Álvaro Murillo Rojas (24 November 1930 - 28 June 1985) was a Costa Rican

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

. He was one of the top goal scorers in the history of the

Primera División de Costa Rica The Primera División of Costa Rica, commonly known as Fútbol de Primera División (FPD), and Liga Promerica for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional association football division in Costa Rica. It is administered by the Unión de Clubes ...

, and was considered to be one of the best forwards in Costa Rica during the 1950s. In 1979, he was voted best Costa Rican football player of all-time by fans, journalists, former players and officials.

Club career

Murillo came through the

Herediano Club Sport Herediano (), commonly known as Herediano and nicknamed El Team, is a Costa Rican multisport club based in Heredia, Heredia province. Although they compete in a number of different sports, Herediano is mostly known for its association ...

youth system and started his senior career with Orión in 1945.Un jugador inigualable (Bio)
- Nación He then played almost his entire career with

Deportivo Saprissa Deportivo Saprissa is a Costa Rican sports club, mostly known for its football team. The club is based in San Juan de Tibás, San José, and play their home games at the Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá. The team's signature colours are purple ...

, winning three league titles and holding the club record for most goals scored until it was broken in the 1970s by

Edgar Marín Edgar Ceferino Marín Leví (born 22 May 1943) is a Costa Rican retired footballer. Club career Born in Pueblo Nuevo, Puntarenas, Marín made his league debut in 1962 for Deportivo Saprissa against Uruguay de Coronado

. Murillo was part of the Saprissa team that went on a World Tour in 1959, becoming the first Latin American football squad to ever undertake such a trip. He was also the Tour's top goal scorer, which led to offers from European clubs such as

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, Huracán of

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and Austria Wien, as well as teams from

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and

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. However, Murillo preferred to stay with Saprissa in Costa Rica because he was going to school during that period of time.

International career

With Costa Rica's national team, Murillo was part of the ''Chaparritos de Oro'' squad that won a silver medal in the

Pan-American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

held in

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during the 1950s.El retrato del talento•Álvaro Murillo, símbolo morado en los famosos Chaparritos de Oro
- Nación He earned a total of 36 caps, scoring 9 goals
- RSSSF and represented his country in 6 FIFA World Cup qualification matches.

Retirement

After retiring as a players, Murillo was member of the board of Saprissa.

Personal life and death

Rojas was born to Carlos Murillo and Carmen Rojas and had a brother and sister. He was married to Julieta Jenkins and they had 5 children themselves. He died in 1985 in Heredia, aged 54.

References

1930 births 1985 deaths People from Poás (canton) Sportspeople from Alajuela Province Men's association football forwards Costa Rican men's footballers Costa Rica men's international footballers Deportivo Saprissa players {{CostaRica-footy-bio-stub