Luis Gabelo Conejo
Encyclopedia
Luis Gabelo Conejo Jiménez (born January 1, 1960 in San Ramón
, Alajuela
) is a former Costa Rica
n footballer, who played as a goalkeeper.
, moving on to Club Sport Herediano
and C.S. Cartaginés
. He also played in Spain
with Albacete Balompié
, where he became an idol in the early 1990s, as the Castile-La Mancha
side first reached the top flight
.
Conejo received international
recognition during the 1990 FIFA World Cup
. Appearing in three matches with two goals conceded, his heroic saves against Scotland
, Brazil
and Sweden
helped Costa Rica reach the second round. He did not appear in the round of 16 encounter against Czechoslovakia
because of an injury, and his team was eliminated. France Football
magazine named him the best goalkeeper of the tournament.
After retiring, Conejo worked with the national team, as the goalkeepers' coach. In his country, he is highly regarded by fans, even though he never played for any of the top clubs in the nation. Most of them consider him the best Costa Rican goalkeeper ever.
In 2009, IFFHS named Conejo the 34th best goalkeeper of the world for the period 1987–2008, and the seventh in Latin America
.
San Ramón, Costa Rica
San Ramón is a city of San Ramón Canton in Alajuela Province in Costa Rica. The central municipality of San Ramón covers an area of 1.29 km2, and has a population of 10,710. Adjoining distritos are also part of the city....
, Alajuela
Alajuela Province
Alajuela is a province of Costa Rica. It is located in the north-central part of the country, bordering Nicaragua to the north, and clockwise the provinces Heredia, San José, Puntarenas and Guanacaste...
) is a former Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
n footballer, who played as a goalkeeper.
Football career
Conejo played in his country during the 1980s with hometown team San RamónSan Ramón
San Ramón may refer to:*San Ramón de la Nueva Orán, Argentina*San Ramón, Bolivia*San Ramón, Costa Rica*San Ramón Canton, Alajuela, Costa Rica*San Ramón, Chile*San Ramón, Cuscatlán, El Salvador*San Ramón, Choluteca, Honduras....
, moving on to Club Sport Herediano
Club Sport Herediano
Club Sport Herediano is a football club based in Heredia, Costa Rica. The team plays in the Primera División and is one of the oldest in the country.-History:...
and C.S. Cartaginés
C.S. Cartaginés
Club Sport Cartaginés Deportiva S.A. is a Costa Rican football club, that currently plays in the Costa Rican Primera División. The club plays in Estadio Jose Rafael Fello Meza, in Barrio Asis de Cartago, Costa Rica.-History:...
. He also played in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
with Albacete Balompié
Albacete Balompié
Albacete Balompié, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Albacete, in the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha. Founded on August 2, 1940, it currently plays in Segunda División B, holding home matches at Estadio Carlos Belmonte, with a 17,300-seat capacity.-History:The club was founded...
, where he became an idol in the early 1990s, as the Castile-La Mancha
Castile-La Mancha
Castile-La Mancha is an autonomous community of Spain. Castile-La Mancha is bordered by Castile and León, Madrid, Aragon, Valencia, Murcia, Andalusia, and Extremadura. It is one of the most sparsely populated of Spain's autonomous communities...
side first reached the top flight
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
.
Conejo received international
Costa Rica national football team
The Costa Rica national football team, nicknamed La Sele, is the national team of Costa Rica and is controlled by the Federación Costarricense de Fútbol. Costa Rica is the third most successful team in CONCACAF after Mexico and the United States...
recognition during the 1990 FIFA World Cup
1990 FIFA World Cup
The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event twice. Teams representing 116 national football associations from all six populated...
. Appearing in three matches with two goals conceded, his heroic saves against Scotland
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
, Brazil
Brazil national football team
The Brazil national football team represents Brazil in international men's football and is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation , the governing body for football in Brazil. They are a member of the International Federation of Association Football since 1923 and also a member of the...
and Sweden
Sweden national football team
The Swedish national football team represents Sweden in association football and is controlled by the Swedish Football Association, the governing body for Football in Sweden. Sweden's home ground is Råsunda Stadium in Stockholms län and their head coach is Erik Hamrén. Sweden made their first...
helped Costa Rica reach the second round. He did not appear in the round of 16 encounter against Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia national football team
The Czechoslovakia national football team was the national association football team of Czechoslovakia from 1922 to 1993. At the dissolution of Czechoslovakia at the end of 1992, the team was participating in UEFA qualifying Group 4 for the 1994 World Cup; it completed this campaign under the name...
because of an injury, and his team was eliminated. France Football
France Football
France Football is a French bi-weekly magazine containing football news from all over the world. It's one of the most reputable sports publications in Europe, mostly because of their photographic reports and accurate statistics of the big European Cup matches, and extensive coverage of the European...
magazine named him the best goalkeeper of the tournament.
After retiring, Conejo worked with the national team, as the goalkeepers' coach. In his country, he is highly regarded by fans, even though he never played for any of the top clubs in the nation. Most of them consider him the best Costa Rican goalkeeper ever.
In 2009, IFFHS named Conejo the 34th best goalkeeper of the world for the period 1987–2008, and the seventh in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
.