Faces of Football: Costa Rica – a letter to the national team

Dear Costa Rican National Team,

I’m one of the ‘tica’, one of the five million cheering you on with all your heart and soul this winter. Yes, with all my heart, because once again you made a dream come true for all of us at home: qualifying for the sixth World Cup of my life.

I had to wait until 2002 to see you compete in a World Cup with our amazing forward duo Wilmer ‘El Pato’ Lopez and Walter ‘El Pate’ Centeno, but we’ve qualified time and time again since then. We qualified for Germany 2006 thanks to our striker Paulo Cesar Wanchope, and in 2014 we made history by progressing to the quarter-finals – earning us the nickname ‘The Giants Killers’.

The way you play has inspired people across the country to come together. You managed to stop a whole country just for a penalty – the one that Michael Umaña converted against Greece and got us through to the Quarters. I remember well how the TV presenter said to Umaña: ‘Blessed be your mother who brought you into being.’

Thank you ‘Sele’ for showing us what we are capable of as a nation. You made it possible to believe and to dream.

We know that the 2022 tournament will again be an uphill battle for Costa Rica. We’ll be playing against three very talented teams in the group stage, Spain and Germany are two of the tournament favourites, but Japan is certainly not a blank slate either.

However, I am confident that we can reach the round of 16 like in 1990 or even the quarterfinals like in 2014.

We’ve beaten football superpowers before, why not do it again? We have a great team and a fantastic coach. Get out there and prove how good you all are.

I’m more than willing to scream from the stands of stadiums in Qatar until I lose my voice. We will make Al Thumama, Ahmad Bin Ali and Al Bayt stadiums your home, we will be there with you and support you all the way.

Pura Vida

This article was originally published on 90min.de as.