The 2016–17 season was F.C. Motagua's 70th season in existence and the club's 51st consecutive season in the top fight of Honduran football. The club announced the continuation of Diego Vásquez as the team's head coach for his 4th consecutive season.LaPrensa.hn – Diego Vásquez es fatificado en el Motagua – 19 May 2016
Overview This season, the club fought for its 14th league and 2nd domestic cup. During the preseason, a new badge was unveiled to be used starting this season.Diez.hn – Motagua evoluciona su logotipo y elimina las estrellas – 20 June 2016 On 2 July, the club's president Eduardo Atala confirmed an exhibition game against current Copa Libertadores winners at that time and South American giants River Plate. The game was played at Orlando, United States.LaPaginaMillonaria.com – Motagua será rival de River – 2 July 2016
The Apertura schedule was unveiled on the second week of July and the club decided to return their home games on Sundays afternoonDiarioMas.hn – Motagua volverá a jugar domingos por la tarde – 11 July 2016 after their last season experiment of playing on Saturdays seeking for better assistances didn't throw the expected results. In week 6, Motagua faced C.D. Social Sol at home; in the 50' minute (0–0), the referee decided to suspend the match due to heavy rain which caused a power outage. The remaining 40 minutes were played the following morning, landing in the club's 88th anniversary. Román Castillo who had lost his younger brother a week prior, decided the match with a late goal at the 90th+5 minute.Diez.hn – Motagua vence al Social Sol con un golazo de Rubilio Castillo y es líder en Honduras – 29 August 2016 On 25 September, Motagua had to move its home game against C.D. Honduras Progreso to Catacamas due to a religious event that took place at Estadio Tiburcio Carías Andino.Diez.hn – Motagua se va para Catacamas, la directiva espera un llenazo – 23 September 2016 This match at Catacamas marked history in the Honduran Liga Nacional as the first game ever officiated by a female referee.ElHeraldo.hn – Una mujer árbitro pitará por primera vez un partido de Liga Nacional en Honduras – 23 September 2016 On week 17, a 2–2 away tie against Real C.D. España defined Motagua's 4th place in the regular season standings and therefore, a berth to the playoffs phase.Tiempo.hn – Real España rescata un empate ante Motagua en el último minuto – 5 November 2016 Once in the playoffs, Motagua defeated C.D. Marathón away in postseason for the first time since November 1990;RadioHouse.hn – Octavo cruce Motagua-Marathón, cuarta llave Real España-Real Sociedad – 20 November 2016 however, the access to the semifinals didn't turn out that easy as Motagua had to rely on a late and controversial penalty in the second leg to advance with a 3–3 global score.ElHeraldo.hn – Motagua perdió 1-2 ante Marathón pero está en semifinales por el reglamento – 27 November 2016 In the semifinals Motagua faced city rivals Club Deportivo Olimpia for another edition of the Honduran Superclásico, resulting in the fourth time these two teams meet in this stage in the last three years. With a 2–1 aggregated score, Motagua moved on and qualified to their 19th league final in history.LaPrensa.hn – Motagua elimina al Olimpia y avanza a la final del fútbol hondureño – 4 December 2016 On 18 December, Motagua obtained their 14th national championship after defeating Platense F.C. in an unprecedented final.Terra.com – El Motagua campeón del Apertura de Honduras al ganar la final ante Platense – 18 December 2016RadioHRN.hn – Motagua campeón del Apertura – 18 December 2016 It was also the first time a league title was decided at Puerto Cortés. With the win, the team secured a spot for next season's CONCACAF club competitions.
Motagua started the Clausura tournament playing at Puerto Cortés losing 1–2 against Platense. On 21 January, Motagua traveled to Goascorán to play against Gremio F.C. for the first round of the 2017 Honduran Cup, a competition which ended way too early for Motagua's aspirations as they lost in penalty shootouts against a club that plays in third division.ElHeraldo.hn – Un humilde Gremio FC eliminó a Motagua de la tercera edición de la Copa Presidente – 21 January 2017 On 8 February, Diego Vásquez broke an all-time Liga Nacional record as the coach with the most number of consecutive games leading a team, totaling 140 games, surpassing Julio González (139 with C.D. Victoria). On 19 February, Motagua suffered their biggest defeat ever in Tocoa in the 0–4 loss to C.D. Real Sociedad.Diez.hn – Real Sociedad humilla a Motagua y mantiene su hegemonía en Tocoa – 19 February 2017 This result also marked the 11th unsuccessful try to obtain a victory at this venue since Real Sociedad's promotion in 2012. On 13 March, the club announced through their social media that Argentinian midfielder Santiago Vergara was being treated in a local health center as he was diagnosed with leukemia.Tiempo.hn – ¡TERRIBLE! Jugador del Motagua Santiago Vergara es diagnosticado con Leucemia – 13 March 2017 Once in the post-season, Motagua defeated Real España for the first time ever in a semifinal. Despite losing key players from their roster, Motagua was capable of finishing the Clausura tournament with 14 unbeaten games in a row, a performance that resulted in their 15th league championship and a season's double. The Clausura final was played against C.D. Honduras Progreso, which marked their second meeting at this stage in less than two years. Motagua established a record as the largest goal difference in a final's global score (7–1). With the win, the team secured a spot for the 2018 CONCACAF Champions League.
Before the start of the final match against Honduras Progreso, the selling of fake tickets in the black market triggered a chaos among the fans inside and outside the stadium. Those still outside with ticket in hand precipitated towards one of the gates forming a human avalanche that killed 4 people due to asphyxiation.LaTribuna.hn – Los momentos de dolor en la final del fútbol de Honduras (Video) – 28 May 2017
Kit The 2016–17 kits were officially published on 12 July, one day before their friendly meeting against River Plate. Joma stayed as the kits manufacturer for the 17th straight season and Pepsi as the main sponsor. Other sponsors include Claro, Diunsa, Gatorade and Retlan. In April, a special kit allusive to the 14th championship was released to be used for the rest of the season.Diez.hn – Motagua estrenará camiseta el domingo ante Olimpia – 31 March 2017
Manufacturer Main sponsor Joma Pepsi
Players
Transfers in Player Contract date Moving from Román Castillo 1 June 2016 Correcaminos UATElHeraldo.hn – El delantero Rubilio Castillo regresa a Motagua – 1 June 2016 Arnold Meléndez 1 June 2016 Gimnástico Harold Fonseca 7 June 2016 JuticalpaTiempo.hn – El portero Harold Fonseca regresa a Motagua – 7 June 2016 Carlos Discua 8 June 2016 AlajuelenseTiempo.hn – OFICIAL: Carlos “Chino” Discua regresa al Motagua – 8 June 2016 Martín Pucheta 8 June 2016 Deportivo MaipúTiempo.hn – Defensor Martin Pucheta, nuevo refuerzo del Motagua – 8 June 2016 Marco Vega 25 June 2016 Real SociedadLaTribuna.hn – Motagua presentó a Marco Vega – 25 June 2016 Deybi Flores 9 August 2016 Vancouver WhitecapsTheProvince.com – Whitecaps loan Deybi Flores to Motagua – 9 August 2016 Jonathan Rougier 7 January 2017 PronunciamientoTiempo.hn – ¡Motagua confirma contratación de arquero argentino! – 7 January 2017
Transfers out Player Released date Moving to Néstor Martínez 19 May 2016 PlatenseLaPrensa.hn – Motagua anuncia las primeras bajas – 19 May 2016 José Fiallos 19 May 2016 TBD Keller Andino 19 May 2016 TBD Orlin Peralta 19 May 2016 TBD Israel Silva 25 May 2016 MarathónRadioHouse.hn – ¡Israel Silva no continuará en el Motagua! – 25 May 2016 Lucas Gómez 31 May 2016 AlajuelenseDiez.hn – Oficial: Lucas Gómez anuncia que no regresa al Motagua – 31 May 2016 Sebastián Portigliatti 1 June 2016 JuticalpaDiez.hn – Sebastián Portigliatti tampoco seguirá con el Motagua – 1 June 2016 Maylor Núñez 18 July 2016 PlatenseDiarioMas.hn – Clavasquín: Platense será protagonista – 18 July 2016 Júnior Izaguirre 20 December 2016 Retired Deybi Flores 20 December 2016 Vancouver Whitecaps Arnold Meléndez 6 January 2017 TBD Joshua Nieto 6 January 2017 TBD
Squad Statistics as of 28 May 2017 Only league matches into account Player name Date of birth and age Games played Goals scored 1 GK Harold Fonseca 0 16 16 0 0 0 2 DF Juan Montes 89 42 131 4 4 8 3 DF Henry Figueroa 98 31 129 2 0 2 4 DF Júnior Izaguirre 398 6 404 37 0 37 5 DF Marcelo Pereira 22 28 50 1 2 3 6 MF Reinieri Mayorquín 73 37 110 5 3 8 7 MF Carlos Discua 140 42 182 38 11 49 8 MF Deybi Flores 22 5 27 0 0 0 9 FW Román Castillo 66 32 98 35 18 53 10 MF Erick Andino 33 37 70 10 15 25 11 FW Marco Vega 0 37 37 0 8 8 14 FW Irvin Reyna 91 28 119 2 1 3 FW Arnold Meléndez 7 0 7 0 0 0 16 MF Héctor Castellanos 33 40 73 0 1 1 17 DF Denil Maldonado 1 3 4 0 0 0 18 DF Wilmer Crisanto 96 36 132 5 7 12 MF Eli Reyna 0 0 0 0 0 0 GK Jonathan Rougier 0 20 20 0 0 0 21 FW Foslyn Grant 12 4 16 1 0 1 22 MF Santiago Vergara 41 31 72 8 4 12 23 DF Martín Pucheta 0 20 20 0 0 0 24 DF Omar Elvir 157 41 198 6 2 8 25 GK Marlon Licona 56 11 67 0 0 0 26 DF Henry Güity 4 0 4 0 0 0 27 DF Félix Crisanto 32 32 64 1 4 5 28 MF Joshua Nieto 18 1 19 0 0 0 31 DF Klifox Bernárdez 2 24 26 0 0 0 32 MF Marvin Ávila 0 0 0 0 0 0 33 GK Cristian Hernández 0 0 0 0 0 0 34 FW Kevin López 47 22 69 7 3 10 35 DF Cristopher Meléndez 0 7 7 0 0 0 Manager Diego Vásquez 23 November 2013– RESERVES TEAM Player name Date of birth and age Games played Goals scored FW Denilson Castillo 0 2 2 0 0 0 36 MF Edward Centeno 0 0 0 0 0 0 37 DF Carlos García 0 0 0 0 0 0 38 DF Harrinson Bernárdez 2 1 3 0 0 0 39 FW Juan Pastrana 0 0 0 0 0 0 40 DF José Murillo 0 0 0 0 0 0 41 MF Jack Jean Baptiste 0 0 0 0 0 0 42 MF Carlos Mayorquín 0 0 0 0 0 0 43 MF Wilmer Sandoval 0 0 0 0 0 0 44 GK Elin Agurcia 0 0 0 0 0 0 45 MF Cid Bodden 0 0 0 0 0 0 47 MF Josué Villafranca 0 1 1 0 0 0 48 DF Brayan Velásquez 0 0 0 0 0 0 49 FW Manuel Iglesias 0 0 0 0 0 0 50 MF Jonathan Galo 0 0 0 0 0 0 51 MF Óscar Romero 0 0 0 0 0 0 52 MF Daniel Hill 0 0 0 0 0 0 53 MF César Romero 0 2 2 0 0 0 54 DF Anthony Cervantes 0 0 0 0 0 0 55 MF Bayron Varela 0 0 0 0 0 0 56 MF José Canaca 0 0 0 0 0 0 57 MF Kevin Castro 0 0 0 0 0 0 58 GK Marcos Torres 0 0 0 0 0 0 59 GK Hugo Caballero 0 0 0 0 0 0 60 GK José Rodríguez 0 0 0 0 0 0 61 MF Jessell Pineda 0 0 0 0 0 0 – FW Hodi Bonilla 0 0 0 0 0 0 – FW Erikxon Fuentes 0 0 0 0 0 0
Results
Preseason and friendlies
Apertura
Clausura
Honduran Cup
By round
Statistics As of 28 May 2017 Competition League 46 22 17 7 83 54 +29 15 4 60.14% Cup 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 33.33% Others 8 5 1 2 20 10 +10 2 2 66.67% Totals 55 27 19 9 104 65 +39 17 6 60.61%
External links Official website
References