Deportivo Saprissa

Deportivo Saprissa was founded on 16 July 1935, by Roberto Fernández who named his team after the man who sponsored their uniform, Don Ricardo Saprissa Aymá. The club entered the Costa Rican Third Division as Saprissa F.C. They were promoted to the Primera 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.

Even though the very first 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 Stadium packed before a Clasico

Fans of La Ultra Morada in La Cueva

Saprissa plays home games at the Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá named after Ricardo Saprissa. They originally played at the Costa 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 called Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá, named after the founder of the club. There is a bust of Don Ricardo in one of the corners of the stadium. The stadium is also nicknamed La Cueva del Monstruo (The Monster's Cave/Lair) or La Cueva (The Lair), after the nickname of the club, El Monstruo Morado ("The Purple Monster"). It has a seating capacity of 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 of La Ultra Morada, or simply La Ultra, emphasize their support for the club by creating a passionate atmosphere during matches. The group was the first Ultras group in Costa Rica, formed in 1995 when then-Saprissa president Enrique Artiñano brought fans from the Chilean football club Universidad Católica to help build a similar ultras group to their Los Cruzados for Saprissa. In the mid-to-late 1990s the Ultras began to develop the image of being football hooligans when 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 called peñas. 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 from Pete's Dragon,[4] and similar to one from Dragon Tales and many other dragons from children's shows. Because of this, many of the fans call the mascot Un monstruo amigable which 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.

• CONCACAF Champions League: 35 appearances

• CONCACAF League: 3 appearances

As of July 28, 2023

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  CRC Kevin Chamorro 2 MF  CRC Christian Bolaños 3 DF  CRC Pablo Arboine 4 DF  CRC Kendall Waston 6 MF  CRC Jefferson Brenes 7 MF  CRC Jefry Valverde 8 MF  CRC David Guzmán 9 FW  JAM Javon East 12 DF  CRC Ricardo Blanco 14 FW  CRC Ariel Rodríguez 15 DF  CRC Douglas Sequeira 18 GK  CRC Esteban Alvarado 19 DF  CRC Ryan Bolaños 20 MF  ARG Mariano Torres (Captain) 21 DF  PAN Fidel Escobar 22 MF  CRC Youstin Salas

No. Pos. Nation Player 23 FW  CUB Luis Paradela 24 FW  CRC Orlando Sinclair 25 DF  CRC Jorkaeff Azofeifa 26 FW  CRC Julen Cordero 27 DF  CRC Samir Taylor 28 DF  CRC Gerald Taylor 29 DF  CRC Samir Taylor 30 MF  CRC Ulises Segura 31 FW  CRC Fabricio Alemán 32 DF  CRC Kliver Gómez 33 FW  HON Michaell Chirinos 38 MF  CRC Kenneth González 39 MF  CRC Alberth Barahona 40 GK  CRC Abraham Madriz 41 MF  CRC Warren Madrigal

• CONCACAF Champions' Cup and Champions League records and statistics
• List of Deportivo Saprissa players

https://www.rsssf.org/tabless/saprissa-intl.html https://www.rsssf.org/tablesf/fraternidad.html https://www.rsssf.org/tablesc/ca2.html https://web.archive.org/web/20160112090854/http://www.rsssf.com/tablesc/ca1.html https://www.rsssf.org/tablesu/uncaf-club.html

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Deportivo Saprissa.

• Official website