Costa Rican fans, media call for coach Luis Suarez’s ouster after 2-1 loss to Panama
Chants for the ouster of Costa Rican national team coach Luis Fernando Suarez began as soon as Panama took a 2-0 lead in their Gold Cup Group C opener at DRV PNK Stadium late Monday night and continued after Panama secured the 2-1 win.
“Fuera Suarez! Fuera Suarez!” the fans bellowed, echoing the sentiments of Costa Ricans back home who have been calling for the coach’s dismissal after a string of disappointing results.
The discontent began with a poor showing in the 2022 World Cup, including a humiliating 7-0 loss to Spain. The Ticos then were eliminated from the Nations League with a pair of losses to Panama, and recently lost in friendlies against Guatemala and Ecuador.
Costa Rica entered the Gold Cup under intense pressure to perform well and struggled to get any offense going against Panama Monday night. The Ticos’ lone goal came from Aaron Suarez in extra time, seconds before the final whistle.
Panama’s goals were scored by Jose Fajardo and Edgar Barcenas and the Panamanians dictated play all night in front of 10,101 fans.
The criticism of Suarez continued in the post-match press conference, where the coach was peppered with questions from reporters from start to finish.
“You said the team was going to get better after the loss to Ecuador, but the team is playing worse and this game was a complete disaster,” said one reporter.
“How does it feel to know that the fans say the best news they could get is for you not to be the national coach anymore? Even the fans here in Fort Lauderdale, away from Costa Rica, were shouting for you to go.”
Suarez said coaches are always under pressure and there are always critics among the fans. Asked if he would consider stepping down, he said: “I still think you must fight until the end, and I have done that my entire life. There are tough moments, but the answer is to find solutions, not to hide and run away.”
The mood was far different in the Panama press conference. Coach Thomas Christiansen was praised for his team’s organization and style of play.
“What you ask of a team is for everyone to fight and give their maximum in every game, as we saw earlier Martinque beat El Salvador, so you have to take every opponent seriously,” Christiansen said. “Whoever doesn’t give 100 percent gets left behind and so I congratulate my players for their hard work, patience and performance.”
Panama and Costa Rica have a long soccer history.
The sight of Panama beating Costa Rica 2-1 Monday night brought memories of Oct. 10, 2017 flooding back to fans of both nations.
It was on that night, in Panama City, that former Inter Miami defender Roman Torres became a national hero with an 88th minute goal against Costa Rica that sealed a 2-1 victory and sent Panama to its first-ever World Cup.
Then president of Panama Juan Carlos Varela declared the next day a national holiday and Panamanians partied for 24 hours straight along with Costa Ricans, whose team had already qualified.
Making that party even sweeter, the United States was in the same qualifying group but failed to get through after losing to bottom-team Trinidad and Tobago.
Rolando Cerezo, who moved to Pembroke Pines from Panama last year was in Panama City that night and at DRV PNK Stadium on Monday.
“I got very emotional when I heard they were going to play here and I got a ticket right away,” Cerezo said. “When Panama went to the World Cup in 2018, I went to all the qualifiers that were in Panama. The last one was against Costa Rica. The Ticos wanted us to win and celebrate with us. We did it and it was a huge party the next day. I know Costa Rica is a tough team. This is a big rivalry.”
Panama and Martinique lead Group C with three points. El Salvador and Panama have no points. Panama’s next opponent is Martinique on Friday and Costa Rica plays El Salvador. Both games are at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey.
Christiansen said his team is not overlooking Martinique and was not entirely surprised to see Martinique come out on top 2-1 against El Salvador in Monday’s early game.
“It was a little surprising on one hand to see Martinique hold a 2-0 lead for so long with a man down, but not surprised on the other hand because we played Martinique twice in Nations League, we tied 0-0 in a tough game with them and we cannot take them lightly,” Christiansen said. “Their coach has done an excellent job and is showing it with the results. It is not a coincidence.”
Cuba plays Guatemala at DRV PNK Stadium on Tuesday night at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale through TicketMaster.
