Evaristo Coronado

Evaristo Coronado Salas (born 13 September 1960[1]) is considered the best Costa Rican football striker during the 1980s.

Evaristo Coronado
Personal information
Full name Evaristo Coronado Salas
Date of birth (1960-09-13) September 13, 1960
Place of birth Ciudad Cortés, Costa Rica
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
Deportivo Saprissa
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1981–1995 Deportivo Saprissa 537 (148)
National team
1983–1992 Costa Rica 52 (10)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Coronado and the second or maternal family name is Salas.

Club career

Born in Ciudad Cortés,[1] Coronado is one of the most recognized sports figures in his country. He played his entire career of 14 seasons for Deportivo Saprissa, where he holds the team record for most appearances made and goals scored ever.[2] He made his debut on 3 May 1981 against Herediano and scored his first goal on 24 May 1981 against San Carlos.[1] He scored a total of 148 league goals in 537 games[3] dressed as a Morado (purple), the nickname of the Saprissa players. Coronado helped Saprissa win five national titles during the 1980s and 1990s, as well as two CONCACAF Champions Cups, in 1993 and 1995. Coronado topped the league's goalscoring charts twice in 1981 and 1988[4] and after his retirement, briefly coached the club. He retired on 27 August 1995 after a friendly game against Guatemalan side Comunicaciones.[4]

He was known as El Caballero del Futbol (The Soccer Gentleman), because of his style of playing the game, always very fair and respectful of his adversaries and referees, even before FIFA's Fair Game philosophy was enumerated. He was well known for never having received a red-card. Because of his goalscoring talents, mostly with his head, he was also referred to as Evagol.

International career

He played with the Ticos as well, making his debut in 1983 and scored in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.[5][6] He was Costa Rica's top scorer in the 1990 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, but was dropped by coach Bora Milutinovic from the team that played in the World Cup,[7] despite a national cry for his inclusion.

He totalled 52 caps, scoring 10 goals, and played his final international in a FIFA World Cup qualification game against Mexico on November 22, 1992.[8]

Personal life

He is married to Patricia Hernández and they have two children, Carla and Alexander.[9]

References
  1. Rodríguez, José Luis. "Veinte años después..." La Nación (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  2. Coronado y Cordero en los records morados Archived 2014-07-14 at the Wayback Machine - UNAFUT (in Spanish)
  3. Coronado anunciará su retiro - Nación (in Spanish)
  4. El buzón de Rodrigo:¿En qué año, a qué edad se retiró Evaristo Coronado del futbol y en qué años fue campeón goleador nacional? - Nación (in Spanish)
  5. Evaristo Coronado – FIFA competition record
  6. "Evaristo Coronado". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 2012-10-20. Retrieved 2009-03-29.
  7. Evaristo Coronado: ‘Bora no necesitaba un 9’ - Al Día (in Spanish)
  8. "Costa Rica - Record International Players". RSSSF. Archived from the original on July 6, 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-29.
  9. Siempre Eva - Nación (in Spanish)
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