Alajuelense Home baju bolasepak 2003 - 2004

2003 - 2004 Alajuelense home baju bolasepak. Home shirt worn by Alajuelense during both the 2003-04 Primera División season and on international duty during qualification for the CONCACAF Champions' Cup.

Alajuelense had recently won the Tetracampeonato (league quadruple) and aimed for the fifth one in a row. A few players and Colombian gaffer Jorge Luis Pinto departed after the end of the 2002-03 season (the latter after an apparent payment dispute after new salary agreements could not be reached), and the board of directors decided to switch him with Peruvian boss Juan Carlos Oblitas. Alajuelense started the season with a 1-1 away tie against Santa Bárbara (match that could not be originally finished due to a savage hailstorm brewing not after the second half started; and had to be concluded days later) and after that, had some difficulty getting in shape. Oblitas could not really gain momentum and was sacked after losing against San Ramón by 5-3 (Alajuelense actually lead the match 1-3 at some point), his signing retroactively deemed a mistake. After a handful of matches under Enrique Vázquez on a caretaker role (him previously having the job full-time on the 1993-94 season), a formal replacement came on the name of Jorge Mario Olguín. The Argentinian World Cup finalist previously managed Saprissa during the 1996-97 season (ending runners-up) and had an acceptable season with Santa Bárbara. After picking up form and catching up on leaders Saprissa, Olguín had a slump of bad results which caused him to be sacked as well. In an attempt to salvage the season and due to Alajuelense still having some opportunity to win the Clausura and force the national finals (Saprissa won the Apertura), the board of directors signed recently retired defender Javier Delgado alongside club legend Mauricio Montero (the latter his assistant) initially on a caretaker role. Alajuelense lost the chance to force the finals after losing the fourth round Clásico against Saprissa (and therefore could not make the necessary points) but still was alive on the CONCACAF Champions Cup. After beating Monterrey on aggregate for the semifinals, Alajuelense faced Saprissa in the only all-Costa Rican CONCACAF finals contested so far. The first leg ended in a 1-1 tie on neutral Heredia (Saprissa could not get clearance for their new turf) and the return one ended in a memorable 4-0 win for Alajuela at home in what arguably could be the most important international result ever obtained by the manudos. Delgado eventually landed the coaching role full-time (he was even sent to Madrid for further education) and won the league title on the 2004-05 season.

Shirt #12 was originally assigned to defender Ángel Esteban Sirias, however he gave it up to Argentinian midfielder Pablo Daniel Antonio Gabas when the latter was signed ahead of the 2004-05 season from the folding Santa Bárbara.