Ticos Capture First Title Under New Concacaf Confederation Banner

1963 Costa Rican Team Delegation with first NORCECA Trophy/Photo Courtesy - Rodrigo Calvo

By Rodrigo A. Calvo Castro - ANCCIF Member (Posted on 5 April 2026)

After winning seven of the ten championships of the Central American and Caribbean Football Confederation (CCCF), Costa Rica continued its success by becoming the standout team in the first NORCECA (North, Central American and Caribbean) Nations Championship in 1963, claiming the main Concacaf national team tournament with an undefeated mark.

Everything began in the region on 18 September 1961, when in Mexico City, the North American Football Confederation (NAFC) joined with the CCCF to form what is now known as Concacaf.

The first president of the Executive Committee of this new organization was, fittingly, a Costa Rican: Ramón Coll Jaumet, who held the position until 1968. The organization quickly moved to establish its first competitions for both club and national teams.

From that moment on, the first Concacaf Nations Championship (called NORCECA) was held every two years between 1963 and 1971. It was later replaced by World Cup qualifying tournaments from 1973 to 1989, and finally by the current Concacaf Gold Cup, which began in 1991.

The Ticos won the inaugural Concacaf tournament between March and April of 1963 in El Salvador, with an experienced squad led by Costa Rican coach Alfredo “Chato” Piedra, who passed away in 2003 at the age of 88.

“The foundation of the team was the one that won the CCCF title in Honduras in 1955,” Piedra recalled during a 2003 reunion of former members of the Costa Rican delegation to the first NORCECA, organized by the newspaper La Nación in San José. “I reinforced it with some new players, such as Édgar Marín, Héctor ‘Macho’ Coto, and Leonel Hernández, who came from the youth team that had participated a year earlier in the 1962 Concacaf Youth Championship in Panama.”

In the first round, played in the Salvadoran city of Santa Ana, Costa Rica dominated its group opponents and advanced in first place to the second round.

“I was very young, very inexperienced compared to Leonel and Coto, and it was my first time with the senior national team. I have great memories of it because we became Concacaf Champions alongside very well-known players in the country such as ‘Catato’ (Mario Cordero), ‘Pelirrojo’ (Enrique Córdoba), Édgar Quesada, Rubén ‘Rata’ Jiménez, and Mario ‘Flaco’ Pérez. It was a constellation of stars in Costa Rican football,” recalled Édgar Marín, who passed away in 2023 at the age of 80. The former Deportivo Saprissa player holds the Costa Rican record with 12 First Division titles.

Costa Rica defeated Jamaica 6:0, beat the tough Netherlands Antilles (now Curaçao) 1:0, and drew 0:0 with tournament favorite Mexico, which had just performed well at the 1962 World Cup in Chile but was surprisingly eliminated after losing 2:1 to the Antillean side in its opening match.

“We played very difficult matches in that first NORCECA against Honduras, El Salvador, Netherlands Antilles, and Mexico. Everything was surprising but very exciting for me, because it was my first national team experience,” said Marín, who scored four goals in 32 international appearances for Costa Rica.

Costa Rica’s performance was also dominant in the final round-robin stage at Estadio Flor Blanca (now Estadio Jorge “Mágico” González) in San Salvador. They defeated El Salvador 4:1, beat the Netherlands Antilles again 1:0, and overcame Honduras 2:1.

“That Costa Rican team moved the ball very well, with excellent players of great quality. They played a very practical style with quick, precise passing—that was their trademark. I learned many things from them,” Marín added.

In summary, the Ticos finished as the undefeated champion of the first NORCECA, with five wins and one draw in six matches. They scored 14 goals and conceded only two, earning 11 of a possible 12 points (at that time, two points were awarded for a win).

“We became undefeated champions, which was very rewarding. Our coach, Don Alfredo Piedra, was a true gentleman—very calm and composed, never aggressive, always centered. He passed that on to the players, and it showed clearly on the field,” Marín noted.

The tournament’s top scorer was El Salvador’s Eduardo “Volkswagen” Hernández with six goals, followed by Roland Delanoy (Netherlands Antilles), Juan “Tribilín” González (Costa Rica), and Guillermo “Chato” Ortiz (Mexico), each with four.

Costa Rica also earned two individual awards: Asdrúbal Meneses was named Best Goalkeeper of the tournament, and captain Mario “Catato” Cordero was recognized as the Best Sportsmanship Player.

Costa Rica’s Roster – 1963 Concacaf (NORCECA) Championship

GK: Asdrúbal Meneses (CS Cartaginés), Mario “Flaco” Pérez (Deportivo Saprissa), Emilio Sagot (Orión FC);

DF: Mario “Catato” Cordero (Deportivo Saprissa), Guillermo “Memo” Hernández (Deportivo Saprissa), Álvaro Grant Mc Donald (CS Herediano), Rodolfo Madriz (CS Cartaginés), Giovanni Rodríguez (Deportivo Saprissa), Alex Sánchez (LD Alajuelense), Édgar Zúñiga (LD Alajuelense);

MD: Juan José Gámez (LD Alajuelense), Carlos “Cayaca” Marín (CS Herediano), Édgar Quesada (CS Herediano), Wílliam Quirós (Deportivo Saprissa);

AT: Enrique “Pelirrojo” Córdoba (CS Cartaginés), Héctor “Macho” Coto (CS Cartaginés), Guillermo “Memo” Elizondo (CS Uruguay), Juan “Tribilín” González (LD Alajuelense), Leonel Hernández (CS Cartaginés), Rubén “Rata” Jiménez (Deportivo Saprissa), Édgar Marín (Deportivo Saprissa), Wálter Pearson (LD Alajuelense), Víctor Luis “Wicho” Vásquez (Deportivo Saprissa).

TD: Alfredo “Chato” PIEDRA

Results at NORCECA, El Salvador - 1963

Group A – San Salvador

23.03: Guatemala - Panama 2:2; El Salvador - Nicaragua 6:1

25.03: Honduras - Nicaragua 1:0; El Salvador – Panama 1:1

27.03: Guatemala - Nicaragua 3:1; El Salvador - Honduras 2:2

29.03: Panamá - Nicaragua 5:0; Honduras - Guatemala 2:1

31.03: El Salvador - Guatemala 1:1; Honduras - Panama 1:0

Group B – Santa Ana

24.03: Costa Rica -Jamaica 6:0; Netherlands Antilles - Mexico 2:1

28.03: Mexico - Jamaica 8:0; Costa Rica – Netherlands Antilles 1:0

30.03: Netherlands Antilles - Jamaica 2:1; Costa Rica - Mexico 0:0