Alajuelense won by 6–5. The current score of victories is 139 for Saprissa, 107 for Alajuelense and 109 draws.
As of 30 January 2025
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.