Róger Flores Solano (born 26 May 1959) is a retired

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player, a manager and father of three. He was the captain of the

Costa Rica national football team The Costa Rica national football team () represents Costa Rica in men's international Association football, football. The national team is administered by the Costa Rican Football Federation, Federación Costarricense de Fútbol (), the governi ...

during the 1990 FIFA World Cup held in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. It was the country's first World Cup ever and the national squad accomplished the historic feat of qualifying for the second round against all odds, beating teams apparently much stronger such as

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and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. He scored a goal against Sweden, even though he was a defender.

Club career

In Costa Rica, ''Il Capitano'' (''The Captain'' in Italian) started his career at Sagrada Familia and played for the two most popular teams, Alajuelense and Saprissa. He started out in Alajuela in the mid 80's, and was part of the team that won the CONCACAF Champions Cup in 1986. He won two national titles with Alajuelense as well. After his transfer to Saprissa, he reached the pinnacle of his career, becoming a star and the captain of the team as well of the national squad. With Saprissa, he won three more local tournaments, and another two CONCACAF Champions Cup. He retired in 1996. As a player, he is remembered for his leadership and security on the field, and his excellent coverages of the opposing teams' strikers.

International career

Flores made his debut for

in a March 1983

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

against

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and collected a total of 49 caps, scoring two goals. He represented his country in 18 FIFA World Cup qualification matches and played at the 1991 UNCAF Nations Cup, winning that title, and the 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup. His final international was a July 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup match against

International goals

:''Scores and results list Costa Rica's goal tally first.''

Managerial career

After retiring, he went on to coach several teams in Costa Rica's First Division, as well as a minor national team. His first job was as coach of Goicoechea in 1996, where he was replaced by Didier Castro in March 1998. He was in charge at Santa Bárbara for only 4 weeks in 2000 and also managed Herediano. In August 2009 Flores was appointed assistant at Liberia Mía.

Personal life

His son Andrés is a professional footballer who, like his father, plays as a defender.La paciencia premió a Andrés Flores con constancia
- Nación

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Flores, Roger 1959 births Living people Footballers from San José, Costa Rica Men's association football defenders Costa Rican men's footballers Costa Rica men's international footballers 1990 FIFA World Cup players 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup players A.D. San Carlos footballers Liga Deportiva Alajuelense footballers Deportivo Saprissa players Liga FPD players Costa Rican football managers C.S. Herediano managers Deportivo Saprissa non-playing staff CONCACAF Championship–winning players CONCACAF Champions Cup–winning players