The 2018–19 season is F.C. Motagua's 72nd season in existence and the club's 53rd consecutive season in the top fight of Honduran football. As runners-up of both Apertura and Clausura last season, the club is looking for their 16th and 17th league title. They also competed for the 2018 Honduran Cup and the 2018 CONCACAF League.
Overview Coach Diego Vásquez will be leading the team for his 10th consecutive tournament. Last season, Vásquez reached 200 consecutive games as Motagua's manager, a club's and league record. The club started the season on 22 July with a shocking 1–2 defeat against Las Delicias F.C. in the 2018 Honduran Cup, making this the second time in a row they fall through the first round against a Liga Mayor club at such tournament. On 1 November 2018, the club lost 2–3 on aggregate against C.S. Herediano in the final series of the 2018 CONCACAF League. This marked the first time in history that the club qualified to a final in a tournament organized by CONCACAF. With the defeat, Motagua failed to qualify to the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League. Thanks to their outstanding participation in the first half of the season, coach Vásquez, as well as players Jonathan Rougier, Juan Montes and Rubilio Castillo were nominated at the 2018 CONCACAF Awards. On 16 December 2018, the club conquered their 16th national title with a 2–1 aggregate score over their city rivals Club Deportivo Olimpia in the Apertura final series, a win which gave them the right to qualify to the 2019 CONCACAF League. For their second year in a row, the club was voted as the best Honduran team according to Uruguayan newspaper El País. In the Clausura tournament, Motagua repeated and once again lifted the trophy with a 3–2 win on aggregate over their city opponents Olimpia in the final series.
Kits The 2018–19 home, away and third kits were published on 24 June. On 5 December, the club released a special retro edition commemorating the 90th anniversary.
Manufacturer Main sponsor Joma Pepsi
Players Transfers in Player Contract date Moving from Carlos Sánchez 13 June 2018 Honduras Progreso Matías Galvaliz 27 June 2018 Defensores de Belgrano Roberto Moreira 28 June 2018 Ferro Carril Oeste Marlon Licona 4 July 2018 Honduras Progreso Sergio Peña 25 July 2018 Real Sociedad Marcelo Estigarribia 11 January 2019 Villa Dálmine
Transfers out Player Released date Moving to Germán Mayenfisch 6 June 2018 Juventud Unida U. Carlos Discua 27 June 2018 Marathón Deybi Flores 4 July 2018 Olimpia Foslyn Grant 4 July 2018 Vida Denilson Castillo 11 July 2018 Real España Félix Crisanto 18 July 2018 Lobos BUAP Henry Figueroa 21 December 2018 Alajuelense Harold Fonseca 3 January 2019 Vida Javier Estupiñán 4 January 2019 Juticalpa Rubilio Castillo 25 January 2019 Saprissa Jack Baptiste 7 March 2019 Loudoun United César Romero 8 March 2019 Colorado S. Switchbacks
Squad Statistics as of 2 June 2019 Only league matches into account Player name Date of birth and age Games played Goals scored GK Harold Fonseca 23 0 23 0 0 0 GK Edgardo Meléndez 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 DF Juan Montes 174 42 216 10 2 12 3 DF Henry Figueroa 159 7 166 3 0 3 4 MF Sergio Peña 0 23 23 0 1 1 5 DF Marcelo Pereira 72 22 94 4 4 8 6 MF Reinieri Mayorquín 146 36 182 10 0 10 7 MF Erick Andino 96 29 125 26 8 34 8 MF Walter Martínez 37 35 72 8 1 9 9 FW Rubilio Castillo 138 16 154 76 8 84 10 MF Matías Galvaliz 0 35 35 0 2 2 11 FW Marco Vega 70 23 93 15 1 16 12 MF Raúl Santos 27 30 57 0 0 0 14 DF Klifox Bernárdez 39 5 44 0 0 0 15 MF César Romero 3 0 3 0 0 0 16 MF Héctor Castellanos 108 33 141 1 0 1 17 MF Denil Maldonado 7 42 49 0 1 1 18 DF Wilmer Crisanto 171 28 199 16 2 18 19 GK Jonathan Rougier 55 37 92 0 0 0 21 FW Roberto Moreira 0 44 44 0 21 21 FW Javier Estupiñán 19 15 34 4 3 7 FW Marcelo Estigarribia 0 18 18 0 7 7 23 MF Jack Baptiste 7 3 10 0 0 0 24 DF Omar Elvir 220 35 255 10 0 10 25 GK Marlon Licona 70 9 79 0 0 0 26 DF Harrinson Bernárdez 4 2 6 0 0 0 27 MF Stanley Turcios 0 0 0 0 0 0 28 FW Josué Villafranca 1 5 6 0 1 1 30 MF Marvin Ávila 0 0 0 0 0 0 31 MF Carlos Sánchez 0 12 12 0 0 0 32 MF Jonathan Núñez 0 2 2 0 0 0 34 FW Kevin López 85 41 126 12 10 22 35 DF Cristopher Meléndez 15 9 24 0 0 0 39 MF Ángel Barrios 0 1 1 0 0 0 49 MF Juan Gómez 0 0 0 0 0 0 54 MF Éverson López 0 4 4 0 0 0 Manager Diego Vásquez 23 November 2013– RESERVES TEAM Player name Date of birth and age Games played Goals scored 36 Ángel Raudales 0 0 0 0 0 0 37 Áxel Bardales 0 0 0 0 0 0 38 MF Álex Gómez 0 0 0 0 0 0 41 Bryan Cruz 0 0 0 0 0 0 42 Brian Sierra 0 0 0 0 0 0 43 Wilfredo Torres 0 0 0 0 0 0 44 DF Albert Galindo 0 0 0 0 0 0 45 Kevin Álvarez 0 0 0 0 0 0 48 DF Edgar Sabillón 0 0 0 0 0 0 50 Maynor Colón 0 0 0 0 0 0 51 MF Maicol Zelaya 0 0 0 0 0 0 52 Néster Martínez 0 0 0 0 0 0 53 Arnol Álvarez 0 0 0 0 0 0 55 FW Erick Gonzales 0 0 0 0 0 0 57 MF Roney Bernárdez 0 0 0 0 0 0 59 Carlos Banegas 0 0 0 0 0 0 60 GK Álex Rivera 0 0 0 0 0 0 61 MF Allan Villalta 0 0 0 0 0 0 62 MF Walter Gómez 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goalkeeper's action As of 2 June 2019 Goalkeeper Years evaluated Jonathan Rougier 2017–2019 92 83 0.902 Marlon Licona 2010–2017, 2018–2019 79 92 1.165 Harold Fonseca 2011–2015, 2016–2018 23 28 1.217
International caps As of 21 June 2019 This is a list of players that were playing for Motagua during the 2018–19 season and were called to represent Honduras at different international competitions. Player Team Event Caps Goals Henry Figueroa Adult Friendlies v United Arab Emirates, Panama and Chile 3 0 Héctor Castellanos Adult Friendlies v Ecuador, Paraguay and Brazil 1 0 Adult 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup 1 0 Félix Crisanto Adult Friendlies v Paraguay and Brazil 2 0 Adult 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup 0 0 Denil Maldonado Adult Friendlies v Ecuador, Paraguay and Brazil 0 0 Adult 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup 0 0 Under-21 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games 5 1 Omar Elvir Adult Friendly v Ecuador 0 0 Kevin López Adult Friendly v Ecuador 0 0 Éverson López Under-21 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games 3 0 Under-20 2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship 4 2 Under-20 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup 2 0 Jack Baptiste Under-21 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games 4 0 Under-20 2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship 5 0 Under-20 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup 3 0 Under-19 2018 UNCAF U-19 Tournament 4 0 Josué Villafranca Under-21 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games 4 1 Under-20 2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship 7 7 Under-20 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup 3 0 Under-19 2018 UNCAF U-19 Tournament 6 1 Jonathan Núñez Under-20 2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship 3 0 Under-20 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup 2 0 Under-19 2018 UNCAF U-19 Tournament 0 0 César Romero Under-20 2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship 5 2 Under-20 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup 2 0 Roney Bernárdez Under-17 2019 CONCACAF U-17 Championship 4 0 Marvin Ávila Under-17 2019 CONCACAF U-17 Championship 4 0 Brian Sierra Under-17 2019 CONCACAF U-17 Championship 4 0
Results All times are local CST unless stated otherwise
Preseason and friendlies
Apertura
Clausura
Honduran Cup
CONCACAF League
By round
Statistics As of 2 June 2019 Competition League 46 26 11 9 73 32 +41 22 9 64.49% Honduran Cup 1 0 0 1 1 2 –1 0 0 0.00% CONCACAF League 8 6 0 2 13 7 +6 4 1 75.00% Others 5 2 2 1 7 5 +2 2 0 53.33% Totals 60 34 13 13 94 46 +48 28 10 63.89%
External links Official website
References