The 2018 Apertura season served as the opening half of the
2017–18 Liga FPD
The 2017–18 Liga FPD season, also known as Campeonato Banco Popular for sponsorship reasons, is the 97th since its establishment. The tournament is the first since the 2006–07 season to use the Apertura and Clausura names to their short tourna ...
association football season. It began on 29 July 2017 and ended on 23 December 2017.
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 ...
entered as the defending champions, but lost the title in the Apertura finals to
Pérez Zeledón.
Personnel and kits
Managerial changes
;Notes
*
1: Mario Viquez had already assumed as interim manager of Carmelite following Farinha's departure on 28 September.
*
2: Adrián Leandro had already assumed as interim manager of Cartaginés following Delgado's departure on 10 November.
League table
Regular season
Defending champions
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 ...
topped the season undefeated with 54 points. By achieving this, Herediano broke two records in the league. They became the first team with the longest undefeated streak (surpassing the 21-match streak by
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 ...
in the 2003–04 season, the team being coincidentally managed by
Hernán Medford
Hernán Evaristo Medford Bryan ( , ; born May 23, 1968) is a Costa Rican former Association football, football player and coach. Highly regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of Central American football, Medford achieved su ...
). The team also broke the record for more points achieved in a regular season, surpassing
Alajuelense in the
2014 Invierno season.
On 3 September 2017, the match between
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 ...
and
Grecia was suspended at the 81st minute due to a false bomb threat. The remaining nine minutes were played the next morning.
Standings
Positions by round
Results
Quadrangular – Apertura
Teams qualified
*
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 ...
*
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 ...
*
Santos de Guápiles
Santos may refer to:
People
*Santos (surname)
*Santos (DJ) (born 1971), Italian DJ
* Santos Benavides (1823–1891), Confederate general in the American Civil War
* Santos Balmori Picazo (1899–1992), Spanish-Mexican painter
* Santos (footballer ...
*
Pérez Zeledón
Standings
Positions by round
Results
Apertura finals
Since regular season leaders
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 ...
were unable to top the quadrangular stage, a double-legged final will be played against the quadrangular winner
Pérez Zeledón in order to determine the champions of the Apertura tournament. By getting more points in the aggregate table, Herediano will host the second leg.
----
Season statistics
Scoring
*First goal of the season:
Luis Stewart Pérez for
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 ...
against
Carmelita (30 July)
*Last goal of the season:
Jeikel Venegas for
Pérez Zeledón against
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 ...
(20 December)
Top goalscorers
Source:
Hat-tricks
Goalkeeping
Foreign players
This is a list of foreign players in the 2017 Apertura season. The following players:
# Have played at least one game for the respective club.
# Have not been capped for the
Costa Rica national football team on any level, independently from the birthplace
A new rule was introduced this season, that clubs can have four foreign players per club and can only add a new player if there is an injury or a player(s) is released and it's before the close of the season transfer window.
References
External links
UNAFUT - Primera División de Costa Rica
{{DEFAULTSORT:2017-18 Costa Rican FPD season
2017–18 in Costa Rican football