Luis Diego Arnáez

Luis Diego Arnáez Villegas (born 6 November 1967) is a retired Costa Rican football player who is currently manager of Municipal Grecia.

Luis Diego Arnáez
Personal information
Full name Luis Diego Arnáez Villegas
Date of birth (1967-11-06) 6 November 1967
Place of birth Pozo de Agua, Nicoya, Costa Rica
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Municipal Grecia (Head coach)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1987–1993 Puntarenas 190 (17)
1993–2005 Alajuelense 404 (76)
Total 594 (93)
National team
1991–2000 Costa Rica 31 (9)
Teams managed
2005–2007 Puntarenas
2007–2008 Alajuelense
2008–2009 Costa Rica (assistant)
2010 Herediano
2014–2015 Puntarenas
2018–2019 Alajuelense
2019 Municipal Grecia
2019–2020 La U Universitarios
2020– Municipal Grecia
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Arnáez and the second or maternal family name is Villegas.

Club career

A midfielder, Arnáez made his professional debut on 2 August 1987 for Puntarenas against Ramonense and he scored his first senior goal on 14 February 1988 against San Carlos. After almost 200 games for Puntarenas he left for Alajuelense where he would play over 400 matches.[1] His trophies for Alajuelense included 7 league titles and the 2004 CONCACAF Champions' Cup, when Alajuelense defeated rival Deportivo Saprissa in the two-leg final.[2]

His final game was on 23 April 2005, against Pérez Zeledón.[3]

International career

Nicknamed el Flaco (the Skinny one),[4] he made his debut for the national team in an April 1991 friendly match against Mexico, collecting a total of 31 caps and scoring 9 goals.[5] Arnáez appeared in seven of Costa Rica's qualifying matches for the 1994 FIFA World Cup,[6][7] as well as two qualifiers for the 1998 FIFA World Cup.[8] He also represented Costa Rica at the 1997 UNCAF Nations Cup and in the 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup, playing against Cuba and the United States.[9] Upon Alajuelense's triumph in the 2004 CONCACAF Champions' Cup, he was recalled to the national team at the age of 36 by coach Jorge Luis Pinto. His final cap came in a 2-5 loss in World Cup qualifying against Honduras on 18 August 2004.[10][11]

International goals
Scores and results list Costa Rica's goal tally first.
N.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.27 May 1992Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica Ecuador2–1Friendly match
2.8 November 1992Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá, San José, Costa Rica Honduras2–02–31994 FIFA World Cup qualification
3.13 December 1992Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá, San José, Costa Rica Saint Vincent and the Grenadines5–05–01994 FIFA World Cup qualification
4.19 February 1997Estadio Rosabal Cordero, Heredia, Costa Rica, Costa Rica Venezuela4–15–2Friendly match
5.18 April 1997Estadio Mateo Flores, Guatemala City, Guatemala Nicaragua1–05–11997 UNCAF Nations Cup
6.25 April 1997Estadio Mateo Flores, Guatemala City, Guatemala El Salvador1–01–01997 UNCAF Nations Cup
7.4 May 1997Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador, El Salvador El Salvador1–21–21998 FIFA World Cup qualification
8.21 January 1998Estadio Chorotega, Nicoya, Costa Rica Honduras1–11–4Friendly match
9.25 November 1999Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto, Alajuela, Costa Rica Slovakia4–04–0Friendly match

Managerial career

Later, Arnáez coached the first division team Puntarenas in his home country. After getting fired from the team, he coached Liga Deportiva Alajuelense for 6 months.[12] He then had a spell as an assistant coach for the Costa Rica national football team[13] and was appointed manager of Herediano in December 2009[14] but returned to Puntarenas in March 2014.[15]

References
  1. Técnicos con matiz liguista (incl Bio) - Nación (in Spanish)
  2. Arias, Rodrigo; Goloboy, James; Leon, Vincent (2009-01-22). "Central American Club Competitions 2003/04". RSSSF. Retrieved 2013-03-13.
  3. Luis Diego Arnáez dijo adiós al futbol (incl Bio - Nación (in Spanish)
  4. Flaco celebra con mucha discreción - Nación (in Spanish)
  5. Mamrud, Roberto. "Costa Rica - Record International Players". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 2009-07-06. Retrieved 2009-06-02.
  6. Luis Diego Arnáez – FIFA competition record
  7. Owsiański, Jarosław (2005-02-02). "International Matches 1992 - North and Central America and Caribbean". RSSSF. Retrieved 2013-03-13.
  8. Courtney, Barrie (2005-02-02). "International Matches 1997 - North and Central America and Caribbean". RSSSF. Retrieved 2013-03-13.
  9. Courtney, Barrie (2005-02-20). "CONCACAF Championship, Gold Cup 1998 - Full Details". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 2009-06-10. Retrieved 2013-03-13.
  10. Luis Diego Arnáez – FIFA competition record
  11. FIFA (2004-08-18). "Costa Rica - Honduras - 2:5". FIFA.com. Retrieved 2013-03-13.
  12. Díaz, Luis Eduardo (2007-11-28). "Luis Diego Arnáez es el nuevo técnico liguista". La Nacion. Retrieved 2014-06-21.
  13. Arnáez es el nuevo técnico del Herediano - Nación (in Spanish)
  14. Luis Diego Arnáez dirigirá a Herediano - Nación (in Spanish)
  15. Luis Diego Arnáez es el nuevo técnico de Puntarenas - Al Día (in Spanish)
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