Real Estelí FC

The club was founded in 1960 as Estelí FC, adding Real to its name in 1961. Estelí FC plays at the Estadio Independencia, one of the biggest stadiums in Nicaragua, with a capacity of 4,800. The club is known by the nickname, El Tren del Norte (Train of the North), coming as it does, from the northern region of Las Segovias.

Real Estelí has finished in the top five of Nicaragua's top flight every year since 1986. In that time, they have also achieved traditionally high attendance numbers. However, it took time for the club's burgeoning popularity to translate into championships.

The club under Leonidas "Cascarilla" Rodriguez and Honduran Roy Posas were able to win the club first silverware, winning both the League and cup double. Players that contributed with players such as Otoniel Olivas, Salvadoran Julio "El Cura" Barahona, Honduran Samuel Nunez, and Ramon "ElChino" Mejia then added another in 1999. Nonetheless, their fierce rivals Diriangén FC remained the dominant power in Nicaraguan football.

This began to change in 2002–2003. The two clubs met for a two-legged tie to determine the year's champion. Diriangén won the first leg 1–0, but Real Estelí answered by winning the return match 3–0, claiming the title 3–1 on aggregate. That was the last year Nicaragua determined their championship with a "long season"; for 2003–2004, the league adopted an Apertura/Clausura format. Real Estelí won both tournaments, and each time they defeated Diriangén in the finals.

The following September, Real Estelí made history in Nicaraguan football by eliminating favorites Real España in the First Round of the Copa Interclubes UNCAF. They thus became the first Nicaraguan football team in history to advance to the second round of the tournament.

Back home, Diriangén won the next two championships, but quickly gave way to Real Estelí, who embarked on their dominant run of eight championships in a row from 2006 to 2014. Then, after a brief interruption by Walter Ferretti, Estelí won two more.

Real Estelí FC has finished in the top five of Nicaragua's top division every year since 1986 and has achieved some of the highest attendances in the league during this period.

In 2023 CONCACAF Central American Cup, Making their first appearance in the modified Tournament, Real Esteli finished second in group, where they defeated highly rated opponents FAS, Xelaju and Olimpia, The club only loss was against Independiente who toped the group. In the Quarter Final, Real Estelí Made history by winning their two legs series against Concacaf heavyweight Saprissa 3-2. Not only becoming the first Nicaraguan club to defeat Saprissa but also the first Nicaraguan to qualify to the semi final of an international tournament. In the semi-finals against Independiente they defeated the Panamanian side 3-2 in two legs to advance to the first international final in the club's history. However, in the final played over two legs, Costa Rican Giants Alajuelense would beat Real Esteli 4–1.

Real Esteli entered the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup in the first-round and faced off against seven-time champions Club America. Esteli won the home leg 2–1, which marked the club's first win in the competition in 31 matches.^[1]

The club crest consists of a crown, representing 'Real' (meaning 'Royal'). Similar crowns can be seen on the crests of many other clubs with the prefix 'Real', such as Spanish clubs Real Betis, Real Zaragoza and Real Madrid^[2]

The two gold stars of the crest mark the first two national championships won by the club (in 1991 and 1999), while the red and white striped shield represents the club colours as used on team shirts. The logo was redesigned and digitalised in 2000 by Nakor'd J. García and Michael D. Raney (current President/CEO of the World Football Organization), based on the original design by Arnulfo Rivera Zeledón and Johnny Herrera Vallejos.

There is often a fierce rivalry between the two strongest teams in the national league, where the game between Real Estelí and Diriangén has become known as El Clásico (The Classic).

Real Esteli is historically the second most successful team in Nicaragua football, as they have won the second most Primera División de Nicaragua with nineteen. They are also Nicaragua's most successful team in international competitions, having finished runner up in CONCACAF Tournament.

• Primera División de Nicaragua and predecessors
  • Champions (19): 1991, 1998–99, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2019 Clausura, 2019 Apertura, 2020 Clausura, Apertura 2020, 2022 Apertura, 2023 Clausura.

• Copa de Nicaragua
  • Champions (2) : 1991, 2023

• CONCACAF Central American Cup
  • Runners up (1) : 2023

As of 31 March 2024^[3]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK   NCA Douglas Forvis 2 DF   NCA Francisco Vallecillo 3 DF   NCA Henry Niño 4 DF   NCA Marvin Fletes 6 MF   MEX Iván Ochoa 7 FW   NCA Byron Bonilla 8 MF   NCA Marlon López 9 FW   NCA Henry García 10 MF   NCA Harold Medina 12 FW   NCA Widman Talavera 16 MF   NCA Osmin Salinas

No. Pos. Nation Player 17 DF   NCA Joel Obando 18 DF   COL Leyvin Balanta 19 DF   NCA Evert Martinez 20 MF   NCA Keylon Batiz 21 FW   NCA Cristian Flores 22 GK   NCA César Salandia 23 DF   NCA Óscar Acevedo 26 MF   PAN Sergio Cunningham 27 DF   NCA Josué Quijano 28 MF   NCA Bancy Hernandez 34 DF   NCA Joab Gutierrez

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player —

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player —   NCA TBD (From TBD) —   NCA TBD (From TBD) —   NCA TBD (From TBD) —   NCA TBD (From TBD)

No. Pos. Nation Player —   NCA TBD (From TBD) —   NCA TBD (From TBD) —   NCA TBD (From TBD) —   NCA TBD (From TBD)

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player —   NCA TBD (To TBD) —   NCA TBD (To TBD) —   NCA TBD (To TBD) —   NCA TBD (To TBD)

No. Pos. Nation Player —   NCA TBD (To TBD) —   NCA TBD (To TBD) —   NCA TBD (To TBD)

Players with senior international caps:

Real Esteli biggest league victory was 13-2 against Chinandega in the 2001 season.

Position	Name
Manager	Ramón Otoniel Olivas
Assistant Manager and Goalkeeping Coach	Sergio Ivan Rodríguez
Fitness Coach	Marcos Gomez
Fitness coach	Carlos Rivera

Real Esteli has had various coaches since its formation in 1961. Ramón Otoniel Olivas and Honduran Roy Posas has served two terms as head coach. Ramón Otoniel Olivas was the club's most successful coach, having won Primera División titles and finished as runner up in 2023 Central American Cup, following closely is Roy Posas, Sergio Rodriguez and Holver Flores & Leonidas Rodriguez won one Primera titles.

Name	Nat	From	To	Notes
Rigoberto Núñez		1961	1965	First coach and foreign coach
Santiago Berrini		1965	1965	TBD
Manuel Catarro Cuadra		TBD	TBD	TBD
Nestor Matamala		TBD	TBD	TBD
Jose Burboa		TBD	TBD	TBD
Marcos A. Gamboa		TBD	TBD	TBD
Leonidas Rodríguez		1990	1991	First Primera division Title (1991)
Roy Posas		1991	1992	TBD
Florentino Colindres		TBD	TBD	TBD
Rafael Paciencia Núñez		1999	2000	TBD
David Aquiles Medina		2000	2001	TBD
Francisco Rojas		2001	April 2002	TBD
Ramón Otoniel Olivas		2002	December 2008	TBD
Roy Posas		January 2009	December 2009	TBD
Ramón Otoniel Olivas		December 2009	June 2018	7 Primera division (2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2016–17)
Washington Fernando Araújo		July 2018	December 2018	TBD
Sergio Rodríguez		January 2019	November 2019	1 Primera division Title (2019 Clausura)
Holver Flores		November 2019	June 2021	3 Primera division Title (2019 Apertura, Clausura 2020, Apertura 2020)
José Luis Trejo		June 2021	May 2022	TBD
Ramón Otoniel Olivas		June 2022	Present	2 Primera division Title (2022 Apertura,2023 Clausura); 1 runner up (2023 Central American Cup)

• CONCACAF Champions Cup: 12 appearances

Best: Round of 16 in 2021

1991 : First Round

1992 : First Round

1996 : First Round

1998 : First Round

2008-09 : Preliminary Round

2011-12 : Preliminary Round

2012-13 : Group stage

2013-14 : Group stage

2014-15 : Group stage

2016-17 : Group stage

2021 : Round of 16

2024 : Round One

• CONCACAF League: 5 appearances

Best: Quarter-finals in 2020

2017 CONCACAF League: Round of 16

2019 CONCACAF League: Round of 16

2020 CONCACAF League: Quarter finals

2021 CONCACAF League: Round of 16

2022 CONCACAF League: Preliminary Round

• CONCACAF Central American Cup: 1 appearance

Best: Runner up in 2023

2023 CONCACAF Central American Cup: Runner up

• Copa Interclubes UNCAF: 5 appearances

Best: Quarter-finals in 2004

2000 : First Round

2003 : First Round

2004 : Quarter-finals

2006 : First Round

2007 : First Round

As of 14 February 2024

The Concacaf opponents below = Official tournament results: (Plus a sampling of other results)

Opponent	Last Meeting	G	W	D	L	F	A	PTS	+/-
Aguila	26 – Sept – 2012	2	1	0	1	1	1	3	0
Alajuelense	5 – Dec – 2023	9	0	1	8	4	27	1	-23
Árabe Unido	1996	2	0	1	1	1	2	1	-1
Atlético Marte	15 – Dec – 1991	1	0	0	1	0	3	0	-3
Columbus Crew SC	15 – Apr – 2021	2	0	0	2	0	5	0	-5
Club América	14 – Feb – 2024	2	1	0	1	2	3	3	-1
Comunicaciones	6 – Dec – 1991	1	0	0	1	0	15	0	-15
Dallas	24 – Aug – 2016	2	0	1	1	2	3	1	-1
Diriangén	2003	1	0	1	0	1	1	1	0
FAS	15 – Aug – 2023	2	1	0	1	3	2	3	1
Herediano	24 – Nov – 2020	1	1	0	0	1	0	3	1
Independiente	2 – Nov – 2023	3	1	1	1	4	4	4	0
Marathón	29 – Sept – 2021	2	1	0	1	2	2	3	0
Montreal Impact	2 – Oct – 2008	2	0	1	1	0	1	1	-1
Motagua	10 – Dec – 2020	3	0	1	2	3	7	1	-4
Olimpia	8 – Aug – 2023	3	1	0	2	1	2	3	-1
Real España	4 – Aug – 2022	6	0	3	3	6	17	3	-11
Saprissa	4 – Oct – 2023	9	1	3	5	5	14	6	-9
Santa Tecla	6 – Aug – 2019	2	1	0	1	2	2	1	0
Sporting Kansas City	23 – Sept – 2014	4	0	2	2	2	7	2	-5
Suchitepéquez	13 – Sept – 2016	2	0	1	1	1	2	1	-1
Tauro	1992	2	0	0	2	1	7	0	-6
Toronto	2 – Aug – 2011	2	0	0	2	2	4	0	-2
UANL	18 – Sept – 2012	2	0	1	1	1	5	1	-4
Xelajú	1 – Aug – 2023	1	1	0	0	1	0	3	1
Totals		65	10	16	39	45	130	45	-85

• Real Estelí Baloncesto

• Team profile at CONCACAF
• Real Estelí FC | Sitio Oficial
• Elesteliano.com – Revistas (PDF)
• Article on docplayer.es