MIAMI, Florida – Throughout the history of Concacaf, and the Central American region in particular, one of the most exciting and long-standing rivalries has been between Costa Rican side Alajuelense and Olimpia of Honduras.
A total of 22 matches in official international competitions has been played between the two, and so it is fitting that these two sides are meeting in the 2022 Scotiabank Concacaf League Final to determine who will be the tournament’s final champion, and also who will be the only club to have lifted the trophy twice.
The history between Alajuelense and Olimpia stretches all the way back to 1962 when they met in the first ever Concacaf Champions Cup to determine Concacaf’s first continental club champion. A first round series saw Alajuelense earn a 2-1 win on aggregate.
Nine years would pass before they met again in 1971, and once again the Concacaf Champions Cup was the setting. The ending was similar as well, with Alajuelense emerging with a 1-0 victory on aggregate.
The 1988 Concacaf Champions Cup proved to be a different story. The Catrachos and Ticos first met in a Third Round group stage game that finished 1-1, before their two-legged semifinal saw Olimpia edge out a 2-1 series win.
The two sides renewed acquaintances in 1997 in Group B of the Torneo Grandes de Centroamerica and the margins were razor thin, with the two matches ending in draws, 2-2 and 0-0.
A year later in 1998 it was back to the big stage of the Concacaf Champions Cup in Group II of the Central American Zone, and for the first time in the history of the rivalry, more than one goal separated the teams at the final whistle after Alajuelense posted a 5-1 win in their second meeting. The Ticos had won an earlier group contest that year, 1-0.
The stage then shifted to the Copa Interclubes de la UNCAF for the next several matches, beginning in 1999. After a 1-1 group stage draw in March of that year, Olimpia got their biggest win against Alajuelense in a 4-1 triumph in August. They then met in the final round and once again Olimpia flexed their muscles with a 2-0 victory.
Back-to-back scoreless draws followed in the 2000 and 2001 Copa Interclubes de la UNCAF, respectively, before a 2-1 Alajuelense win in the 2003 edition.
Arguably, one of their most memorable series came in the 2005 in the first Final and the last Copa Interclubes de la UNCAF series disputed between the two clubs. Each team won the away leg, 1-0, so matters had to be settled in a penalty shootout and it went the way for the Ticos in a 4-2 final.
Twelve years passed before they locked horns in another international tournament, this time in the inaugural SCL in 2017 in a Round of 16 series. Goals from Carlo Costly and Kevin Alvarez in the first leg gave Olimpia a 2-0 win, while Roger Rojas’ goal served as the winner in the second leg to make it a 3-0 aggregate victory for the Hondurans, who would go on to become the first SCL champions.
Alajuelense avenged that defeat three years later in the 2020 edition, played in a single game format. After a 0-0 draw between the two sides, the Costa Ricans proved the stronger from the penalty spot with a 5-4 shootout win. Like Olimpia in 2017, Alajuelense would later on win the crown.
If there was any need for further proof that this rivalry is as even and as competitive as it gets, the six wins and 19 goals for Olimpia, six wins and 18 goals for Alajuelense and 10 draws says it all.
No doubt that matches 23 and 24 between Alajuelense and Olimpia in the 2022 SCL Final should provide the same level of excitement and intensity as the first 22.