A pivotal World Cup for Costa Rica, Minnesota United and Francisco Calvo

Costa Rica had never been known as a regional footballing power.

The Ticos had come close to debuting in the 1962 World Cup, making the final round of CCCF/NAFC (a predecessor to CONCACAF) qualification. The Central American nation was one of three teams in the last stage, and emphatically beat Mexico (1-0) and Netherlands Antilles (6-0) in its first two matches. In the spread-out final round (with one game every week or two), it seemed like the nation would finally present itself on the international stage.

Unfortunately, it all fell apart. Mexico beat Netherlands Antilles 7-0, and proceeded to thump Costa Rica by a 4-1 margin in Mexico City. Eleven days later, Costa Rica fell to Netherlands Antilles — then nursing a minus-13 goal differential through two games — to the tune of 2-0. With only one game remaining, Costa Rica’s only hope of qualifying would be if Netherlands Antilles shocked Mexico with a 12-goal victory, putting Costa Rica ahead of El Tri on goal differential. The game ended in a 0-0 tie.

The country wouldn’t make the final stages of the World Cup until 1990.

Costa Rica lineup in the 1990 World Cup, second round v Czechoslovakia. pic.twitter.com/Vd54Uxf9g7

— The Antique Football (@AntiqueFootball) June 20, 2014

That year, the Ticos were the decided underdogs in a group alongside mighty Brazil, Scotland, and Sweden. In the days before nearly every World Cup qualifier was widely televised, scouting Costa Rica proved to be a difficult task. The debutantes shocked the world and beat the Scots 1-0 to open the group stage.

Costa Rica’s final two group stage matches also ended 1-0, following a loss to Brazil with a victory over the Swedes — good enough to advance to the knockout round. The World Cup newcomers would see their run end in the Round of 16 with a 4-1 loss to Czechoslovakia.

Finally, the world had caught on to the soccer-crazed country of Costa Rica.

On July 8, 1992 — 746 days after his nation was ousted from its first ever World Cup appearance — Francisco Calvo was born in the Costa Rican capital of San José.

Immediately, he developed a passion for the world’s game, citing the 2002 World Cup as the moment he truly caught the soccer bug. He eventually signed on with the nationally-esteemed Saprissa academy in 2005. Reflecting on what the sport means to Costa Rica, the defender couldn’t help but get sentimental.

“Football is everything in Costa Rica,” Calvo told the media after Minnesota United training last Friday. “You can see the small kids playing in the streets without shoes. When you come back and have these shoes (now) but you see the kids, you say, ‘Damn, I was playing on these streets, too.’ It’s everything for us.”

Calvo left the Saprissa academy in 2010, instead opting to play at San Jacinto College in Pasadena, Texas. After one year, he returned to his home nation and played for two smaller clubs — Herediano and Pérez Zeledón — eventually making his national team debut in a 2011 friendly. After a brief three-game stint with Danish side Nordsjælland, he returned to Herediano and scored six goals in 49 games, earning a move to boyhood club Saprissa in 2015. His time with the San Juan de Tibás side proved fruitful, carving a regular role with the Ticos and earning a place on the Copa América Centenario roster.

In the process, he earned the attention of several MLS teams. At first, it seemed most likely he would land with Atlanta United or L.A. Galaxy, both offering glitzier and warmer settings for the defender. Instead, Calvo opted to sign with Minnesota United. At the time, he chalked up his decision to wanting to join “a good project,” asserting that he thought “Minnesota is going to be a really big team in the U.S.” By the end of his first year, he was regularly donning the armband for the Loons while helping Costa Rica navigate CONCACAF World Cup qualification.

For the 2018 tournament, the Ticos were seen as federational favorites. They were the farthest-advancing side in the region during the 2014 tournament in Brazil, surviving a Group of Death (England, Italy and Uruguay) and besting Greece in a Round of 16 penalty kick shootout. They fell to the Netherlands in the quarterfinals, again at the mercy of spot-kicks. Wearing his national team’s colors now, Calvo knows there are expectations on his side.

“We know we represent the country — 23 players and the coaching staff. When the national team wins, the country is happy. When we lose, it isn’t. You can’t imagine how it was in Brazil when the guys came back. The president gave two or three days free — it doesn’t happen a lot. I hope we can leave the same thing.”

On Óscar Ramírez’s team, Calvo features as a left center back in a five-man defense. The coach was at TCF Bank Stadium for Minnesota’s 1-0 win over Vancouver on May 5. After the match, he had a long-winded conversation with Calvo and fellow Costa Rican regular Kendall Waston.

Agradecidos por la visita de nuestro entrenador Óscar Ramírez, las ilusiones mundialistas van en aumento. @fedefutbolcrc @kwaston88 #parecefacil #FC15 🇨🇷⚽️🔜 #Rusia2018 pic.twitter.com/Em2lwitG70

— Francisco Calvo (@calvo05oficial) May 6, 2018

“He wanted to take us right away with him, but he couldn’t,” Calvo joked when asked about that conversation. “We went over some of the formations that we’re going to play. He always likes to set different formations — I can play left back or center back, Kendall can play central or right. He was happy to come and see us play.”

It’s clear that the Loon has made himself a key piece for Ramírez. He was a regular starter during the country’s successful qualification, appearing in seven matches and scoring the opener against Trinidad and Tobago in a 2-1 Hexagonal victory. He considers this goal the proudest moment of his international career, citing how special it was to score at the Estádio Nacional in his hometown.

The sentimentality will certainly run its course through the tune-up games in early June. However, Calvo and his teammates will immediately have to find their best form once they touch down in Russia. The draw wasn’t too friendly to the Ticos, placing them with Serbia, Switzerland and long-time nemesis Brazil, who beat Costa Rica in the 1990 and 2002 group stages. While the team’s second game against Neymar and Co. will get the most attention, Calvo assured that the team is looking at the task to advance sequentially.

“I think it’s one of the hardest groups,” Calvo assessed. “We have to go game-by-game. We have to focus on Serbia first. If we get that three points first, it’ll be very important. If you beat Brazil or you beat Serbia, it’s the same three points. In these kind of tournaments, it doesn’t matter who’s in front of you.”

Between the spotlight-grabbing turn in 2014 and a second-place finish in the CONCACAF Hexagonal, Costa Rica will still be expected to put up a fight. With global stars like Marcelo, Roberto Firmino, and Gabriel Jesus flanking Paris Saint-Germain’s Neymar, most project Brazil to be a top-four side in this year’s tournament. Still, it should be an absolute scrap between the three remaining teams for the second spot in the knockout stage.

While Minnesota United head coach Adrian Heath wasn’t on Gareth Southgate’s final roster for the Three Lions of England, he didn’t hold back in praising his captain’s achievement.

“Probably about 35 years too late,” the coach joked of his snub. “I’m really envious of Calvo. I achieved a lot of things in football, but I never got to play in a World Cup. He goes with our blessing, we’re all proud of him. But hopefully, he’ll be back after the group stage.”

Heath agreed with the general sentiment of Group E being a challenging draw for Ramírez’s side. That said, Costa Rica may be set up well to succeed. Playing with five dedicated defenders should help slow Brazil’s world-class attack, if nothing else serving as damage control to minimize negative goal differential.

Calvo with Kevin Molino, who also represented his country in World Cup qualifying, though Trinidad and Tobago did not qualify. (Credit: Brett Davis/USA TODAY Sports)

While Serbia boasts a stout midfield anchored by Dušan Tadić and Nemanja Matić, Costa Rica’s Celso Borges and Christian Bolaños (playing in his third World Cup) should be up to the challenge. Switzerland is something of a wild card, with a relatively inexperienced attack and streaky pieces like Xherdan Shaqiri and Granit Xhaka playing key roles. If Costa Rica’s attackers — captain Bryan Ruiz of Sporting CP, former Arsenal starlet Joel Campbell, LAFC pitbull Marco Ureña, and former Loon Johan Venegas — can sneak one past Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer, it could be a vital victory.

If Costa Rica is able to get out of Group E and into the knockout stages once again, it could cement its place as the third marquee nation in CONCACAF, ending the longtime two-party dominance between Mexico and the United States. Because of the latter’s failure to qualify (which I picked apart for Howler Magazine), Calvo is counting on his teammates’ support.

“I hope my teammates will support me. I’m making fun of some of the guys because the U.S. didn’t qualify, or even Kevin (Molino) because of Trinidad. Still, I know they are happy when I do well.”

Calvo helped Minnesota get past Montreal this past weekend, possibly putting in his best performance of the season. Playing the same day that Egypt’s Mohamed Salah and Spain’s Dani Carvajal left the Champions League final with World Cup-risking injuries, Calvo didn’t hold back against the Impact.

“I thought the back four were the best they’ve been because they had to be,” Heath remarked after the match. “When you see the response that Calvo had today — throwing himself in last-ditch tackles when he has the biggest tournament of his career around the corner — I think that spoke volumes for him. I was so pleased for him.”

The defender’s up-and-down campaign has been well-documented in this space, with mental lapses and an imperfect formational fit largely serving as the culprits. Still, the tournament may be just the salve to get him back to playing at his best. To Heath, it also serves as a milestone for the club, as Calvo becomes the first active player on a Minnesota side to make a World Cup squad.

Pirouette(s) on point 🌀 #TekkersTuesday pic.twitter.com/Y13l1Q3uZ5

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 22, 2018

“It’s another step in the right direction for the club,” the gaffer boasted. “There’ll be people from Asia and everywhere watching and asking where Minnesota is. Hopefuly he does well — I know that he will. They’ve got a good shape and he fits in well. If he has a great World Cup, it might be a great springboard for him, as well.”

It’s that last sentence which is potentially prescient. As global scouting improves for major clubs, buying players on the back of a tournament is less common than in decades past. Still, those who shine on the world’s biggest stage can earn moves to bigger and better clubs.

The 2014 installment saw several players springboard strong play into shiny new deals in other lands. While that’s most prominently the case for goal-scoring stars, defenders may have been the biggest victors on the post-tournament transfer market. Argentine center back Marcos Rojo saw Manchester United spend $23.2 million to pluck him from Sporting Lisbon. United States and Seattle Sounders homegrown right back DeAndre Yedlin saw his breakout tournament parlay into a $3.11 million move to Tottenham.

Perhaps most parallel to Calvo’s potential situation would be fellow Tico Giancarlo González. Also born in San José, the center back left domestic side Alajuelense for Norway’s Vålerenga. After 18 months, he joined the Columbus Crew ahead of the 2014 season. He was seen as one of the league’s best defenders by the time he left for Brazil, and after Costa Rica’s wild success in the World Cup, was sold to Serie A side Palermo for $4.42 million.

When I first spoke with Calvo ahead of the 2017 season, he admitted that playing in Europe was a dream of his from a young age. The time with FC Nordsjælland wasn’t the most satisfying experience and, at the age of 25, he’s far more ready to make his case for a role within one of the world’s elite leagues. When I asked if he hoped for a similar fate to González’s, the captain paused before giving a measured response.

“If I have a chance to (someday play for a club in) Europe, it’s because God gave me that chance,” Calvo says. “If not, I’m happy here and I’ll keep fighting for my team.” (Credit: Brad Rempel/USA TODAY Sports)

“I have three more years in Minnesota,” Calvo began. “I just want to go and enjoy the moment. If I play well and show my talent, those things will come by itself. I don’t want to force anything. If I have a chance, Minnesota and MLS will decide if I go or no. If I have a chance to go to Europe, it’s because God gave me that chance. If not, I’m happy here and I’ll keep fighting for my team.”

As diplomatic as his response is, it’s impossible to deny that two solid starts could place him firmly on many teams’ transfer wish lists. Calvo fits the bill for a modern defender: pace to match the most athletic attackers, strong ability on the ball, and a goal-scoring record that’d make any opponent gameplan for his ability. Playing in a system that better caters to his talents, time with Costa Rica may open many doors for him. League sources tell The Athletic that Calvo has already been the subject of several multi-million dollar offers from abroad, but Minnesota was never planning to sell before the tournament.

If the phone continues to ring and the offers continue to inflate, Minnesota may not have a choice but to listen. The team’s in a bind: its most talented defender hasn’t fit the team’s preferred formation. While he’s a vital leader in an increasingly global locker room, any transfer close to the fee paid for González would help Minnesota add new pieces or continue to build its academy.

Still, that speculation will be put on hold for a month. This marks a milestone moment for player, club, and the state of Minnesota as a whole. All eyes will firmly be fixed on the Loons’ captain. Between his raw athleticism and his charismatic demeanor, he may be a perfect ambassador for what Minnesota United is striving to become.

(Top image: Brace Hemmelgarn/USA TODAY Sports)