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C.S.D. Municipal

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Municipal
Full nameClub Social y Deportivo Municipal
Nickname(s)Los Rojos (The Reds)
El Equipo del Pueblo (The People's Team)
El Mimado de la Afición (Fans' Pampered Team)
Diablos Rojos (Red Devils)
Founded17 May 1936; 88 years ago (1936-05-17)
GroundEstadio El Trébol
Capacity7,500
ChairmanGerardo Villa[1]
ManagerSebastián Bini
LeagueLiga Nacional
Apertura 20242nd (Quarterfinals)
Current season

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

They compete in the Liga Nacional, the top tier of Guatemalan football, and play their home matches at the Estadio El Trébol. 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 32 times, most recently winning the 2024 Clausura tournament. They won the CONCACAF Champions' Cup in 1974.

Municipal are the most popular football club in Guatemala and are traditional rivals of Comunicaciones, who are also based in Guatemala City, and with whom they share the lead in all-time league titles in the country with 32 each as of 2024.

History

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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.[3]

Early domestic success (1940s–1960s)

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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. His national level talent called him to 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.[4]

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 consecutive seasons. 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 14 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

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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 repeat titles). In 1974, the same year they were marching to a dominant repeat championship, they 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

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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

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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 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 claimed another Guatemalan title since 1976. A year later, they repeated as champs for the first time since the early 1970s. Brindisi moved on to manage Barcelona SC in Ecuador, but successor Walter Ormeño kept the momentum by guiding the team to a third consecutive title.

In 1990-91, Municipal came within one match of a fourth consecutive 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 to Costa Rican champions Saprissa. They did manage to claim some silverware from the season, winning the Guatemalan championship for the fifth successive time in seven seasons.

2000s: A Decade of Success

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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

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Initially, the team's uniform colors consisted of a red-and-black striped shirt and black shorts.[5] The colors 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

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Throughout the years, Municipal has used the Estadio Doroteo Guamuch 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.[6]

Supporters

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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

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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,[7] the only club he has played for.

Honours

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Domestic

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League

  • Liga Nacional de Guatemala and predecessors
    • Champions (32): 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, Clausura 2000, Apertura 2000, Apertura 2001, Clausura 2002, Apertura 2003, Apertura 2004, Clausura 2005, Apertura 2005, Clausura 2006, Apertura 2006, Clausura 2008, Apertura 2009, Clausura 2010, Apertura 2011, Clausura 2017, Apertura 2019, Clausura 2024

Cup

  • 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[8]

Continental

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Players

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For a list of all former and current Municipal players with a Wikipedia article, see Category:C.S.D. Municipal players.

Current squad

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As of August 24, 2024

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Guatemala GUA David Aldana
2 DF Guatemala GUA Mathius Gaitán
3 DF Costa Rica CRC José Mena
5 MF Guatemala GUA José Mario Rosales
6 DF Guatemala GUA Cristian Jiménez
7 FW Guatemala GUA Esteban García
8 MF Guatemala GUA Pedro Altán
9 FW Guatemala GUA José Martínez
10 FW Argentina ARG Matías Rotondi
12 GK Guatemala GUA Kenderson Navarro
13 MF Guatemala GUA Alejandro Galindo
14 DF Uruguay URU Darwin Torres (captain)
16 DF Guatemala GUA José Morales
17 DF Guatemala GUA Keyner Agustín
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 MF Guatemala GUA Jonathan Franco
19 FW Argentina ARG Ramiro Rocca
20 MF Guatemala GUA César Archila
21 MF Guatemala GUA Javier Estrada
22 FW Guatemala GUA Jefry Bantes
23 GK Argentina ARG Alejandro Medina
26 MF Guatemala GUA Rudy Barrientos
28 MF Guatemala GUA Figo Montaño
29 MF Guatemala GUA Rudy Muñoz
30 DF Guatemala GUA Juan Mancilla
31 DF Guatemala GUA César Calderón
33 MF Guatemala GUA Marlon Sequén
52 DF Trinidad and Tobago TRI Aubrey David

Retired numbers

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

Notable players

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Players with at least two years of service for the club are listed here. Former[9]

Managerial history

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Champion coaches

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List of coaches

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References and notes

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  1. ^ "Gerardo Villa pierde el control y pide a aficionados rojos que se retiren del estadio – Prensa Libre".
  2. ^ "Guatemala, 100 años de fútbol – Municipal". Prensa Libre (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2006-12-09. Retrieved 2006-12-10.
  3. ^ "INICIO". Rojos (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-03-25.
  4. ^ La Habana, Cuba 1948 Archived April 25, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "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.
  6. ^ "Rojos pierden el invicto en El Trébol". Prensa Libre (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2008-03-13. Retrieved 2008-03-20.
  7. ^ Source: http://www.rojos.com/~csdm/aficionados/plata/index.htm Archived 2008-02-19 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ RSSSF (2009). "Guatemala – List of Cup Winners". Retrieved 10 December 2010.
  9. ^ Player years, except for Carlos Toledo's and Juan Manuel Funes', are taken from (in Spanish) https://www.angelfire.com/ms/rojosoasis/page5.html

Further reading

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to C.S.D. Municipal.
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