C.D. Olimpia: Difference between revisions

In 1957, C.D. Olimpia won the national championship of Honduras for the first time. They repeated as champions in 1958 and 1959. The national crown was not awarded in 1960, but they won it again in 1961, 1963, and 1964. In 1964–65, the final season of the amateur era, Olimpia claimed a seventh championship, beating Escualo 2–0.

The professional National League began in 1965, with Platense winning the first tournament. Olimpia was runner-up, finishing with 26 points to Platense's 27. Things were different the following year, as Mario Griffin Cubas was appointed head coach. In the 1966–67 season, he led ''Los Leones'' to 14 victories in 18 matches, winning the title six points clear of [[C.D. Marathón]] (29–23). Olimpia won the title again in 1967–68, again finishing two games clear of Marathón (27–22).<ref>[http://www.diez.hn/Ediciones/2013/05/14/Noticias/Muere-Mario-Griffin-primer-tecnico-bicampeon-con-Olimpia Muere Mario Griffin, primer técnico bicampeón con Olimpia]{{Dead link|date=February 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}&nbsp;– Diez {{in lang|es}}</ref>

They relinquished the title to Motagua in 1968–69, but in 1969–70 stormed through the league undefeated, winning their third title in four years (43–35 ahead of Motagua). After losing a championship playoff to Motagua in 1970–71, ''Los Leones'' regained the crown in 1971–72. That championship was the product of the efforts of Rigoberto 'Chula' Gomez, [[Jorge Urquía]], and Tonin Mendoza.

It would take 6 years for Olimpia to be crowned again. That came in 1977, under the management of Carlos Cruz Carranza. That year, they faced [[Real C.D. España|Real España]] in a championship final. The first match ended in a scoreless draw, but in the second match the old powers prevailed 2–0. Goals were scored by Uruguayan Walter Chávez and René Enamorado.<ref>[http://www.diez.hn/Ediciones/2013/08/10/Noticias/Muere-el-tecnico-hondureno-Carlos-Cruz-Carranza Muere el técnico hondureño Carlos Cruz Carranza]{{Dead link|date=February 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}&nbsp;– Diez {{in lang|es}}</ref>

It was during the 1980s that Olimpia emerged as the dominant team in Honduras, winning five championships in ten years—1982, 1984, 1986, 1987, and 1989–90. Three more championships came in the 1990s—1992–93, 1995–96, and 1996–97. That 1996–97 championship was the final one before the short season was adopted.

Olimpia qualified for the playoffs in each of the first two seasons under the new format, but was eliminated each time. They entered the 1998–99 season determined to overcome those defeats (although the 1998–99 season, played from January–May 1998, took on the format of an Apertura, it was officially known as season 1998–99). Olimpia topped the table in the regular season, then beat Platense and Victoria to reach the championship finals. On July 17, Denilson Costa scored the only goal of a two-legged tie with Real Espana, bringing the title home to Olimpia once again.

Olimpia reached the finals of both Apertura 1999 and Clausura 2000, but on each occasion was defeated by Motagua on penalties. In Apertura 2000, however, they were dominant, finishing 10 points clear of Motagua at the top of the regular season table. Edwin Pavón was the manager, and the team was keyed by [[Danilo Tosello]], [[Wilmer Velásquez]] and [[Alex Pineda Chacón]]. In the postseason, they reached the finals and played out a classic two-legged tie with Platense. In the first leg, played at Platense's home stadium in Puerto Cortes, Olimpia came away with a vital 1–0 victory. Alex Pineda Chacón scored the winner in the 85th minute. In the return leg, Rony Morales scored to even the tie for Platense, but Danilo Tosello's extra time penalty brought home another championship for ''Los Leones''.

The Platense rivalry built, as Platense avenged the loss by beating Olimpia in Clausura 2001. Olimpia answered by winning another title in Apertura 2002, and in thrilling style. With the tie level 2–2 after 180 minutes of action, the championship drifted into extra time. [[Milton Palacios Suazo|Milton Palacios]] won the championship for Olimpia by rising above the crowd to head home the winning goal.

Clausura 2004 was the start of a new phase in the already fierce rivalry between Olimpia and [[C.D. Marathón]], as the teams would meet in the finals four consecutive seasons in a row to determine the championship of Honduras. The first round went to Olimpia, which won the title 2–1 on aggregate. Marathón came back to win Apertura 2004 in the same style, but Olimpia answered by winning Clausura 2005 3–2 on aggregate. ''Los Leones'' won it again in Apertura 2005, overcoming a 2–1 loss at Marathón to win the championship in extra time.

Other titles followed in Clausura 2008 (beating the old rivals Marathón), Clausura 2009 (in extra time over Real Espana), and Clausura 2010 (over Motagua). However, the next era of glory began in Apertura 2011. That was the season that Danilo Tosello, who had played for Olimpia from 1999 to 2007, returned as manager. In Tosello's first season as manager, he led them to a convincing 3–0 aggregate victory over Real Espana in the championship round. They repeated as champions in Clausura 2012, beating Marathón 1–0 on aggregate. Then, finally, in Apertura 2012, still under Tosello's guidance, Olimpia defeated Victoria 4–0 to complete a second {{lang|es|tricampeón}}.

In 1973, Olimpia won their first [[CONCACAF Champions' Cup]] by defeating [[SV Robinhood]] of [[Suriname]] in San Pedro Sula by a score of 1–0 after tying the first leg at zero in Tegucigalpa. Before reaching the final, Olimpia managed to eliminate Mexico's [[Club Toluca]]. The club won their second CONCACAF Champions' Cup in 1988 when they defeated [[Defence Force F.C.|Defence Force]] in the final match of the tournament. Before that, Olimpia managed to defeat and eliminate Mexican champions [[Cruz Azul]] by a score of 2–1 in a historic match that took place in the [[Estadio Azteca]]. To this day, Olimpia remains the only Central American club to have defeated a Mexican team in that stadium. In the semi-finals, Olimpia defeated LD Alajuelense in the [[Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto]] after they tied the home game in Tegucigalpa.