C.S.D. Municipal

Club Social y Deportivo Municipal, also known as Municipal or Los Rojos (the Reds), is a Guatemalan football club based in Guatemala City.

Municipal
Full nameClub Social y Deportivo Municipal
Nickname(s)Rojos (Reds)
El Equipo del Pueblo (The People’s Team)
El Mimado de la Aficion (Fans' Pampered Team)
Diablos Rojos (Red Devils)
FoundedMay 17, 1936
GroundEstadio Manuel Felipe Carrera
Capacity5,000
ChairmanGerardo Villa[1]
ManagerSebastián Bini
LeagueLiga Nacional
2019 AperturaLiga Nacional, 2nd (champions)

They compete in the Liga Nacional, the top tier of Guatemalan football, and play their home matches at the Estadio Manuel F. Carrera. As of 2015, they are the team that has remained the most years at the top level in Guatemala, having done so since the inception of the national league in 1942. They have won the domestic league 30 times; most recently winning the 2017 Clausura tournament. They won the CONCACAF Champions' Cup in 1974.

Municipal is the most popular football club in Guatemala and are traditional arch-rivals of Comunicaciones, who are also based in Guatemala City.

History

The club was founded on May 17, 1936 by workers of the Ayuntamiento (city hall) of the Guatemala City municipality, hence the name Municipal. They were first promoted to the top division, (then called Liga Capitalina) in 1938. They finished in second place in their debut season,[2] and have since remained in the top division.

Early domestic success (1940s–1960s)

The team won its first national league title in the 1942–43 tournament, the first ever official national league championship in Guatemala. They won three of the following six tournaments, the other three being won by Tipografía Nacional, whom which they had their first known rivalry. Municipal were coached by Manuel Felipe Carrera, one of the original founders of the club, and whose name was later given to the stadium where the team currently practices.

During the 1940s and early 1950s, Municipal's most iconic player was the forward Carlos "Pepino" Toledo, who wore the red shirt throughout his career. He helped the club win their first four league titles, the last of them coming at the 1954–55 tournament (also the year Toledo retired). His career total of 129 goals remains the fourth-highest in club history. He was also one of Guatemala's first national stars and was chosen for the national team. Later, he became Municipal's coach.

Municipal team that participated in the 1948 tournament in Cuba, holding the flag of the host country

In 1948, Municipal won its first international honors at a friendly tournament held in Havana, Cuba to commemorate the Cuban Independence. That squad featured Toledo, Mario Camposeco, and goalkeeper José Pedro "Tarzán" Segura.[3]

The end of the 1950s were a darker time for Municipal. Toledo had retired and Comunicaciones had dethroned them at the top of the league, winning it three years in a row. Municipal struggled through an eight-year title drought. They managed to break that drought with three championships in the 1960s (1963–64, 1965–66, and 1969–70), but Comunicaciones remained Guatemala's dominant team, winning seven titles in fourteen years from 1956-72. The Comunicaciones-Municipal match emerged as a high-profile local derby, the biggest in the country. Another rivalry developed with a third Guatemala City club, Aurora, which also won three titles during this time.

1970s: First international success

In 1973, Uruguayan coach Rubén Amorín arrived at Municipal. He managed a group of players that included defender Alberto López Oliva, midfielders Benjamín Monterroso and José Emilio "Pepe" Mitrovich, and forward Julio César Anderson. Anderson would become the club's highest ever goalscorer, and help lead the team to its era of greatest glory. Municipal won league championships in both 1973 and 1974 (their first-ever repeat titles). In 1974, the same year that they were marching to a dominant repeat championship, they also became the first Guatemalan club to win the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. The Rojos then went on to play the Copa Interamericana against Argentina's "red team", Independiente.

The first leg was played in Guatemala on November 24, 1974, and Independiente won, 1-0. However, Municipal surprised the continent by winning 1-0 in Argentina two days later. The hero was Argentine-born José Emilio "Pepe" Mitrovich in the second half. With both teams equal in points and goal difference, the match went to extra time. No further goals were scored, and the match went into penalty kicks. Misses by Julio César "Morocho" Anderson and Benjamín "Mincho" Monterroso allowed Independiente to prevail, 4-2, but Municipal had earned continental respect.

1980s: Almost relegated

Municipal's glory years continued with another league title in 1976, but their results began to fade. They finished 8th in 1979-80, and in 1981 they fell even further to 11th, forcing them into a relegation mini-league. Ironically, their safety was secured when old rivals Tipografía Nacional were relegated instead. In 1982, the club came even closer to oblivion, finishing 9th in the regular season. That result put them back in the relegation mini-league, and this time they escaped only on goal differential. Over the next several years, Municipal put some distance between themselves and the bottom of the table, but they would not seriously challenge for another title until 1987.

1980s and 1990s: Return to the top

1987 was the year that Argentine coach Miguel Ángel Brindisi arrived in Guatemala City. A former midfield star who had won two Argentine titles and played a stint in Spain, he came to Municipal with just one previous year of managerial experience. His two years in Guatemala saw brilliant success. In 1987, they beat Aurora 4-2 on penalties to win a championship playoff and claim the Guatemalan title for the first time since 1976. A year later, they repeated as champs for the first time since the early 1970s. Brindisi moved on to a new job managing Barcelona SC in Ecuador, but successor Walter Ormeño kept the momentum going by guiding the team to a third straight crown.

In 1990-91, Municipal came within one match of a fourth straight title, but bowed 1-0 to Comunicaciones in the championship final. They avenged that defeat in 1991-92, beating Comunicaciones 2-1 in a championship playoff replay. That made it four titles in five years.

The team reached the finals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup in December 1993, narrowly losing out to Costa Rican champions Saprissa. They did manage to claim some silverware from the season, winning the Guatemalan championship for the fifth time in seven seasons.

2000s: A Decade of Success

In 2000, after the league's competition format was changed to two yearly tournaments on the Apertura and Clausura fashion, Municipal won the title again after Comunicaciones had set a record by winning the previous four; Municipal surpassed that record in 2006 when they won the 2006 Apertura tournament, their fifth consecutive title, under coach Enzo Trossero. They also added third and fourth Central American titles by winning the Copa Interclubes UNCAF in 2001 and 2004.

Colours and crest

Initially, the team's uniform colors consisted of a red-and-black striped shirt and black shorts.[4] The colours soon changed to the current red shirt and blue shorts for home matches, and all blue for away matches, although other colors have been used for away matches.

The club's logo is based in the emblem of the Municipalidad de Guatemala, which is itself based in the original coat of arms of the city of Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala, with the image of Apostle Santiago (Saint James) over the stylized scenery of the region. The team's version includes an image of the type of ball used at the time the club was founded, next to a blue and red striped canton in between the former two elements. The circular field is surrounded by the name of the team on a red background.

Stadium

Throughout the years, Municipal has used the Estadio Mateo Flores as their home ground, sharing it with Comunicaciones since the 1950s until 1991, and again starting in 2005. Other stadiums hosted Municipal in the beginning, namely the Estadio Autonomía. The Estadio La Pedrera has been used when the Mateo Flores has not been available and houses a soup kitchen in the basement. The Estadio Manuel Felipe Carrera, also known as "Estadio El Trébol", has been the training venue for the team, and it has been occasionally used for official matches by the club; Municipal had an undefeated streak of 33 official matches in this ground from July 9, 1991 until March 7, 2008, when they lost to Deportivo Petapa 1–0 for the 2008 Clausura tournament.[5]

Supporters

Municipal is believed to have the largest fan base of all Guatemalan clubs, and that their popularity have earned them nicknames like El mimado de la afición (Fans' pampered team) and El equipo del pueblo (People's team).

Statistics and records

Municipal has set a record in Guatemalan football by being the club that has spent the most consecutive seasons in the maximum division, having remained there uninterruptedly since 1938.

Juan Carlos Plata is the team's all-time top goalscorer in league matches and overall. As of the end of 2010, Plata has scored 299 league goals and 403 overall goals with Municipal,[6] the only club he has played for.

Honours

Domestic honours

Leagues
  • Liga Nacional de Guatemala and predecessors
    • Champions (30) : 1942–43, 1947, 1950–51, 1954–55, 1963–64, 1965–66, 1969–70, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1987, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1991–92, 1993–94, 2000 Clausura, 2000 Apertura, 2001 Apertura, 2002 Clausura, 2003 Apertura, 2004 Apertura, 2005 Clausura, 2005 Apertura, 2006 Clausura, 2006 Apertura, 2008 Clausura, 2009 Apertura, 2010 Clausura, 2011 Apertura, Clausura 2017

Cups
  • Copa de Guatemala and predecessors
    • Champions (8) : 1960, 1967, 1969, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1998–99, 2003, 2003–04
  • Campeón de Campeones (Super Cup) and predecessors
    • Champions (5) : 1952, 1967, 1977, 1994, 1996[7]

CONCACAF
  • CONCACAF Champions' Cup
    • Champions (1) : 1974
  • UNCAF Interclub Cup
    • Champions (4) : 1974, 1977, 2001, 2004
  • Copa Interamericana
    • Runners-up (1) : 1974

Players

Current squad

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

No. Position Player
1 GK Nicholas Hagen
2 DF Manuel López
3 DF Carlos Gallardo
4 DF Luis De Leon
5 DF Héctor Moreira
6 MF José Mario Rosales
7 MF Frank De León
8 DF Carlos Alvarado
9 FW José Martínez
10 FW Alejandro Diaz
11 FW John Méndez
12 DF Mekeil Williams
No. Position Player
14 MF Jaime Alas
19 FW Ramiro Iván Rocca
30 MF Brandon de Leon
20 FW Danilo Guerra
22 MF Jose Rosales
26 MF Rudy Barrientos
28 DF Jefrey Payeras
31 MF Brandon Rivas
32 MF Francis Mota
72 GK Ábner Úbeda
81 GK Kenderson Navarro

Retired numbers

15 – Juan Carlos Plata, forward (1990–2010)

Notable players

Players with at least two years of service for the club are listed here.

Former[8]

Active

  • Nicholas Hagen (GK), (2015–)

Coaches

Champion coaches
  • Manuel Felipe Carrera (1942–47), (1954–56)
  • José Alberto Cevasco (1950–51)
  • Carlos "Pepino" Toledo (1957–61)
  • Luis Grill Prieto (1963–64), (1970)
  • Marvin Rodríguez (1965–66)
  • Rubén Amorín (1972–74), (1991–92)
  • Salvador Pericullo (Copa Fraternidad Centroamericana 1977), (1976–78)
  • Miguel Ángel Brindisi (1987–88)
  • Walter Ormeño (Campeonatos de Liga 1989–90)
  • Horacio Cordero (1992–94 Liga), (1994 Copa Gallo), (1995 Copa Gallo), (Clausura 2000), (Apertura 2001), (Clausura 2008)
  • Jan Poštulka (Torneo de copa 1998–99)
  • Ever Hugo Almeida (Torneo de Reordenamiento 2001), (Clausura 2002), (Apertura 2003)
  • Enzo Trossero (Apertura 2004), (Clausura 2005), (Apertura 2005), (Clausura 2006), (Apertura 2006), (5 Titles in a row)
  • Jorge Habegger (Apertura 2009)
  • Manuel Keosseian (Clausura 2010)
  • Javier Delgado (Apertura 2011)
  • Gustavo Machain (Clausura 2017)

List of coaches

References and notes
  1. http://www.prensalibre.com/deportes/futbol-nacional/gerardo-villa-pierde-el-control-y-pide-a-aficionados-rojos-que-se-retiren-del-estadio
  2. "Guatemala, 100 años de fútbol – Municipal". Prensa Libre (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2006-12-09. Retrieved 2006-12-10.
  3. La Habana, Cuba 1948 Archived April 25, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  4. "Historia, Rojos del Municipal" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2006-12-10. – Note: Unable to retrieve direct link. Click on "Historia" on the main menu to access.
  5. "Rojos pierden el invicto en El Trébol". Prensa Libre (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2008-03-13. Retrieved 2008-03-20.
  6. Source: http://www.rojos.com/~csdm/aficionados/plata/index.htm
  7. RSSSF (2009). "Guatemala – List of Cup Winners". Retrieved 10 December 2010.
  8. Player years, except for Carlos Toledo's and Juan Manuel Funes', are taken from (in Spanish) http://www.angelfire.com/ms/rojosoasis/page5.html

Further reading
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