Deportivo Saprissa

Deportivo Saprissa

Deportivo Saprissa S.A.D. (formerly known as C.D. Saprissa) is a Costa Rican sports club, mostly known for its football team. The club is located in San Juan de Tibás, San José, and plays their home games at the Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá. It is the most representative football club of Costa Rica, and the most successful club of the area; possessing various records and the most prestigious history for a football club in their region.

The club's success led the Costa Rica newspaper Diario Extra to nicknaming the team Monstruo Morado ("The Purple Monster"), after Saprissa won a Championship in the early 1980s and an article in the newspaper said "the crowd yells and screams like a thousand-headed monster".

Saprissa is one of the most successful clubs in CONCACAF having won the CONCACAF Champions' Cup three times - in 1993, 1995, and 2005. Saprissa is also the most successful club in Central America having won five Central American crowns in 1972, 1973, 1978, 1998, and 2003.

Due to the many successful international appearances of this club, it obtained fame as being the only Costa Rican club that consistently leaves their country's soccer reputation in good standing, unlike the rest of the teams in the league.

The team is also the most successful club in Costa Rica having won 29 Primera División de Costa Rica championships, the most of any team in Costa Rica.

For the period 1 September 2007 to 31 August 2008 the club was listed as being the 106th best team in the world by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics, an organization recognized by FIFA.

One of their most noted moments came in 2005 when they became the second club in CONCACAF to finish third in FIFA Club World Cup together with the Mexican club Necaxa who accomplished it in 2000 and joined in 2012 by another Mexican club, CF Monterrey who likewise obtained third place this year.

Saprissa has the most appearances in the CONCACAF Champions Cup finals by a Costa Rican and Central American club with three first place finishes and four runners-up finishes. Their six consecutive titles from 1972 to 1977 is a national record.

The club was chosen by the IFFHS as CONCACAF's Team of the 20th Century IFFHS.