CD Saprissa - last updated on 3 August 2008
(Courtesy of Johnny Beaufays)
Club name: Club Deportivo Saprissa
Foundation: July 16th 1935
City: San José
Colours: Purple and white
Website: www.saprissa.co.cr
Honours:
CONCACAF Champions' Cup - 3 (1993, 1995, 2005)
Copa Interclubes UNCAF - 5 (1972, 1973, 1978, 1998, 2003)
CONCACAF Central America Tournament - 1 (1970)
US Camel Cup - 1 (1995)
Copa LG - 1 (1998)
Primera División de Costa Rica - 27 (1952-53, 1953-54, 1957-58, 1962-63, 1964-65, 1965-66, 1967-68, 1968-69, 1969-70, 1972-73, 1973-74, 1974-75, 1975-76, 1976-77, 1977-78, 1982-83, 1988-89, 1989-90, 1993-94, 1994-95, 1997-98, 1998-99, 2003-04, 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08 Apertura, 2007-08 Clausura)
A bit of history:
Club Deportivo Saprissa, known also as simply Saprissa or Deportivo Saprissa, is a Costa Rican sports club, mostly known for its football team. The club is located in San Juan de Tibás, San José, and plays home games at the Estadio Ricardo Saprissa (La Cueva). The club's success has led to the Costa Rican press nicknaming the team El Monstruo Morado ("The Purple Monster"), a reference to their purple-coloured playing kit.
Saprissa is one of the most successful clubs in North America having won the CONCACAF Champions' Cup three times - in 1993, 1995, and 2005. They have also won five Central American crowns in 1972, 1973, 1978, 1998, and 2003 as well as 27 Primera División de Costa Rica championships (the most of any team in Costa Rica). The club is currently the 86th best team in the world according to the International Federation of Football History & Statistics.
[1] Arguably their most notable moment came in 2005 as they became the first, and so far only, non-Mexican club in CONCACAF to take part in the FIFA Club World Cup, finishing in third place.
In 1937, Deportivo Saprissa adopted purple as the official colour of the team. It is said that the team adopted purple because their previous uniform, which consisted of a red shirt and blue shorts, were washed together by mistake. When the uniforms were ready to be picked up, it was realized that the two colours blended on the uniform, forming a solid purple colour.
The history of the nickname El Monstruo Morado ("The Purple Monsters") can be traced back to 1987, when the Costa Rican newspaper El Diario Extra gave the team this nickname during the local derby between Deportivo Saprissa and La Liga Deportiva Alajuelense. Apparently, a reporter had commented that the sea of fans in the grandstands at the Estadio Ricardo Saprissa in Tibas wearing purple and the tremendous noise they were generating made him feel like he was in the presence of a purple monster. Deportivo Saprissa immediately adopted the moniker of El Monstruo Morado.
Club crests: (roll on the crest to get more informations)
CD Saprissa
