Mario Cordero

{{short description|Costa Rican footballer (1930-2002)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}} {{Infobox football biography |name = Mario Cordero |image = |fullname = Mario Cordero Brenes |birth_date = {{Birth date|1930|4|7|df=y}} |birth_place = [[San José, Costa Rica]] |death_date = {{Death date and age|2002|07|10|1930|4|7|df=y}} |death_place = [[San José, Costa Rica]] |height = |position = [[Defender (association football)|Defender]] |years1 = 1949–1951 |clubs1 = [[Deportivo Saprissa|Saprissa]] |years2 = 1951–1952 |clubs2 = [[Club Deportivo Marte|Marte]] |years3 = 1952–1964 |clubs3 = [[Deportivo Saprissa|Saprissa]] |nationalyears1 = 1950–1963 |nationalteam1 = [[Costa Rica national football team|Costa Rica]] |nationalcaps1 = 41 |nationalgoals1 = 7 |manageryears1 = 1964–1967 |managerclubs1 = [[Deportivo Saprissa|Saprissa]] |manageryears2 = 1965 |managerclubs2 = [[Costa Rica national football team|Costa Rica]] |manageryears3 = 1968–1970 |managerclubs3 = [[Deportivo Saprissa|Saprissa]] |manageryears4 = 1980 |managerclubs4 = [[Deportivo Saprissa|Saprissa]] }}

{{family name hatnote|Cordero|Brenes|lang=Spanish}} '''Mario Cordero Brenes '''(7 April 1930 – 10 July 2002) was a Costa Rican [[Association football|football]] player and coach; he is still considered in his country as one of the top [[Defender (football)|defenders]] to have played the game.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Salón de la Fama del Deporte Costarricense|title=MARIO CORDERO BRENES (CATATO) |url=http://www.salfadeco.or.cr/miembros/046.html|accessdate=15 March 2018}}</ref>

==Club career== Better known as ''Catato'' or ''Piernas de Oro'',<ref name="Obituary"/> he was part of the [[Deportivo Saprissa]] team that embarked on a World Tour in 1959, becoming the first [[Latin America]]n team to do so. Catato was the leader and captain of Deportivo Saprissa during the 1950s and early 1960s. He spent one season in the Mexican league, with Atletico Marte. He retired after a match against the Argentinian team Banfield on 25 December 1964.<ref name="Obituary">{{cite news|url=http://wvw.nacion.com/ln_ee/2002/julio/11/deportes12.html|title="Catato" murió ayer Mario a la eternidad (Obituary)|author=Rodrigo Calvo C.|work=[[La Nación (Chile)|La Nación]]|language=es|date=11 July 2002|accessdate=15 March 2018}}</ref> Catato is remembered for his sportsmanship on and off the field, as well as his excellent positioning, powerful shoot and defensive reliability.

==International career== During those years, he played the same role in the [[Costa Rica national football team]], making 41 appearances.<ref>{{cite web|author=Mamrud, Roberto|title=Costa Rica – Record International Players|url=https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/cos-recintlp.html|accessdate=2 June 2009|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090706072055/http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/cos-recintlp.html|archivedate=6 July 2009|publisher=RSSSF|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Managerial career== As coach, Catato guided Saprissa to four national titles in the 1960s, adding up to the four he had won previously as a player. He also managed [[Costa Rica national football team|Costa Rica's national team]].<ref>{{cite news|author=Arnoldo Rivera Jiménez|url=http://wvw.nacion.com/ln_ee/1999/mayo/23/deportes5.html|title=Grandes figuras del deporte Nadie como Catato Mario Cordero, el mejor defensa central de todos los tiempos|trans-title=Great sports figures: Nobody is like Catato Mario Cordero, the best central defender of all time|work=La Nación|date=23 May 1999|accessdate=15 March 2018}}</ref>

==Death== He died of [[respiratory arrest]] on 10 July 2002 in the Rafael Angel Calderon Guardia Hospital in San José.<ref name="Obituary"/>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *{{NFT player|pid=55501}}

{{Navboxes |title=Costa Rica squads | bg = #ce1126 | fg = White |list1= {{Costa Rica squad 1953 CCCF Championship}} {{Costa Rica squad 1955 CCCF Championship}} {{Costa Rica squad 1960 CCCF Championship}} {{Costa Rica squad 1963 CONCACAF Championship}} {{Costa Rica squad 1965 CONCACAF Championship}} }} {{Costa Rica national football team managers}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cordero, Mario}} [[Category:1930 births]] [[Category:2002 deaths]] [[Category:Footballers from San José, Costa Rica]] [[Category:Costa Rican men's footballers]] [[Category:Costa Rica men's international footballers]] [[Category:Deportivo Saprissa players]] [[Category:Costa Rican expatriate men's footballers]] [[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico]] [[Category:Costa Rican football managers]] [[Category:Deportivo Saprissa managers]] [[Category:Deportivo Saprissa non-playing staff]] [[Category:Costa Rica national football team managers]] [[Category:Men's association football defenders]]