Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sports
From the scrappy little matches that take over the village pitch to the breathless exclama-
tions of 'goal!' that erupt from San José bars on the day of a big game, no Costa Rican
sporting venture can compare with
fútbol
(soccer). Every town has a soccer field (which
usually serves as the most conspicuous landmark) where neighborhood aficionados play in
heated matches.
The
selección nacional
(national selection) team is known affectionately as La Sele. Le-
gions of rabid Tico fans still recall La Sele's most memorable moments, including an un-
likely showing in the quarterfinals at the 1990 World Cup in Italy and a solid (if not long-
lasting) performance in the 2002 World Cup. More recently, La Sele's failure to qualify for
the 2010 World Cup led to a top-down change in leadership and the reinstatement of one-
time coach Jorge Luis Pinto, a Colombian coach who has had mixed results on the interna-
tional stage. In general, Pinto seems to be a good fit for the team's ferocious young leaders
such as record-setting scorer Álvaro Saborío, goalkeeper Keylor Navas and forward Bryan
Ruiz. And in fact, Pinto led the team to qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, which is,
needless to say, heady news for Costa Rica.
With such perfect waves, surfing has steadily grown in popularity among Ticos, espe-
cially those who grow up shredding in surf towns. Costa Rica annually hosts numerous na-
tional and international competitions that are widely covered by local media, as well as
holding regular local competitions such as the weekly contest at Playa Hermosa (south of
Jacó).
Bullfighting is also popular, particularly in the Guanacaste region, though the bull isn't
killed in the Costa Rican version of the sport. More aptly described, bullfighting is really a
ceremonial opportunity to watch an often tipsy cowboy run around with a bull.
Get player statistics and game schedules and find out everything you ever needed to
know about La Sele, the Costa Rican national soccer team, at
www.fedefutbol.com
.
