The 2017–18 season was F.C. Motagua's 71st season in existence and the club's 52nd consecutive season in the top fight of Honduran football. As winners of both Apertura and Clausura last season, the club was looking for their 16th and 17th league title. They also competed for the 2017 Honduran Supercup and the 2018 CONCACAF Champions League. No Honduran Cup competition was scheduled from the Federation this season.
Overview Coach Diego Vásquez lead the team for his 8th consecutive tournament. Due to the incidents occurred on last season's final match where four people lost their lives, the Discipline Commission decided to ban the Estadio Tiburcio Carías Andino for nine games. This implied the entire home schedule for the Apertura regular season.DiarioMas.hn – ¡Le cierran por nueve partidos el Estadio Nacional a Motagua! – 31 May 2017 The penalty was later reduced to five games after an appeal.DiarioMas.hn – OFICIAL.- Reducen castigo a Motagua por muertos en la final – 3 July 2017 On 1 June, Brazilian superstar Ronaldinho announced in a video through his social media that he would be visiting Honduras in July to play an exhibition match between the contenders of the Honduran Superclásico.ElHeraldo.hn – Video: Ronaldinho confirma su llegada a Honduras para el clásico Olimpia - Motagua – 1 June 2017 It was announced later however, that the match was changed to be played against Real C.D. España instead.Tiempo.hn – ¡Ronaldinho estará en Honduras y vestirá la camisa del Motagua y Real España! – 12 June 2017 Decision taken to avoid a conflict between the two Barra bravas which are known for their fierce and often dangerous rivalry. On 30 July, Ronaldinho played in front of thousands at Estadio Tiburcio Carías Andino wearing both teams' jerseys on each half.Marca.com – Ronaldinho: Neymar needs to follow his heart – 29 July 2017 He generated the two assists that gave a historic 0–2 win to Real España.ElPais.hn – Show de Ronaldinho en estadio Nacional – 30 July 2017 The game served also as a farewell to Amado Guevara, a club's longtime prominent figure.LaTribuna.hn – Amado Guevara: “Fue un privilegio jugar con Ronaldinho” – 30 July 2017 On 2 August, Motagua defeated C.D. Marathón 2–1 at Estadio Francisco Morazán to obtain the 2017 Honduran Supercup. On 31 December, Uruguayan newspaper Ovación selected the best clubs, the best players and the best coaches in the American leagues for 2017. For Honduras, Motagua, Román Castillo and Diego Vásquez were all chosen
Motagua started the Apertura tournament playing outside Tegucigalpa due to the suspension of their stadium because of the incidents occurred last season. On 9 September, Estadio Emilio Williams Agasse, a newly opened venue in Choluteca, hosted a league match for the first time in the 1–1 against Olimpia, in another edition of the Superclásico.DiarioMas.hn – Polémico empate protagonizaron Motagua y Olimpia – 9 September 2017 On 23 November, the club finished in second position and advanced directly to the semifinals. Once in the semifinals, the club faced city neighbors Olimpia, being the 11th time in league history that these two meet at this stage. With a 3–3 aggregate score, Motagua advanced thanks to their better regular season record over Olimpia. The final series were played against Real España and the club failed in obtaining their third straight league title.
In the Clausura tournament, Motagua started with an away victory against Lobos UPNFM at Estadio Emilio Williams Agasse. Just like in the Apertura, Motagua had to play their first couple of games outside their ground; this time because of the events taking place at Estadio Tiburcio Carías Andino for the new presidential term. On 28 March, the Argentinian midfielder Santiago Vergara died from leukemia at the age of 26. After completing the 18 regular season rounds, the team finished 2nd and qualified directly to the semifinals for their 8th consecutive time and their 26th overall. In the semifinals, the team faced city neighbors Olimpia for another Honduran Superclásico meeting. Motagua, once again, managed to eliminate their bitter rivals and advanced to their 4th consecutive final for the first time in their league history. On 19 May, after a 1–1 aggregate score against C.D. Marathón, the championship had to be decided in penalty shoot-outs. Marcelo Pereira and Reinieri Mayorquín missed their chances and the club lost the title. With two finals reached in the 2017–18 season, Motagua qualified to the 2018 CONCACAF League.
Kits The 2017–18 home, away and third kits were published on 22 July.Motagua.com – Camisa Oficial Motagua 2017-2018 – 22 July 2017
Manufacturer Main sponsor Joma Pepsi
Players Transfers in Player Contract date Moving from Walter Martínez 15 June 2017Motagua.com – Walter Martínez firma y es parte del club – 15 June 2017 Marathón Eddie Hernández 26 June 2017DiarioMas.hn – Eddie Hernández y Deybi Flores regresan a Motagua – 26 June 2017 Deportes Tolima Deybi Flores 26 June 2017 Vancouver Whitecaps Raúl Santos 6 July 2017Tiempo.hn – OFICIAL: ¡Motagua firma a Marcelo Santos, ex jugador del Vida! – 6 July 2017 Vida Germán Mayenfisch 12 January 2018 Deportivo Mandiyú Javier Estupiñán 16 January 2018 Olimpia
Transfers out Player Released date Moving to Santiago Vergara 28 May 2017 Hiatus Martín Pucheta 19 June 2017 San Lorenzo Irvin Reyna 29 June 2017 UPNFM Cristian Hernández 7 July 2017 Valle Maylor Núñez 2 January 2018 Valle Henry Güity 2 January 2018 Valle Eddie Hernández 8 January 2018DiarioMas.hn – Eddie Hernández separado de Motagua – 8 January 2018 Irtysh Pavlodar Marlon Licona 12 January 2018 Honduras Progreso
Squad Statistics as of 19 May 2018 Only league matches into account Player name Date of birth and age Games played Goals scored 1 GK Harold Fonseca 16 7 23 0 0 0 2 DF Juan Montes 131 43 174 8 2 10 3 DF Henry Figueroa 129 30 159 2 1 3 5 DF Marcelo Pereira 50 22 72 3 1 4 6 MF Reinieri Mayorquín 110 36 146 8 2 10 7 MF Carlos Discua 182 39 221 49 3 52 8 FW Walter Martínez 0 37 37 0 8 8 9 FW Román Castillo 98 40 138 53 23 76 10 MF Erick Andino 70 26 96 25 1 26 11 FW Marco Vega 37 33 70 8 7 15 12 MF Raúl Santos 0 27 27 0 0 0 FW Eddie Hernández 53 10 63 18 5 23 MF Germán Mayenfisch 0 11 11 0 0 0 15 FW Denilson Castillo 2 1 3 0 0 0 16 MF Héctor Castellanos 73 35 108 1 0 1 17 MF Denil Maldonado 4 3 7 0 0 0 18 DF Wilmer Crisanto 132 39 171 12 4 16 19 GK Jonathan Rougier 20 35 55 0 0 0 21 FW Foslyn Grant 16 1 17 1 0 1 FW Javier Estupiñán 0 19 19 0 4 4 23 MF Deybi Flores 27 13 40 0 0 0 24 DF Omar Elvir 198 22 220 8 2 10 GK Marlon Licona 67 3 70 0 0 0 26 DF Harrinson Bernárdez 3 1 4 0 0 0 27 DF Félix Crisanto 64 35 99 5 0 5 28 MF Kevin Castro 0 0 0 0 0 0 29 MF Edgardo Meléndez 0 0 0 0 0 0 MF Henry Güity 4 0 4 0 0 0 31 DF Klifox Bernárdez 26 13 39 0 0 0 DF Maylor Núñez 2 0 2 0 0 0 34 FW Kevin López 69 16 85 10 2 12 35 DF Cristopher Meléndez 7 8 15 0 0 0 Manager Diego Vásquez 23 November 2013– RESERVES TEAM Player name Date of birth and age Games played Goals scored 36 DF Roy Rodríguez 0 0 0 0 0 0 37 MF Óscar Romero 0 0 0 0 0 0 38 MF Marvin Ávila 0 0 0 0 0 0 39 FW Ángel Barrios 0 0 0 0 0 0 40 DF Melker Félix 0 0 0 0 0 0 41 MF Jack Baptiste 0 7 7 0 0 0 42 DF Deban López 0 0 0 0 0 0 43 MF Mario Arguijo 0 0 0 0 0 0 44 DF Albert Galindo 0 0 0 0 0 0 45 MF Jessem Ortega 0 0 0 0 0 0 46 MF Omar Canales 0 0 0 0 0 0 47 FW Josué Villafranca 1 0 1 0 0 0 48 FW Asaf Cacho 0 0 0 0 0 0 49 MF Juan Gómez 0 0 0 0 0 0 50 MF Jonathan Galo 0 0 0 0 0 0 51 FW Erick Gonzales 0 0 0 0 0 0 52 MF Kevin Escoto 0 0 0 0 0 0 53 MF César Romero 2 1 3 0 0 0 54 MF Everson López 0 0 0 0 0 0 55 MF Bayron Varela 0 0 0 0 0 0 56 MF Francisco Paz 0 0 0 0 0 0 57 MF Jonathan Núñez 0 0 0 0 0 0 58 FW Kenneth Martínez 0 0 0 0 0 0 59 GK Axell Bonilla 0 0 0 0 0 0 60 GK Alex Rivera 0 0 0 0 0 0 61 MF Allan Villalta 0 0 0 0 0 0 62 MF Fernando Castillo 0 0 0 0 0 0 63 MF Bayron Arzú 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goalkeeper's action As of 19 May 2018 Goalkeeper Years evaluated Jonathan Rougier 2017–2018 55 57 1.036 Harold Fonseca 2011–2015, 2016–2018 23 28 1.217 Marlon Licona 2010–2017 70 86 1.229 Wilmer Crisanto (emergent) 2018 1 1 1.000
Results All times are local CST unless stated otherwise
Preseason and friendlies
Apertura
Clausura
Honduran Supercup
CONCACAF Champions League
By round
Statistics As of 19 May 2018 Competition League 44 21 14 9 67 46 +21 16 8 58.33% Supercup 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 0 0 100.00% Champions League 2 0 1 1 1 2 –1 0 1 16.67% Others 9 4 3 2 19 10 +9 4 4 55.56% Totals 56 26 18 12 89 59 +30 20 13 57.14%
External links Official website
References