Asociación Deportiva Isidro Metapán, also known simply as Isidro Metapán, is a

Salvadoran Salvadorans (Spanish: ''Salvadoreños''), also known as Salvadorians (alternate spelling: Salvadoreans), are citizens of El Salvador, a country in Central America. Most Salvadorans live in El Salvador, although there is also a significant Salvado ...

sports club A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports. Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...

based in

Metapán Metapán is a city and municipality in the Santa Ana department of El Salvador. Metapán is situated in the northern part of the department, bordering Honduras and Guatemala. It is the second largest city in the department after Santa Ana and ...

, Santa Ana,

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

. It is best known for its professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

team, which plays in the

Primera División Primera may refer to * Nissan Primera, a car * Primera Air, a former airline * Primera división (disambiguation), multiple top division football leagues * Primera, Texas, a town in Cameron County, Texas * Alí Primera, Venezuelan musician, compos ...

, the top tier of the

football league system, and is one of the most successful club in El Salvador football history, having won 10 national titles. Isidro Metapán was founded in 2000, after the merger of Isidro Menéndez and Metapán FC. The club had its period of greatest success in the 2000s. Since the formation of the Apertura/Clausura, A.D. Isidro Metapán has been the dominant club in

football, winning ten championships. Their traditional local rivals are FAS. Since the beginning of the 2000–01 season, A.D. Isidro Metapán has played its home games at the

Estadio Jorge Calero Suárez Estadio Jorge "Calero" Suarez is a stadium located in the city of Metapán, El Salvador. It is the largest stadium in Metapán, and is used mostly for football matches. The stadium is the home of Isidro Metapán of the First Division of El Salva ...

. The team colours are blue, red and white, and the team crest shows the white and blue and the

Jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus '' Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...

. The club has other departments in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, and others.

History

Present history

In 2000, Metapán FC and Isidro Menéndez, two Second Division strugglers, chose to merge. In 2001, the newly born club won promotion to the

with a 3–2 playoff win over Jocoro FC. The club quickly consolidated their position as a mid-table side, and starting in Apertura 2004 began making title pushes. They qualified for the playoffs for the first time that year by defeating

Luis Ángel Firpo Luis Ángel Firpo (October 11, 1894 – August 7, 1960) was an Argentine boxer. Born in Junín, Argentina, he was nicknamed ''The Wild Bull of the Pampas''. Boxing career In 1917, Firpo began his professional boxing career by beating Frank Hag ...

in a fourth place playoff. In Apertura 2005, they finished the regular atop the table, defeated Once Municipal in the semi-finals, and only fell short of their first title after a 2–0 extra time loss to Vista Hermosa. In Clausura 2007, the club finally bettered that result, taking home their first ever championship with a 1–0 extra time win over

. That qualified the team for the

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions League, known officially as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons, is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONCACAF. The tournament is contested by clubs from North Ameri ...

for the very first time, although they did not get past the preliminary rounds. Over the next several years, Isidro Metapán began to surpass the traditional powers of Salvadoran football (FAS, Firpo, Alianza, and Águila). They won their second title in a penalty shootout over Chalatenango in Apertura 2008, then defended their crown in Clausura 2009 with a 1–0 win over

. Alexander Amaya scored the winner in the 58th minute. After a near miss in the Apertura 2009, Isidro returned to the top for the third time in four seasons by winning the championship of Clausura 2010.

Léster Blanco Mark Léster Blanco Pineda (born January 17, 1989 in Soyapango, El Salvador) is a Salvadoran professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Thai League 3 club North Bangkok University F.C. ...

and

Paolo Suárez Rodolfo Paolo Suárez Díaz (born 6 Jun 1980 in Montevideo) is a Uruguayan-Salvadoran professional football player who plays as a midfielder. He is the eldest brother of footballer Luis Suárez, who plays for Gremio and the Uruguay national t ...

each scored in a 3–2 win over Águila. In each season from 2007 to 2010, the club had won the title at least once. They would win it for a fourth time in five in Apertura 2010, beating Alianza 4–3 in a penalty shootout. 2011–2012 was the most successful season in club history. It started in the summer, in the

. Metapan qualified for the group stages, and a 2–0 win over Mexican team

Santos Laguna Club Santos Laguna S.A. de C.V. (), commonly known as Santos Laguna or Santos, is a Mexican professional football club that competes in the Liga MX. It is located in northern Mexico and represents the urban area of La Comarca Lagunera, made up o ...

allowed them to qualify out of the groups into the quarterfinals for the first time. Although

UNAM Pumas Club Universidad Nacional, A.C., commonly referred to as UNAM, is a professional football club based in Ciudad Universitaria of Mexico City, Mexico. The club competes in the Liga MX, the top division in the Mexican football league system. Found ...

eliminated them at that stage, it had still been a very successful run. Meanwhile, domestically, Metapán won a sixth title in eight years with a 1–0 victory over

Once Municipal Club Deportivo Once Municipal was a Salvadoran football team from Ahuachapán that last competed in the Primera División, the premier division of Football in El Salvador, in 2018. It was nicknamed "''The Canarian Tank"'', and its home stadium ...

the only goal coming from

in the 51st minute. They narrowly missed a repeat that spring in the Clausura, losing 2–1 to Áquila in the championship match. However, they recovered to win a seventh championship in nine years, defeating Alianza in extra time to win the Apertura 2012. For a moment it looked like the hero would be Metapán's top goal scorer Nicolás Muñoz, who scored from a free kick in extra time. However Sean Fraser of Alianza equalized with a header, forcing the match into penalties. After a dramatic shootout, Isidro Metapán won 6–5. They won their 8th title in Apertura 2013, beating FAS 1–0 on a goal from

Andrés Flores Andrés Alexander Flores Mejía (born 31 August 1990) is a Salvadoran professional football manager and former player. He is the current assistant coach of Portland Timbers 2 in the MLS Next Pro. Club career Nicknamed ''Ruso'', Flores was sign ...

in the 85th minute. On 25 May 2014 Isidro Metapán won the

title for the ninth time in the club history, defeating Dragón on

penalties Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...

6–5. Title number 10 came in Apertura 2014, as Metapán defeated Águila in

3–2. Once again, Nicolás Muñoz played a very important role in taking the match to penalties with an extra time goal.

Sponsorship

Shirt sponsors and manufacturers

Home stadiums

The team currently plays in the

. The stadium is located in

, Santa Ana. A new stadium is currently being built and is expected to be finished in the year 2015 or 2016 *

(2000–) * Complejo Deportivo Metapán

New Stadium

The 2015–16 season was to have been the last season at the Estadio Jorge Calero Suárez, with the club moving to their new 10,000-seater stadium Complejo Deportivo Metapán in time for the 2017–18 season. However, due to the club being in financial crisis, work on the new stadium has since stopped.

Honours

**Champions (10): Clausura 2007, Apertura 2008, Clausura 2009, Clausura 2010, Apertura 2010, Apertura 2011, Apertura 2012, Apertura 2013, Clausura 2014, Apertura 2014 *Liga de Ascenso **Champions (1): 2000–01

Performance in International competitions

Copa Interclubes UNCAF The UNCAF Club Tournament was an annual international football competition held in the UNCAF region (Central America). The competition was open to the leading domestic club teams in the region. The winners of each national league qualified automat ...

: 1 appearance ::Best: First Round

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

: ''First Round'' *

: 7 appearances ::Best: Quarter-final 2011–12 :: 2008–09: ''Preliminary Round'' :: 2009–10: ''Group stage'' ::

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

: ''Preliminary Round'' :: 2011–12: ''Quarter-final'' ::

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

: ''Group stage'' :: 2013–14: ''Group stage'' :: 2014–15: ''Group stage'' :: 2015–16: ''Group stage'' * Copa Mesoamericana: 1 appearance ::Best: Runner-up

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

: ''Runner-up''

Records and statistics

Metapan have won 10 domestic trophies, including the league ten times. From 2009 to 2011, the club won five successive league titles, equalling the all-time record. Isidro Metapan's name is attached to a number of Primera division and CONCACAF records: * The Isidro Metapan player with the most appearances is Hector Omar Mejia, with 518 in all competitions. * The Isidro Metapan player with the most goals is

Williams Reyes Williams Enrique Reyes Rodríguez (born October 30, 1976, in La Ceiba, Honduras) is a Honduran-born Salvadoran professional forward. Club career Reyes started his professional career at Deportes Savio, but crossed the Salvadoran border to pla ...

, with 77 in all competitions

Current squad

''As of 5 February 2023''

Players with dual citizenship

* Gerber Chavez

Out on loan

In

Out

Current coaching staff

:''As of 17 August 2021''.

Reserve squad

''As of 2018:''

Management

List of notable players

List of retired numbers

15 – Retired in 2011 in recognition of

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

Álvaro Misael Alfaro Álvaro Misael Alfaro Sánchez (born January 6, 1971) is a former Salvadoran professional goalkeeper and currently manager. He ended his career at Isidro Metapán of the Salvadoran Primera División in 2010. Club career Destroyer Misael Alfar ...

. Alfaro was a major player for Metapán who suffered a neck injury which forced him to retire from the game. In 2011, the number was brought out of retirement and given to back-up goalkeeper. 18 – Retired in 2011 in recognition of

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

Nelson Rivera. Rivera was shot in the head and died after unknown gunmen attacked the car he was traveling in. The number was brought out of retirement in 2012. 20 – Retired in 2015 in recognition of

Héctor Mejía. Mejía was a long serving and major player for Metapán, he participated in all 10 of Metapán title victories. He retired as Metapán most decorated and most capped player in their history.

One-club men

List of coaches

Isidro Metapán has had 12 permanent managers and 3 temporary manager since the club was formed after the merger of Metapán FC and Isidro Menéndez FC.

Edwin Portillo Edwin Ernesto Portillo (born November 17, 1962, in Metapán) is a former Salvadoran professional footballer and current manager. Coaching career CESSA In 1996, he began his coaching career with CESSA, now called Isidro Metapán. Fuerte San Fra ...

holds the record for most championships won with the club with 7, longest-serving manager in terms of time consecutively of time with 8 years between 2006 and 2013, and most tenures as coach of Metapán with 6. Jorge Rodríguez the manager holds the record with most consecutive titles with three. This list also includes the coaches who coached CESSA/Metapán FC and Isidro Menéndez

Other departments

Football

Reserve team

The reserve team serves mainly as the final stepping stone for promising young players under the age of 21 before being promoted to the main team. The second team is coached by

TBD To be announced (TBA), to be confirmed (TBC), to be determined or decided or declared (TBD), and other variations, are placeholder terms used very broadly in event planning to indicate that although something is scheduled or expected to happen, a ...

. the team played in the Primera División Reserves, their greatest successes was winning the Reserve championships four times in Apertura 2013, Clausura 2014, Clausura 2015, Clausura 2018.

Junior teams

The youth team (under 17 and under 15) has produced some of El Salvador's top football players, including

and

Women's team

The women's first team, which is led by head coach Cristian Zañas, features several members of the El Salvador national ladies team. Their greatest successes was winning the 2021 Clausura 3-2 penalties.

Other sports

Isidro Metapan has other departments for a variety of sports.

Basketball

AD Isidro Metapan Básquetbol Club was founded in 2015 and play Liga Mayor de Baloncesto (LMB) which is the highest level in El Salvador league tier. the club is led by head coach

, the club features several key members including Nigerian

Deji Akindele Akindele Jeleel Ayodeji (born April 2, 1983) is a Nigerian professional basketball player for the Halcones de Xalapa of the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional (LNBP). Collegiate career Akindele chose Chicago State over Rutgers, St. Peters a ...

and TBD. Their greatest successes were winning the 2015 Clausura Notable players: Nigerian

, Panamanian Jonathan King, Nicaraguan Bartel López, Past coaches: Darwin Veliz (2017)

References

External links

Municipal news of Metapán
* http://www.geocities.com/maradona1o/
Archived
2009-10-24) * https://web.archive.org/web/20110720163252/http://archive.laprensa.com.sv/20070904/latribuna/Cronologia-1-Trib090120072-3.pdf * https://web.archive.org/web/20110929142108/http://archive.laprensa.com.sv/20070904/latribuna/Cronologia-2-Trib090120072-3.pdf * https://web.archive.org/web/20110720163413/http://archive.laprensa.com.sv/20070904/latribuna/Equipoideal-Trib090120078-9.pdf * https://web.archive.org/web/20071128005453/http://archive.laprensa.com.sv/20070901/latribuna/859436.asp * https://web.archive.org/web/20110929142152/http://archive.laprensa.com.sv/20070901/latribuna/861199.asp * http://archive.laprensa.com.sv/20070901/latribuna/Historia-Trib090120076-7.pdf * https://web.archive.org/web/20110720163615/http://archive.laprensa.com.sv/20070901/latribuna/859452.asp * https://web.archive.org/web/20110720163631/http://archive.laprensa.com.sv/20070901/latribuna/859934.asp
Calero
* https://web.archive.org/web/20111025203600/http://www.laprensagrafica.com/deportes/futbol-nacional/226210-camino-a-ser-un-club.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Metapan Association football clubs established in 2000 Football clubs in El Salvador 2000 establishments in El Salvador Metapán