Jhonny Acosta Zamora (born 21 July 1983) is a Costa Rican professional
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 ...
who plays as a
defender for the
Costa Rica national team.
Club career
Acosta made his professional debut for
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 ...
in the 2004/05 season and left them in 2010 for
Alajuelense
Liga Deportiva Alajuelense (LDA, ), commonly known as Alajuelense and nicknamed La Liga (), is a Costa Rican multisport club based in the borough of El Llano, Alajuela, Alajuela province. Although they compete in a number of different sports, Ala ...
with whom he won three league titles. In January 2013, he moved abroad to have a six-month loan spell at Mexican second division side
Dorados
Dorados de Sinaloa, or Dorados, is a Mexican professional football club based on Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico.
History
Dorados de Sinaloa was founded on August 9, 2003. The Dorados was the youngest team to play on First Division de México, hav ...
.
On 8 September 2016, Acosta joined
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 ...
. On 29 November 2017, he renewed his contract for another year. On 10 January, he switched to Colombian club
Rionegro Águilas.
East Bengal
On 11 July 2018, Acosta joined Indian club
East Bengal Club
East Bengal Club, commonly referred to as East Bengal (), is an Indian professional multi-sport club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. It is best known for its professional men's football team that competes in the Indian Super League, the top fl ...
for a fee of . He was issued the number 2 jersey. On 2 September, he made his debut for the club and scored a goal in a 2–2 draw against
Mohun Bagan
Mohun Bagan Athletic Club is an Indian professional sports club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded in 1889, its football section is one of the oldest in India and Asia. The club is most notable for its victory over East Yorkshire Regiment ...
in the
Kolkata derby
The Kolkata Derby (locally known as "Boro Match"; bn, বড় ম্যাচ) is the football match in Kolkata, between East Bengal and ATK Mohun Bagan (Mohun Bagan till 2019–20). In January 2020, the owners of a Kolkata based Indian Su ...
at the Salt Lake Stadium in
Calcutta Football League
The Calcutta Football League (CFL) is a ladder-based football competition in the Indian state of West Bengal, organised by Indian Football Association (WB), under state football leagues in India. Due to sponsorship reasons, the league is offi ...
. On 16 April 2019, he left the club.
On 26 June 2019, Acosta signed with Costa Rican club
UCR. On 6 March 2020, he returned to East Bengal until the end of the season as a replacement for Liberian
Ansumana Kromah
Ghanefo Ansumana Agogo Kromah (born 24 December 1993), known professionally as Ansumana Kromah, is a Liberian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Bodoland.
Career
Kromah made his professional debut in India, playing for Peerless ...
.
International career
A relatively late newcomer to the national team set-up, Acosta made his debut for
Costa Rica in a March 2011
friendly match
An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...
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 second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
, aged 27. He has represented his country in seven
FIFA World Cup qualification matches and played at the
2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup
The 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 11th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup competition, and the 21st CONCACAF regional championship overall in CONCACAF's 50 years of existence. The United States was the host nation.
The competition started on June ...
and the
2011 Copa América. On 6 September 2013, he scored his first goal for ''Los Ticos'' in a 3–1
2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying
The 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. The 2014 FIFA World Cup featured 32 teams, with one place reserved for the host nation, Brazil. The remaining 31 places were determined by ...
victory against the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
in
San José.
In June 2014, Acosta was included in Costa Rica's squad for the
2014 FIFA World Cup and made his debut in the competition during the
round of 16
A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...
match against
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
as a substitute after the
sending off of teammate
Óscar Duarte. He was in the starting line-up for the
quarter-final
A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...
against the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, where he helped the team to a clean sheet in a 3–4
penalty shoot-out
The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...
loss.
![Johnny Acosta (2018 FIFA World Cup)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Johnny_Acosta_%282018_FIFA_World_Cup%29.jpg)
In May 2018, Acosta was named in Costa Rica’s
23-man squad for the
2018 FIFA World Cup in
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
. He played the whole of the team's group stage matches against
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
,
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...
and
Switzerland.
Career statistics
International
:''Statistics accurate as of match played 27 June 2018.''
:''Scores and results list Costa Rica's goal tally first.''
References
External links
*
*
Profile- LD Alajuelense
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Acosta, Jhonny
1983 births
Living people
People from San Carlos (canton)
Association football defenders
Costa Rican footballers
Costa Rican expatriate footballers
Costa Rica international footballers
2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup players
2011 Copa América players
2014 FIFA World Cup players
2014 Copa Centroamericana players
Copa América Centenario players
2017 Copa Centroamericana players
2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup players
2018 FIFA World Cup players
Copa Centroamericana-winning players
Santos de Guápiles footballers
L.D. Alajuelense footballers
Dorados de Sinaloa footballers
Águilas Doradas Rionegro players
C.F. Universidad de Costa Rica footballers
East Bengal Club players
Deportivo Saprissa players
Municipal Pérez Zeledón footballers
I-League players
Liga FPD players
Categoría Primera A players
Costa Rican expatriate sportspeople in India
Costa Rican expatriate sportspeople in Mexico
Costa Rican expatriate sportspeople in Colombia
Expatriate footballers in India
Expatriate footballers in Mexico
Expatriate footballers in Colombia
Calcutta Football League players