Buena Vibra, a phrase encapsulating the Guatemalan lifestyle that VOS® originated, further solidified itself in a historical 1-0 match when the Guatemalan men’s national soccer team beat Costa Rica on March 22, 2019. The match took place in the land of eternal spring, specifically at the Doroteo Guamuch Flores National Stadium in Guatemala City. We at VOS® know that the grammatically correct translation of “Vida Pura” from Spanish to English actually is “Pure Life” and essentially that is exactly what every Guatemalan soccer fan felt when the national team scored the winning goal and the stadium erupted in euphoria.
Stefano Cincotta scored the winning goal for Guatemala in the not-so-friendly match against the Costa Rican National Team. The Guatemalan left back beat the goal that Keylor Navas defended, the current Real Madrid goalkeeper. On the flip side, Nicholas Hagen played an amazing match keeping a clean sheet in his starting debut as the goalkeeper for the Guatemalan National Team. Cincotta shouted his heart out after his goal as he celebrated with his teammates and the more than 18,000 souls present at the stadium. After the match Hagen was quoted by Prensa Libre saying, “Being on the field with all the people screaming is the most exciting thing there is…” which is exactly the sensation that the Buena Vibra lifestyle is all about.
Guatemala and Costa Rica have a rich soccer history in the Central American region. Whenever the two national teams meet it always is a heated occasion since it’s the oldest rivalry in Central American soccer with the teams having met on more than 55 occasions. Prior to this historical match, the last time the teams had faced each other was in 2014 during the final match of the Central America Cup which was hosted in the United States. From matches in stadiums filled with more than 40,000 spectators to the tragic night of October 16, 1996 when 84 fans died at the stadium; history exists.
On this occasion, Guatemala came out victorious and here are the game day rosters for the match.
Guatemala 1
Nicholas Hagen, Manuel López, José Pinto, Carlos Gallardo, Allen Yanes, Rodrigo Saravia, Stefano Cincotta (Eduardo Soto 72′), Alejandro Galindo (Robin Betancourth 90+1′), José Contreras (Jorge Aparicio 69′), Luis Martínez (Danilo Guerra 82′) and Jorge Vargas. Head Coach: Amarini Villatoro
Costa Rica 0
Keylor Navas, Ian Smith, Kendall Watson, Juan Pablo Vargas, Waylon Francis (Ariel Lassiter 62′), Celso Borges, Allan Cruz, Jimmy Marín (Ronald Matarrita 46′), Elías Aguilar (Bryan Ruíz 59′), Randall Leal (Mayron George 46′), Joel Campbell (Ronald Araya 85′). Head Coach: Gustavo Matosas
Below is a recap of the match highlights and as Guatemalans that live the VOS® lifestyle say, ¡Buena Vibra!
