Alajuelense Home Camiseta de Fútbol 2021

2021 Alajuelense home Camiseta de Fútbol. Home shirt used by Alajuelense during the Apertura 2021.

The club had a tumultuous Apertura both off and on the pitch--Alajuelense came in the heels of being booted out of the Clausura 2021 semifinals against Saprissa on a 5-6 aggregate score (after spending the regular season unbeaten and a serious contender for a league double).

The psychological blow carried over to the most of the Apertura which caused the first of two managerial dismissals: long-standing gaffer Andrés Carević was sacked after a 2-3 loss to Cartago on the third match day (this being only the second time in which Cartago has won at Alajuela during the 21st century) and coming on the heels of being drubbed 4-1 by Saprissa in the Super Copa.

In came club legends Luis Marín and Harold Wallace, who were not long in the club either--the catalyst of Marín\'s sacking was an elimination on the CONCACAF League by away goals against Guatemalan opposition Guastatoya, the elimination being more humiliating by the fact that both possible rivals on the quarterfinals were eliminated due to rule breaching; giving the winner of the Alajuelense-Guastatoya leg a bye to the semifinals and direct qualification to the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League as a result. Alajuelense was eliminated after conceding a late 2-2 equalizer after spending most of the match ahead by 2-0 (and squandering many opportunities to further increase the score), with Guastatoya pulling one back some twelve minutes prior to the equalizer.

While a club legend, Marín\'s coaching style started receiving criticism after losing his only Clásico by 4-2 (despite being 0-2 ahead by the first half hour); with it escalating as matches went by. His last domestic match was a 0-3 away win against Sporting the Saturday prior to the aforementioned international humbling.

Following Marín\'s sacking, youth coach Greivin Mora was in charge on a caretaker role for one match before Albert Rudé (the third Spaniard to coach Alajuelense in 102 years) saw off the remainder of the season. Despite a questionable first round, Alajuelense ended second in the regular season.

Rudé was not one without criticism as Alajuelense\'s form during three of the four playoff matches was shaky at best. Alajuelense eliminated Santos in the semifinals on away goals, and was eliminated by Saprissa on the playoff final on a 1-2 aggregate.

The above shirt was launched prior to the return match of the Guastatoya leg, with the launch being delayed due to a combination of supply and sponsorship constraints.

While the designs on the home and away will cover the entire season, the Clausura 2022 shirts will feature updated sponsorship arrangements--phone carrier kölbi only featured in the front for the Apertura after a six month-contract extension which was not agreed until the last minute (being this one of the reasons of the new kits being delayed).

kölbi will move to being the only sponsor in the lower back for the Clausura (after snacks brand Soldanza\'s agreement expired), being moved around after a new agreement for a lower fee was signed; with it being substituted by soft drinks brand Tropical in the front.

Shirt #29 has remained unassigned since 2019, meaning that the above printing is a customization. The CONCACAF patches were procured as they were never made available to the public.