Costa Rica only has 4.5 million people
It’s always dangerous to play this numbers game -- China has 1.5 billion people so they should win every World Cup! -- but a quarterfinal showing by a nation that lacks 1) as many people as the Greater Toronto Area and 2) a magnificent soccer pedigree like Uruguay, proves it’s not so much the overall resources as how a country chooses to deploy them. Unfortunately, it's far easier to wax vaguely online about coaching, youth development and clearly demarcated paths from U5s to the senior national team than it is to actually build those things.
But you do need some starlets
Costa Rica currently boasts three players who excel at the highest levels: Bryan Ruiz, Keylor Navas and Joel Campbell. That number may change now that players from this World Cup side are being linked willy-nilly with clubs all over Europe. The point is that you don’t need 11 superstars to boss Concacaf but you do need a handful to make a difference on the world stage.
Screw the wheat and get the job done with chaff
Seven of Costa Rica’s starting 11 against Greece play their club football in either Scandinavia, Bundesliga 2, MLS or the Costa Rican league. Admit it, that sounds positively Canadian men’s national team-ish. Cut to a beautiful summer day with a meadow and some fluffy clouds, perhaps a bottle of wine, then stretch out and wonder what might have been if Asmir Begovic, Jonathan de Guzman, Junior Hoilett et al had been enthusiastic participants in the 2014 qualifying process all along...
God Canada, we need a league (here’s where it gets depressing)
The Primera División de Costa Rica Costa is both figuratively and literally a long way from the European glamour pitches and the well-funded academy conveyor belts churning out talent to fill them. Save for a few relatively storied clubs like Saprissa and Alajuelense, the league is also a long way from MLS and Mexico’s top league. The maximum salary in the Costa Rican league hovers around $12,000 per month (in a relatively low-cost living environment of course). But it’s an outlet where Costa Ricans can earn a living playing soccer if they are any good.
Because here’s what a league can do
Any guesses on how many of the 23 players on Costa Rica’s World Cup roster were developed by pro clubs in Costa Rica, before in some cases moving on to North America and Europe? Twist your elbow and shoulder awkwardly to pat yourself on the back if you blurted out, “all of them!” Interestingly, Los Ticos are also rather homogenous, with 22 of the 23 players born in-country. Miserable trivia enthusiasts should note that defender Oscar Duarte is the exception, born in Nicaragua before moving next door at a young age.
Hurry in! Top quality managers still available at competitive prices
According to the Daily Mail, the Costa Rica FA pays national team manager Jorge Luis Pinto $440,000 annually. A pretty decent return for a quarter final spot compared to some of the other monster wages reportedly paid to national team managers (we’re looking at you Fabio Capello). CSN editor-in-chief Duane Rollins has previously reported that the Canada manger earns in the range of $150,000 to $200,000 a year. That puts this country at the distinctly lower range (re: absolutely bottom) of the World Cup manager wage table, but Pinto proves that a governing body doesn't need to bankrupt itself attracting quality talent.
Just make sure you find one, and just maybe, it's quarterfinals time
Jorge Luis Pinto was very very clear in the months leading up to the World Cup. His side would rely on a well-drilled, defense-first system. They would be stingy, and focused, and any goals conceded would cost opponents buckets of sweat. Sure, a lot of managers say things like that. But Pinto's system worked when it counted and by the end of the group stage the Guardian had dubbed him the South American Jose Mourinho. Delving into the collective psyche of eleven strangers kicking a ball on television is a tricky bit, but Los Ticos always gave a palpable sense they believed they could win. Perhaps the only darkish cloud hover over Costa Rica's post-Cup bliss is whether Pinto will stay on or seek more lucrative pastures.
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com