AD Municipal Liberia

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
AD Municipal Liberia
logo
Basic data
Surname Asociación Deportiva Municipal Liberia
Seat Liberia , Guanacaste
founding June 7th 1977
Colours yellow and black
president Manrique Sibaja
First soccer team
Head coach Erick Rodríguez
Venue Estadio Edgardo Baltodano Briceño
Places 5,979
league Liga de Ascenso-Segunda División
2017-18 (1st division) 12th place (relegation)
home
Away

AD Municipal Liberia is a football club from Liberia , Guanacaste Province , Costa Rica , which currently plays in the country's highest league, the Liga de Fútbol de Primera División (FPD).

history

AD Municipal Liberia (1977-2007)

On June 7, 1977, the Asociación Deportiva Municipal Liberia, AD Municipal Liberia for short, was founded to represent the city of Liberia in football. In the early years Liberia played mainly in amateur leagues, but later also in the Liga de Ascenso-Segunda División .

After the club management had reorganized in the mid-1990s, things went uphill bit by bit. In 1999 and 2000 Liberia lost the final of the second division, but in 2001 Liberia defeated AD Ramonense in the final and thus rose to the Primera División de Costa Rica .

Mario Sotela era (2007-2011)

Liberia Mía CF (2007-2009)

At the beginning of the 2007/08 season, the public association AD Municipal Liberia hived off the professional team under the model of a stock corporation, in which the club kept 10% of the shares and sold the remaining 90% to businessman Mario Sotela , who sold the team in Liberia Mía CF renamed. Liberia Mía is a reference to Africa Mía, a zoo owned by Sotela, which is located outside of Liberia and in which only African animals are exhibited.

Under Sotela things went uphill bit by bit. For the 2008/2009 season, Sotela bought many expensive players from other clubs and thus won the championship in May 2009.

Águilas Guanacastecas CF (2010)

From that moment on, Liberia Mía CF went down the drain, Sotela was completely exhausted, the club had extreme debts to players, staff, insurance, transport companies, etc. Between October 2009 and January 2010 Sotela laid off some players and other employees and cut the rest Players up to 70% of the salary.

For Verano 2010, Sotela changed the name of the club to Águilas Guanacastecas CF at the end of January 2010 in order to “identify with the football fans of the whole province of Guanacaste”. He also wanted to play home games in two other cities in Guanacastes, Nicoya and Santa Cruz, but was forbidden to do so by the city of Liberia, which still owned 10% of the club. So Águilas Guanacastecas CF continued to play like since 1977 at the Estadio Edgardo Baltodano , which has long since ceased to meet the requirements of a top division. A new building initially planned by Sotela never came about.

Case Águilas Guanacastecas CF-CD Barrio México

In advance of the 2010/11 season, Mario Sotela , majority owner of the now highly indebted Águilas Guanacastecas CF, wanted to sell the franchise to the second division CD Barrio México and start in the second division in the 2010/11 season. However, this exchange, only one week before the start of the season, was forbidden by FEDEFUTBOL , since the two responsible league associations ( UNAFUT , LIACSE ) had already drawn up the exact participation and competition regulations as well as the game schedule and franchise sales are only possible before the various regulations have been approved .

So Sotela and Minor Vargas , majority owners of CD Barrio México, decided to keep the two franchises in the respective league, but to register the board, the players, the stadium, etc. of the other club and thus swap the franchise.

CD Barrio México, which now plays in the Primera División, immediately changed the name of the franchise to CD Barrio México, but the Liga de Ascenso forbade Águilas Guanacastecas CF to rename their new franchise. Thus the Águilas wear jerseys in their club colors, but with the name CD Barrio México.

Thus there is a club called CD Barrio México in both the first and second division, with the real Barrio México now playing in the first and the Águilas with the name Barrio México in the second division. Despite everything, the press continues to call the Águilas Águilas.

Águilas CF (2010-2011)

Before the start of the season, Sotela changed the press name for Águilas Guanacastecas CF, now officially playing under the name CD Barrio México, to Águilas CF, as he moved the club from Liberia to Heredia and thus no longer connected the club with the province of Guanacaste. The club's headquarters were relocated because the city of Liberia, which still owns 10% of the club, showed no interest in participating in the renovation or rebuilding of the stadium. The new home is the Estadio Eladio Rosabal Cordero , which is owned by CS Herediano , the club of Sotela's mother, Roxie Blenn .

Exclusion from UNAFUT

After several meetings, discussions and investigations into the case, the members of UNAFUT voted at an extraordinary general assembly on March 1, 2011 to exclude the Liberia Mía franchise, used by CD Barrio México, with immediate effect. The remaining games of the club were rated 0: 3 and the rest of the game operations were maintained. The last placed rose despite the exclusion of Barrio México in the second class; however, the excluded franchise is completely excluded from professional football (1st and 2nd league).

AD Municipal Liberia (since 2011)

After the Águilas were left without a franchise after the 2010/11 season and Sotelas were 90% of the club practically worthless, Manrique Sibaja, President of AD Municipal Liberia, the club that owned 10% of the Águilas, decided to open a franchise in the Liga de Ascenso- Segunda División for sale. Finally, the club AD Desamparados , which only played one year in the said league, managed to buy off the franchise. Liberia will remain a second division club, which is 100% owned by the public sports club and will also start under the name AD Municipal Liberia.

First class and relegation (since 2015)

After four years Liberia managed to win the championship in the Liga de Ascenso and return to the highest league, the FPD. Orlando De León, who expanded his world record to seven first division promotions, played a key role in the success. In 2018 Liberia descended again into second class.

Stadion

AD Municipal Liberia plays its home games in Liberia's municipal stadium, the Estadio Edgardo Baltodano Briceño , which has a capacity of 5,979 spectators.

successes