Alonso Solís

Alonso Jorge Solís Calderón (born October 14, 1978) is a Costa Rican retired footballer and singer who played for Saprissa as attacking midfielder or striker.

Club career

Known as El Mariachi, Solís made his professional debut for Saprissa on 28 January 1996 against Municipal Pérez Zeledón and scored his first goal on 13 April 1997 against Carmelita.<ref>Alonso en datos (bio) - Nación Template:In lang</ref>

Europe

He then spent a good deal of time abroad, with Universidad Católica in Chile,<ref>Llamado del Sur•Universidad Católica vino a evaluar a Alonso Solís - Nación Template:In lang</ref> OFI in Greece,<ref>Alonso firmó en Grecia - Nación Template:In lang</ref> and SK Brann<ref>Solís y Núñez viajan a Noruega - Nación Template:In lang</ref> in Norway.

Saprissa

Solís had an awe-inspiring 2003/4 season with Saprissa, finishing third in the league in goals with 17 while leading Saprissa to an easy first-place finish in the league. With Saprissa, he has won four national championships and a CONCACAF Champions Cup, and was part of the team that played the 2005 FIFA Club World Championship, where Saprissa finished third behind São Paulo and Liverpool. His club career was a testament to his skill and dedication to the sport.

Due to his performance, at the end of the last season, he received many offers from clubs in Mexico, Brazil, and even in Costa Rica, but he decided to stay in Saprissa. Due to Walter Gaitán's injury, Solis was loaned to Necaxa<ref>Solís firma hoy con el Necaxa - Nación Template:In lang</ref> for 3 months, starting on March 17, 2008. The Mexicans could not offer him a contract due to the foreign player quota.<ref>Necaxa no contratará a Alonso Solís - Nación Template:In lang</ref> He was one of the most loved and claimed by the crowd while he played at Deportivo Saprissa.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In his final game with Saprissa, visiting archrival Liga Deportiva Alajuelense, Solis scored an excellent goal, which gave them the 0–1 win, Saprissa's 9th consecutive win in the 2008 Clausura Championship. He ended up playing 292 league games for Saprissa, scoring 98 goals.<ref>A las puertas del club de los grandes goleadores Template:Webarchive - UNAFUT Template:In lang</ref>

In January 2012, Solís was signed by Bengal Premier League side Durgapur<ref>Alonso Solís jugará en el Durgapur - Nación Template:In lang</ref> only to discover the league was postponed and eventually cancelled.<ref>Alonso Solís: ‘Ya uno no sabe ni qué pensar’ Template:Webarchive - Nación Template:In lang</ref>

In November 2012, he was cleared to play for LINAFA outfit San Francisco de Dos Ríos,<ref>Regresa "El Mariachi" Alonso Solís tiene todo listo para jugar en LINAFA Template:Webarchive - Al Día Template:In lang</ref> after having officially retired<ref>Alonso Solís: ‘Mi retiro es definitivo’ - Nación Template:In lang in July 2012.</ref> In August 2013, Solís made his debut as player-manager<ref>Alonso Solís regresa al fútbol El Mariachi jugará y será asistente en la Segunda División con el equipo Generación Saprissa - Nación Template:In lang</ref> for second division side Generación Saprissa, Saprissa's reserve team.<ref>Alonso Solís debutó en Segunda División en triunfo de Generación Saprissa sobre Aserrí - Nación Template:In lang</ref>

International career

At junior level, he played in the 1995 FIFA U-17 World Championship held in Ecuador, and the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship held in Malaysia.<ref name=FIFA/>

Solís made his debut for Costa Rica in a May 1999 friendly match against Chile and earned a total of 48 caps, scoring eight goals.<ref>Appearances for Costa Rica National Team Template:Webarchive - RSSSF</ref> He represented his country in 18 FIFA World Cup qualification matches<ref name=FIFA>Template:FIFA player</ref> and played at the 2003,<ref>Qualifying Tournament for Gold Cup 2003 - Details Template:Webarchive - RSSSF</ref> 2005,<ref>Qualifying Tournament for Gold Cup 2005 - Details Template:Webarchive - RSSSF</ref> and 2007 UNCAF Nations Cup,<ref>Qualifying Tournament for Gold Cup 2001 - Details Template:Webarchive - RSSSF</ref> as well as at the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup<ref>CONCACAF Championship, Gold Cup 2003 - Full Details Template:Webarchive - RSSSF</ref> and the 2004 Copa América.<ref>Copa América 2004 Template:Webarchive - RSSSF</ref>

Alonso Solís's final international match was an October 2008 FIFA World Cup qualification game against the Haiti.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This match marked the end of his illustrious career with Costa Rica.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

External links

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