Johnny Acosta

Johnny Gerardo Acosta Zamora (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈʝoni aˈkosta]; born 21 July 1983), commonly known as Johnny Acosta,[1][2] is a Costa Rican professional footballer who plays as a defender for the Costa Rica national football team.[3][4]

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Ducosta and the second or maternal family name is Zamora.

Johnny Acosta
Acosta with Costa Rica at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
Personal information
Full name Johnny Gerardo Acosta Zamora[1]
Date of birth (1983-07-21) 21 July 1983
Place of birth Ciudad Quesada, Costa Rica
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)[2]
Position(s) Centre back
Club information
Current team
 Pérez Zeledón
Youth career
Deportivo Saprissa
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2010 Santos de Guápiles 77 (0)
2010–2016 Alajuelense 192 (12)
2013 → Dorados (loan) 10 (2)
2016–2018 Herediano 32 (4)
2018 Rionegro Águilas 15 (0)
2018–2019 East Bengal 21 (2)
2019–2020 UCR 15 (0)
2020 East Bengal 1 (0)
2020 Saprissa 13 (1)
2021– Pérez Zeledón 2 (0)
National team‡
2011– Costa Rica 71 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2 February 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 27 June 2018

Club career

Acosta made his professional debut for Santos de Guápiles in the 2004/05 season and left them in 2010 for Alajuelense with whom he won three league titles. In January 2013, he moved abroad to have a six-month loan spell at Mexican second division side Dorados.[5]

On 8 September 2016, Acosta joined Herediano.[6] On 29 November 2017, he renewed his contract for another year.[7] On 10 January, he switched to Colombian club Rionegro Águilas.[8]

East Bengal

On 11 July 2018, Acosta joined Indian club East Bengal Club for a fee of ₹1.36 crore (US$190,000).[9][10] He was issued the number 2 jersey.[11] On 2 September, he made his debut for the club and scored a goal in a 2–2 draw against Mohun Bagan in the Kolkata derby at the Salt Lake Stadium in Calcutta Football League.[12] On 16 April 2019, he left the club.[13]

On 26 June 2019, Acosta signed with Costa Rican club UCR.[14] On 6 March 2020, he returned to East Bengal until the end of the season as a replacement for Liberian Ansumana Kromah.[15]

International career

A relatively late newcomer to the national team set-up, Acosta made his debut for Costa Rica in a March 2011 friendly match against Argentina aged 27. He has represented his country in seven FIFA World Cup qualification matches[16] and played at the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup[17] and the 2011 Copa América.[18] On 6 September 2013, he scored his first goal for Los Ticos in a 3–1 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying victory against the United States in San José.

In June 2014, Acosta was included in Costa Rica's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup[19] and made his debut in the competition during the round of 16 match against Greece as a substitute after the sending off of teammate Óscar Duarte.[20] He was in the starting line-up for the quarter-final against the Netherlands, where he helped the team to a clean sheet in a 3–4 penalty shootout loss.[21]

In May 2018 he was named in Costa Rica’s 23 man squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.[22] He played the whole of the team's group stage matches against Brazil, Serbia and Switzerland.[23]

Career statistics

International
Statistics accurate as of match played 27 June 2018.[24]
Costa Rica
YearAppsGoals
2011120
201240
201371
201490
201560
2016111
2017150
201870
Total712

International goals
Scores and results list Costa Rica's goal tally first.
N.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.6 September 2013Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica United States1–03–12014 FIFA World Cup qualification
2.26 March 2016Independence Park, Kingston, Jamaica Jamaica1–11–12018 FIFA World Cup qualification

References
  1. Johnny Acosta at WorldFootball.net
  2. "2018 FIFA World Cup Russia – List of Players" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 4 June 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  3. "Profile". Soccerway. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  4. Johnny Acosta se convierte en nuevo jugador de Herediano‚ everardoherrera.com, 28 August 2016
  5. "Johnny Acosta jugará con Dorados de Sinaloa" (in Spanish). Nación. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
  6. "Johnny Acosta llega al Herediano para ser campeon" [Johnny Acosta arrives at Herediano to be champion] (in Spanish). Amprensa. 8 September 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
  7. "Johnny Acosta renovó un año con el Herediano" [Johnny Acosta renewed a year with the Herediano] (in Spanish). Monumental. 29 November 2017. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
  8. "Johnny Acosta deja Herediano para jugar en Colombia" [Johnny Acosta leaves Herediano to play in Colombia] (in Spanish). La Nacion. 10 January 2018. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
  9. "রাশিয়ায় নেমারকে সামলানো ফুটবলার এবার ইস্টবেঙ্গলে! লাল-হলুদে বিশ্বকাপার" [Footballer who played against Neymar in Russia is now in East Bengal! A world cupper at Red and Gold] (in Bengali). এবেলা. 11 July 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  10. "Johnny Acosta se fue al exótico torneo de India" [Johnny Acosta went to the exotic tournament in India] (in Spanish). Bolavip. 7 July 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  11. "Johnny Acosta - I came to India because East Bengal are a big club". Goal. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
  12. "Johnny Acosta makes promising debut for East Bengal in nail-biting Kolkata derby". Goal. 2 September 2018. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  13. "Johnny Acosta parts ways with East Bengal". Goal.com. 16 April 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  14. "Johnny Acosta vuelve al país parar reforzar a la UCR" [Johnny Acosta returns to the country to reinforce the UCR]. Yashin Quesada (in Spanish) (26 June 2019). Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  15. "ক্রোমার বিদায়, সই জনির" [Kromah leaves, Acosta joins]. Anandabazar Patrika (in Bengali). 7 March 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  16. Johnny Acosta – FIFA competition record
  17. CONCACAF Championship, Gold Cup 2011 - Full Details Archived 15 March 2013 at the Wayback Machine - RSSSF. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
  18. Copa América 2011 - RSSSF. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
  19. "World Cup 2014: Costa Rica name final squad for Brazil". BBC. 12 June 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  20. "Costa Rica 1-1 Greece". BBC. 30 June 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  21. "Netherlands 0-0 Costa Rica". BBC News. 5 June 2014. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  22. https://www.goal.com/en/amp/news/costa-rica-names-23-man-world-cup-squad-featuring-keylor/1bw2iz8pkma5614bzushqyyo7g
  23. "Came to India because East Bengal is a big club: Costa Rican defender Johnny Acosta". The Indian Express. 10 August 2018. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
  24. "Johnny Acosta". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
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