Mauricio Rodrigo Solís Mora (born 13 December 1972 in
Heredia) is a
Costa Rica
Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
n former 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 le ...
who played as a defensive midfielder.
He is one of
Costa Rica
Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
's best players in the past decade. He is a tough, hard working central midfielder who is a strong tackler and is also good at distributing balls and starting attacks from the center of pitch, he is also a great finisher from long distances.
Club career
Nicknamed ''el Mauro'', Solís began his professional career with
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 ...
, making his debut with the club on 5 November 1990 against
Limonense. He would remain with Herediano until 1996, winning the last Costa Rican championship
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 ...
won in the 1992–93 season.
Years abroad
He then moved to England, signing a contract with
Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group.
Founded in 1884 ...
along with compatriot
Paulo Wanchope
Paulo César Wanchope Watson (; born 31 July 1976), more commonly known as Paulo Wanchope, is a Costa Rican football coach and former professional footballer
As a player he was a striker who notably played in the Premier League for Derby Cou ...
. His stay there was short, however, and he returned to CONCACAF in 1998, playing with
Comunicaciones
Comunicaciones Fútbol Club S.A., better known as Comunicaciones F.C. or Comunicaciones, are a football club based in Guatemala City. They compete in the Liga Nacional, the top tier of Guatemalan football. The most popular and successful footba ...
of Guatemala for a year. Solís then moved to
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
, where he played parts of the 1999 and 2000 seasons for the
San Jose Clash (later San Jose Earthquakes), registering 4 goals and 1 assist in 29 starts.
After two years in MLS, Solís returned to Costa Rica, where he signed a contract with
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, Al ...
. He played two seasons with the team, winning championships in 2000–01 and 2001–02, before looking overseas again, signing a contract with Greek club
OFI Crete OFI may refer to:
* Overseas Filipino Investors, Filipino expatriates who contribute to the economy of the Philippines through remittances, buying property, and creating businesses
* OFI Crete, a Greek association football club based on the island ...
to join fellow ''Tico''
Rónald Gómez
Rónald Gómez Gómez (born 24 January 1975 in Puntarenas) is a retired Costa Rican association football, football Forward (association football), forward and manager. He is the current manager for Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Guatemala, Liga Na ...
. After a year with them, Solís again returned to America, playing the 2003–04 season in Mexico for
Irapuato
Irapuato is a Mexican city (and municipality) located at the foot of the Arandas Hill (in Spanish: ''Cerro de Arandas''), in the central region of the state of Guanajuato. It lies between the Silao River and the Guanajuato River, a tributary of t ...
, after being brought to the team by former coach
Alexandre Guimarães
Alexandre Henrique Borges Guimarães (born 7 November 1959) is a Costa Rican football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He is the current manager of América de Cali.
Born and raised in Brazil, Guimarães played for the Co ...
, then rejoined Alajuelense and in summer 2005 returned to Comunicaciones to play alongside compatriots
Rolando Fonseca
Rolando Fonseca Jiménez (born 6 June 1974) is a former Costa Rican professional footballer who played as a forward.
Nicknamed ''El Principito'' (The little prince)''La Nación'"Nuevo Estadio Nacional: Joya del Deporte Costarricense" p. 30. 1 ...
,
Ricardo González and
Jhonny Cubero.
Herediano return
In 2007, he transferred to
Maccabi Netanya
Maccabi Netanya F.C. ( he, מועדון כדורגל מכבי נתניה, ''Football Club Maccabi Netanya'') is an Israeli football club based in Netanya. Established in 1934, the club was a founding member of the Israeli League in 1949. Afte ...
but his contract was terminated after preseason for certain complications so he came back to Costa Rica and decide to sign up for the teams he started his career
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 ...
. In March 2010 he became the 7th player to reach 300 matches for ''Los Florenses''.
In April 2010, shortly after Herediano finish its participation in Costa Rican 2010 summer Championship, he announced his retirement from football. However, he reversed that decision when he joined
Ricardo González and coach
Paulo Wanchope
Paulo César Wanchope Watson (; born 31 July 1976), more commonly known as Paulo Wanchope, is a Costa Rican football coach and former professional footballer
As a player he was a striker who notably played in the Premier League for Derby Cou ...
at ambitious second division side
Uruguay de Coronado in February 2011. He retired 5 months later.
International career
Solís made his debut for
Costa Rica
Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
in a September 1993
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
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
and earned a total of 110 caps, scoring 6 goals. He represented his country in 30
FIFA World Cup qualification
The FIFA World Cup qualification is a competitive match that a national association football team takes in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the (men's) FIFA World Cup.
Qualifying tournaments are hel ...
matches and played at both the
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
and
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...
s.
He also played at the
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
,
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
and
2001 UNCAF Nations Cup
The 2001 UNCAF Nations Cup was played in Honduras.
Participating teams
Squads
Venues
First round
Group 1
----
----
Group 2
----
----
Final round
----
----
Champions
*''Guatemala national football team, Guatemala ...
s as well as at the
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
and
2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup
The 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the seventh edition of the Gold Cup, the association football championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF).
For the first time since 1993, the tournament was held in more than one c ...
s. He also played at the
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
and
2001 Copa América
The 2001 Copa América was held in Colombia, from 11 to 29 July. It was organised by CONMEBOL, South America's football governing body. Colombia won the tournament for the 1st time without conceding a goal.
Brazil national football team, Brazil ...
.
Solís was the second Costa Rican behind
Luis Marín to reach 100 caps in June 2005 against
Guatemala
Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
.
His final international was a June
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...
match against
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
.
Retirement
Solís quit Herediano and football in April 2010.
After retiring, Solis owned a bar-restaurant in Heredia.
[
In January he was named manager of Herediano, only to be dismissed a month later.
]
Personal life
Born and raised in Los Ángeles de Santo Domingo de Heredia, Solís is a son of Rodrigo Solís and María de los Ángeles Mora and is married to Katia Moreira ChaverriLa futura de Mauricio
– Nación and has three children.
[Mauricio Solís se dedicará a restaurante y proyectos personales Mauricio Solís: “Mi herencia fue cambiar el estilo del contención”]
– Nación
Honours
*
Costa Rican Championship (4):
**1992–1993, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2004–05
See also
*
List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps
In men's association football, a cap is traditionally awarded in international football to a player making an official match appearance for their national team. In total, over 600 players have played in 100 or more international matches. The re ...
References
External links
*
*
2002 World Cup profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Solis, Mauricio
1972 births
Living people
People from Heredia Province
Association football midfielders
Association football central defenders
Association football defenders
Association football sweepers
Association football utility players
Costa Rican footballers
Costa Rica international footballers
1997 Copa América players
2001 UNCAF Nations Cup players
2001 Copa América players
2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup players
2002 FIFA World Cup players
2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup players
2006 FIFA World Cup players
C.S. Herediano footballers
Derby County F.C. players
Comunicaciones F.C. players
San Jose Earthquakes players
L.D. Alajuelense footballers
OFI Crete F.C. players
Irapuato F.C. footballers
Liga FPD players
Premier League players
Major League Soccer players
FIFA Century Club
Copa Centroamericana-winning players
Costa Rican expatriate footballers
Costa Rican expatriate sportspeople in England
Expatriate footballers in England
Expatriate soccer players in the United States
Expatriate footballers in Greece
Expatriate footballers in Guatemala
Expatriate footballers in Mexico
Costa Rican football managers
C.S. Herediano managers
Super League Greece players