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

'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

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

. 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

at ambitious second division side Uruguay de Coronado in February 2011. He retired 5 months later.

International career

Solís made his debut for

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

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

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

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