C.D.S. Vida

Club Deportivo y Social Vida, or simply Vida, is a Honduran professional football club based in La Ceiba, Atlántida. The club last competed in the Liga Nacional de Ascenso, the second tier of Honduran football.

The club won two top-flight domestic league titles and was ultimately folded in 2024 after facing economic problems starting in 2021 and relegation before coming back just a few weeks after it folded.

History

Salvavida

The club that is today known as Vida was founded on 14 October 1940, as a result of a split in the board of directors of Atlántida. Gregorio Ramos, one of the Atlántida directors, decided to found his own team. Since it was initially sponsored by the brewery Cervecería Hondureña, SA, the club took the name Salvavida, a brand of beer that the brewery produced.

Later on, the relationship between Cervezería Hondureña and Salvavida was coming to an end. According to club legend, the wife of one of the club directors (Vida Code de Castañeda) fell into a river or a lake while the team was walking by. The cry of "un salvavida para vida" (a lifesaver for Vida) went up. This was supposedly the inspiration for the modern name, Vida.

1940s and 1950s

During the 1940s, most of the club's players were employees of team president Gregorio Ramos, who was also owner of Lavanderia Ramos. He also was the president of the team and contributed economically and handled the team affairs. The training was carried out in a small field located that was property of the Standard Fruit Company (DOLE). Another source of players were students from the local public school, Instituto Manuel Bonilla and those from the amateur soccer club Deportes Diablos Negros. The most notable stars of these years were the famous Talon Arzú, Alberto "Campion" Amaya, Héctor "Jet" Castillo McKenzie, Quiro Brooks, Cristóbal Craka Brooks, and the Spaniard Rafael "El Fafa" from Navarre.

Vida's rise to prominence

Vida's breakthrough came in the 1960s, with the energy provided by rising stars such as Salvador Hernández, Nilmo Edwards, and the brothers Morris and Junia Garden. In 1961, Vida finished runners-up in the national tournament, losing out only to Olimpia. They won the whole thing in 1964, beating out Salamar of San Lorenzo in Tegucigalpa.

In 1964, when the previously amateur Honduran league officially turned professional, the city of La Ceiba was offered one place. Vida prevailed in a play-off against two local rivals, Victoria and Atlántida, to earn the city's slot in the new top flight. The previously amateur players were awarded salaries drawn from ticket sales, and the old field where Vida used to play was converted into a genuine stadium, the Estadio Ceibeño. With the stadium built, Vida moved to Campo Vida located in the neighborhood La Isla as their training ground (which is still preserved to this date, and used for youth league teams in La Ceiba).

CDS Vida: The glory years (1965–1985)

From 1965 to 1975, Vida was a frequent finisher in the Top 4 of the Honduran Major League Soccer. Their best season during this stretch was 1971, when they finished second to Olimpia. Their success continued throughout the 1970s, as they were a regular qualifier for the quadrangular playoff, but it was the early 1980s that saw the club's greatest run of success.

It started in 1981, when Vida finished third in the first phase to qualify for the playoffs. In the quadrangular, they finished level with Motagua at the top of the table, and prevailed 2–0. Then, in the championship against regular season winners Atlético Morazán, Vida triumphed 4–1 on aggregate. They won a second title in 1983, then narrowly finished as runners-up to Olimpia and Marathon in 1984 and 1985.

During the 1980s, the team's notable players were Enrique "Palanca" Mendoza, Matilde Lacayo, Dennis "La Bomba" Hinds, Cipriano Dueños (national scoring Champion in 1986) and Roberto "Macho" Figueroa (a key player in the Honduras National team that earned the berth to the World Cup Spain 1982, sold to Real Murcia after the tournament).

Decline and descent into obscurity (1986–2024)

Vida's decline began in 1986. The club had finished first in the regular season and third in the quadrangular play-offs; by most accounts a respectable year. However, shortly after the end of the playoffs, the club was rocked by a match-fixing scandal. Specifically, the accusation was that they deliberately threw the title to Olimpia.

Vida never recovered, and it took many years before they even appeared a top-flight challenger. Even after the Apertura and the Clausura were adopted, Vida has struggled. They have not reached a final since their glory days.

Relegation (2024–present)

On 2024, Vida gets relegated to the Liga De Ascenso for the first time in its history after losing against Lobos UPNFM 3-1 in the Relegation Final.

Club rivalries

Clásico Ceibeño

El Clásico Ceibeño (La Ceiba derby) is a football match played between Victoria and CDS Vida, both teams from La Ceiba, Honduras.

Achievements

Domestic

• Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Honduras:

Winners (2): 1981–82, 1983–84 Runner-up (3): 1971–72, 1984–85, 1985–86

• Liga Amateur de Honduras:

Winners (1): 1962

League and play-off performance (1994–present)

All-time table

(From 1965/66 to 2007/08)

Performance (1997–98 – present)

International competition

CONCACAF Champions' Cup

• 1963 CONCACAF Champions' Cup

First Round v. Guatemala Xelajú MC – 2:2, 0:6 (Xelajú advanced 8:2 on aggregate)

• 1972 CONCACAF Champions' Cup

Final Round v. Mexico Toluca – 1:3, 0:1 (Toluca advanced 4:1 on aggregate)

• 1973 CONCACAF Champions' Cup

First Round v. Costa Rica Saprissa – 0:2, 0:1 (Saprissa advanced 3:0 on aggregate)

• 1982 CONCACAF Champions' Cup

First Round v. United States Brooklyn Dodgers – (Brooklyn Dodgers withdrew) Second Round v. Mexico Pumas UNAM – 2:2, 0:5 (Pumas UNAM advance 7:2 on aggregate)

• 1984 CONCACAF Champions' Cup

Third Round v. United States NY Pancyprian-Freedoms – 1:1, 1:2 (NY Pancyprian-Freedoms advance 3:2 on aggregate)

• 1985 CONCACAF Champions' Cup

First Round v. El Salvador FAS – 1:1, 2:1 (Vida advance 3:2 on aggregate) Second Round v. Mexico América – 1:0, 0:3 (América advance 3:1 on aggregate)

Torneo Fraternidad

• 1981 Torneo Fraternidad

First Round v. Guatemala Juventud Retalteca – 0:1, 3:1 (Vida advance 3:2 on aggregate) Second Round v. Honduras Marathón – (Marathón advance)

• 1982 Torneo Fraternidad

First Round v. El Salvador Juventud Independiente – 2:1, 1:0 (Vida advance 3:1 on aggregate) Second Round v. Guatemala Xelajú MC – 0:0, 0:2 (Xelajú MC advance 2:0 on aggregate)

All-time top scorers

(As of 8 February 2012)

• Honduras Carlos Alvarado (76 goals)
• Honduras Dennis Hinds (44 goals)
• Honduras Arturo Garden (40 goals)
• Honduras Matilde Selim Lacayo (39 goals)
• Honduras Morris Garden (37 goals)
• Honduras Jorge Pineda (37 goals)
• Honduras Enrique Mendoza (36 goals)

Current squad

As of 23 June 2023

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

Current technical staff

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Managers

• Guatemala Aroldo Cordón
• Guatemala Carlos Enrique "Ronco" Wellman (1971)
• Honduras Roberto González (1981)
• Honduras Gonzalo Zelaya (1983)
• Honduras Roberto González (1984–85)
• Honduras Mario Ramón Sandoval (1995)
• Uruguay Ariel Sena (1995–1996)
• Honduras Enrique Grey Fúnez (1996)
• Argentina Héctor Vargas (1999–00)
• Honduras David Medina (2001)
• Uruguay Ricardo Ortiz (2006)
• Honduras Carlos Martínez (2007 – Dec 12)
• Honduras Jorge Pineda (Dec 2012 – April 14)
• Honduras Ramón Maradiaga (May 2014 – Sept 15)
• Honduras Elvin López (201?–)
• Honduras Carlos Alberto Pavon Plumer (2016 – December 2019)
• Honduras Raúl Martínez Sambula ( - February 2019)
• Honduras Hector Castellon (February 2019 -)
• Uruguay Fernando Araújo (June 2019 - 2020)
• Honduras Ramón Maradiaga (August 2020 - November 2020)
• Honduras Nerlin Membreño (November 2020 - April 2021)
• Portugal Fernando Mira (April 2021 - )

Former crests

Affiliated clubs

• Spain Atlético Madrid

External links