Feb. 21, 2001 – New England Revolution open doors in Costa Rica
Post by frankdellapa@gmail.com
Unpredictable things occurred during the New England Revolution’s preseason training, often against Costa Rican clubs. The Revolution were among the first MLS teams to make inroads in Costa Rica. The Revolution played to a 2-2 draw at Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Feb. 21, 2001, Wolde Harris scoring the first goal on a penalty kick, the tying goal on an extraordinary sequence. With seconds remaining, Harris advanced into the penalty area and was sent flying off the field by a defender past the end line … and through a door leading to the locker room. Harris had stopped the ball on the end line, and was able to return quickly enough to regain possession and convert the tying goal just before the final whistle.
The Revolution also met the Costa Rica national team (2-0 loss) and played before a near sellout crowd at Herediano (3-0 loss) on that trip. The Revolution returned to Costa Rica two years later, and seemed to be developing strong relations with the federation and club teams, both friendly and adversarial – at least three matches from 2003-06 involved multiple red cards and/or brawls.
The Revolution’s Costa Rica connection began with the contracting of William Sunsing from CS Herediano and Mauricio Wright in 2000. During the Revolution’s first visit to Costa Rica, Wright hosted the team at a bar/restaurant he co-owned with Paulo Wanchope.
In 2003, the Revolution returned to Costa Rica, and was eliminated from the CONCACAF Champions Cup after playing both legs of its matchup with Alajuelense at Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto. The Revolution were also eliminated by Alajuelense in the 2006 Champions League.
The Revolution tapped Costa Rica for Uruguayan midfielder Jose Cancela (from Saprissa) in 2003 and defender Gabriel Badilla (also Saprissa) and Argenis Fernandez in ‘08. But relations seemed to dry up after that, just as Costa Rica soccer has been emerging on the international scene and producing plenty of players for export.
TODAY IN NEW ENGLAND SOCCER HISTORY