Club Social y Deportivo Municipal, also known as Municipal or ''Los Rojos'' (the Reds), is a Guatemalan

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 ...

club based in

Guatemala City Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, ne ...

. 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 31 times; most recently winning the 2019 ''Apertura'' tournament. They won the

CONCACAF Champions' Cup 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 Amer ...

in 1974. Municipal is the most winner and popular football club in Guatemala and are traditional arch-rivals of Comunicaciones, who is also based in Guatemala City.

History

The club was founded on May 17, 1936 by workers of the '' Ayuntamiento'' (

city hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

) of the Guatemala City

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

, 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, and have since remained in the top division.

Early domestic success (1940s–1960s)

The team won its first

national league The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

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 Tipografía Nacional is a football club based in Guatemala City, Guatemala. It was one of the most traditional teams in the country in the 20th Century, and it remains the fourth-most successful club in the history of Guatemalan football in terms ...

, 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. He was also one of Guatemala's first national stars and was chosen for the national team. Later, he became Municipal's coach. 2346 BanderaCuba412

In 1948, Municipal won its first international honors at a friendly tournament held in

Havana, Cuba Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

to commemorate the Cuban Independence. That squad featured Toledo, Mario Camposeco, and goalkeeper José Pedro "Tarzán" Segura. 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 years in a row. 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 fourteen 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 An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

, which also won three titles during this time.

1970s: First international success

In 1973, Uruguayan coach

Rubén Amorín Rubén Darío Amorín Mattos (6 November 1927 – 24 December 2014) was a Uruguayan football player and coach. He was born in Rocha. Playing career Amorín arrived in 1952 in Guatemala to play for Guatemala FC. Coaching career He has spent th ...

arrived at Municipal. He managed a group of players that included defender

Alberto López Oliva Alberto is the Romance version of the Latinized form (''Albertus'') of Germanic ''Albert''. It is used in Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. The diminutive forms are ''Albertito'' in Spain or ''Albertico'' in some parts of Latin America, Alberti ...

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 ...

s Benjamín Monterroso and José Emilio "Pepe" Mitrovich, and forward

Julio César Anderson Julio César Anderson Quiroga (27 November 1947 – 7 August 2021) was a Guatemalan professional football striker who played the majority of his career for C.S.D. Municipal, in the Liga Mayor A, the top tier in the country. He was on the s ...

. 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-ever repeat titles). In 1974, the same year that they were marching to a dominant repeat championship, they also became the first Guatemalan club to win the

. The ''Rojos'' then went on to play the '' Copa Interamericana'' against

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

'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 Goal difference, goal differential or points difference is a form of tiebreaker used to rank sport teams which finish on equal points in a league competition. Either "goal difference" or "points difference" is used, depending on whether matches a ...

, 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

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

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

1987 was the year that Argentine coach

Miguel Ángel Brindisi Miguel Ángel Brindisi de Marco (born 8 October 1950) is an Argentine football coach and former player. An attacking midfielder, he played for the Argentina national team at the 1974 FIFA World Cup. Playing career Born in the Almagro neighb ...

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 previous 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 claim the Guatemalan title for the first time since 1976. A year later, they repeated as champs for the first time since the early 1970s. Brindisi moved on to a new job managing Barcelona SC in Ecuador, but successor Walter Ormeño kept the momentum going by guiding the team to a third straight crown. In 1990-91, Municipal came within one match of a fourth straight 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 out to Costa Rican champions Saprissa. They did manage to claim some silverware from the season, winning the Guatemalan championship for the fifth time in seven seasons.

2000s: A Decade of Success

In 2000, after the league's competition format was changed to two yearly tournaments on the

Apertura and Clausura The ' and ' tournaments is a split season format for Spanish-speaking sports leagues. It is a relatively recent innovation for many Latin American football leagues in which the traditional association football season from August to May is div ...

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 Enzo Héctor Trossero (born 23 May 1953), nicknamed ''El Vikingo'' (the Viking), is an Argentine footballer and coach. Club career He began his playing career at Argentine minnows Belgrano de San Francisco but he soon moved on to Colón de S ...

. They also added third and fourth Central American titles by winning the Copa Interclubes UNCAF in 2001 and 2004.

Colours and crest

Initially, the team's uniform colors consisted of a red-and-black striped shirt and black shorts. – ''Note: Unable to retrieve direct link. Click on "Historia" on the main menu to access.'' The colours 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 A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

of the city of ''

Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala ("St. James of the Knights of Guatemala") was the name given to the capital city of the Spanish colonial Captaincy General of Guatemala in Central America. History ;Quauhtemallan — Guatemala :The name was ...

'', with the image of Apostle Santiago (

Saint James Saint James or St. James may refer to: People Saints * James, brother of Jesus (died 62 or 69), also known as James the Just *James the Great (died 44), Apostle, also known as James, son of Zebedee, or Saint James the Greater ** Saint James Matamo ...

) 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 Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ente ...

in between the former two elements. The circular field is surrounded by the name of the team on a red background.

Stadium

Throughout the years, Municipal has used the Estadio Mateo 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 A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

, 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 Deportivo Petapa was a Guatemalan football team based in San Miguel Petapa, and currently plays in the Primera División de Ascenso The Primera División de Ascenso is the second highest level of football in Guatemala. Formerly, it was known as ...

1–0 for the 2008 Clausura tournament.

Supporters

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

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 Juan Carlos Plata (born 1 January 1971) is a Guatemalan soccer coach and retired football striker. He is the highest-scoring player in the history of Guatemala's top division. As of January 2010, Plata has, except for Marc Lloyd-Williams, been ...

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, the only club he has played for.

Honours

Domestic

League *

Liga Nacional de Guatemala Liga or LIGA may refer to: People * Līga (name), a Latvian female given name * Luciano Ligabue, more commonly known as Ligabue or ''Liga'', Italian rock singer-songwriter Sports * Liga ACB, men's professional basketball league in Spain * Liga ...

and predecessors ** Champions (31): 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 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

Continental

** Champions (1):

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

UNCAF Interclub Cup 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 ...

** Champions (4):

, 1977,

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...

* Copa Interamericana ** Runners-up (1):

Players

Current squad

Retired numbers

15 –

, forward (1990–2010)

Out on loan

Notable players

Players with at least two years of service for the club are listed here. FormerPlayer years, except for Carlos Toledo's and Juan Manuel Funes', are taken from http://www.angelfire.com/ms/rojosoasis/page5.html
*

(1984–1985) * Martín Crossa (2009–2010) * José Emilio Mitrovich ''(MF)'', (1970's) * Josimar Arias (2012) *

Rónald Gómez Rónald Gómez Gómez (born 24 January 1975 in Puntarenas) is a retired Costa Rican football forward and manager. He is the current manager for Liga Nacional club Santa Lucía. An important player on the Costa Rica national football team d ...

(1998–1999) * Eliseo Quintanilla '' (FW)'' (2011–2012) *

José Luis Rugamas José Luis Rugamas Portillo (born 5 June 1953 in San Salvador) is a Salvadoran football manager and former professional player. He was interim manager of the El Salvador national team. As a player, he represented his country at the 1982 FIFA ...

(1984–1986) * José Pedro "Tarzan" Segura ''(GK)'' (1946–1950) * Mario Acevedo ''(FW)'', (2001–2009) *

''(FW)'', (1969–1984) * Carlos Figueroa ''(MF)'', (2001–2003), (2004–2007), (2009–2010) * Guillermo Ramirez ''(FW/MF)'', (1997–2000), (2003–2008), (2010–2011) *

Juan Manuel Funes Juan Manuel Funes Fernández (born May 16, 1966), popularly known as ''Memín'' Funes is a Guatemalan football coach and former midfielder who played professionally for the three most successful clubs in Guatemala – Aurora F.C., Municipal, ...

''(MF)'', (1986–1997) * Freddy García ''(MF)'', (2003–2004), (2004–2009) * Óscar Isaula (2011–2012) *

''(DF)'', (1963–1978) * Benjamín Monterroso ''(DF / MF)'', (1970–1979) *

''(FW)'', (1989–2010) *

Selvyn Ponciano Selvyn Estuardo Ponciano Chitay (born 18 July 1973) is a retired Guatemalan football defender and the General Manager of his former club CSD Municipal since 2010. Club career The versatile Ponciano has played in all defensive positions as well ...

''(DF)'', (1994–2009) * Julio Rodas ''(FW)'', (1988–1994) * Sergio Guevara ''(MF)'', (2003–2011) * German Ruano ''(DF)'', (1993–2009) * Carlos Ruiz ''(FW)'', (1997–2001), (2014–2016) * Carlos Toledo ''(FW)'', (1938–1955) * Pablo Hutt ''(MF)'', (2011) * Juan Manuel Romo ''(GK)'', (1983–90) * Kassius Ettienne ''(MF)'', (2010–2012) * Jaime Penedo ''(GK)'', (2007–2013) *

Edgar Aguilera Edgar Milcíades Aguilera Aranda (born 28 July 1975) is a retired Paraguayan footballer. He played either as a defender or midfielder. Aguilera represented Paraguay at the 1998 FIFA World Cup. At the club level, he played mostly for Cerro Co ...

(2001–2002) * Richart Báez (2003–04) *

Julio César Cortés Julio César "''El Pocho''" Cortés Lagos (born 29 March 1941) is an Uruguayan football coach and former midfielder who participated in three World Cups with the Uruguay national team. At the club level, Cortés was most successful during th ...

''(MF)'', (1973–1974) * Carlos Nicola (2003–2005) *

Gonzalo Romero Gonzalo Antonio Romero Paz (born 25 March 1975) is a retired Guatemalan football midfielder who last played for local club Deportivo Marquense in the Guatemala's top division. Club career Romero joined Guatemalan top side CSD Municipal in 2000 ...

(1997–98), (2000–2011) * Guillermo Lobos ''(DF)'', (1942–1955) * Claudio Albizuris ''(MF)'', (2000–10), (2011–2017) *

Jaime Alas Jaime Enrique Alas Morales (born 30 July 1989) is a Salvadoran professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Liga Nacional club Municipal and the El Salvador national team. Club career Alas' professional career began in July 2006, a ...

''(MF)'', (2016-) * Marco Pappa ''(MF)'', (2006–2008), (2017–2018) * Felipe Baloy ''(DF)'', (2017-2018) * Blas Perez ''(FW)'', (2017-2018) * Paulo Motta ''(GK)'', (2004–2008), (2014–2018) * Nicholas Hagen ''(GK)'', (2015–2020)

Managerial history

Champion coaches

* Sebastián Bini (Apertura 2019)

List of coaches

* Jaime Borja (1957) * Ferenc Mészáros (1967–1968) * Rolando Torino (1986) * Gustavo Faral (1996) *

Horacio Cordero Horacio Raúl Cordero Vásquez (born 22 May 1950 in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine football manager and former player. Playing career Cordero played for a number of clubs in Argentina including Argentinos Juniors, Racing Club, Unión de Santa ...

(2000–2001) * Ever Hugo Almeida (2001–2004) *

(2004–2006) * Victor Hugo Monzon (Jul 2007-Oct 2007) * Jorge José Benítez (Oct 2007–Apr 2008) *

(Apr 2008-Dec 2008) * Carlos Ruiz (Jan 2009-Nov 2009) * Jorge Habbegger (Nov 2009-Mar2010) * Manuel Keosseian (Apr 2010-Jun 2010) *

Guilherme Farinha Guilherme Adolfo Almeida Farinha (born 11 February 1956) is a Portuguese Manager (association football), manager who most recently was in charge of Costa Rican side A.D. Carmelita, Carmelita. In May 2013, Farinha was announced as the new manag ...

(2010) * Javier Delgado (May 2011–Oct 2012) *

Ramón Maradiaga Ramón Enrique Maradiaga Chávez (born 30 October 1954) is a retired Honduras, Honduran association football, football player and manager. Club career Nicknamed ''Primitivo'', Maradiaga has played as a midfielder amongst others for F.C. Motag ...

(Oct 2012–Feb 2013) * Fernando Díaz (Feb 2013–Dec 2013) *

Aníbal Ruiz Aníbal Ruiz Leites (30 December 1942 – 10 March 2017) was a Uruguayan association football coach. Death On March 10, 2017, while serving as assistant manager to lead manager José Cardozo at Puebla, Ruiz collapsed on the pitch of the Luis ...

(Dec 2013–Sept 2014) *

Manuel Keosseián Manuel Keosseian, in Armenian Մանուել Քեոսեյան, (born 17 August 1953 in Montevideo) is an Armenian Uruguayan former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. After he retired from playing, Keosseian became a manager and ...

(Oct 2014–Dec 2014) *

(Jan 2015–May 2015) * Mauricio Wright (Jul 2015–Nov 2015) * Gustavo Machain (Nov 2015–Oct 2017) * Ever Hugo Almeida (Oct 2017–Dec 2017) *

Hernán Medford Hernán Evaristo Medford Bryan ( , ; born May 23, 1968) is a Costa Rican former football player and coach. Highly regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of Central American football, Medford achieved success as both a playe ...

(Jan 2018–Sep 2018) *

(Sep 2018-Sep 2019) * Sebastián Bini (Sep 2019-May 2021) * José Cardozo (May 2021-May 2022) * Juan Antonio Torres (Jun 2022-Oct 2022) * José Cardozo (Oct 2022- )

References and notes

External links

Official web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Municipal Football clubs in Guatemala Football clubs in Guatemala City Association football clubs established in 1936 1936 establishments in Guatemala Works association football teams M M