CD Luis Angel Firpo

Early history

On September 17, 1923, a group of Usulután citizens, mostly of European descent, decided to form a team that represented their community's passion for football. The club elected Gustavo Denys as their first club chairman. They decided to choose red and blue as their team's colours. Originally named Tecún Umán, the club was soon renamed in honor of Luis Ángel Firpo, a famous Argentine boxer.

On November 9, 1923, Club Deportivo Sandino, also based in Usulutan, wanted to merge with Firpo, and it almost came to fruition. However, the main sticking point was that Sandino wanted to appoint the majority of the 41 club directors (36 to Sandino and only five Firpo directors). Following the impasse, Firpo rejected the offer.

The members of CD Luis Ángel Firpo acquired land near Sergio Torres creek to develop and build a stadium. Their first football manager was Manuel "El Zancudo" Segurado. In 1941–42, they were named the best team in eastern El Salvador^[] and were allowed to challenge for the national title. A year later, Luis Antonio Regalado brought the club further prestige when he was chosen for the El Salvador's national football team. After him came the Zamora brothers (Ricardo and Miguel), the Quinteros brothers (Leonidas and Lázaro), and Ramón and Mario Águila.

Financial instability plagued Firpo in the 1950s and 1960s, and they dropped out of the top flight on three separate occasions. In 1972, Firpo became a permanent top-flight fixture.

Golden generation

In the 1988–89 season, the team hoisted the league title for the first time. The team finished third in the regular season, but the club nonetheless dismissed Argentinian coach Juan Quarterone before the playoffs. In his place, they hired former player Julio Escobar. Escobar justified the club's faith by leading the team through the championship round and into the finals. Their match against Cojutepeque was drawn 2–2 after extra time, setting up a penalty shootout. Firpo prevailed 4–3, with Leonel Carcamo scoring the winning penalty.

In the 1990 final,^[] the team lost to Alianza but won their second crown in 1991. That season saw Firpo go on a 30 match unbeaten streak and defeat Aguila 1–0 in the finals. Marlon Menjívar scored the only goal.

The following year, Macedonian Kiril Dojčinovski took over the coaching reins of Firpo and led them to back to back titles. The stars of this run were Raúl Toro, Raúl Díaz Arce, Mauricio Cienfuegos, Celio Rodríguez, Leonel Cárcamo and Fernando de Moura. They defeated Alianza in both finals, giving the club four championships in five years.

Soon after, Leonal Carcamo donned the captain's armband and the club continued to play at a high level. They reached either the semi-finals or finals every year from 1994 to 1997, then won the championship again in 1998. That win came over FAS 2–0, with the goals being scored by Raúl Toro and Abraham Monterrosa.

Firpo won another championship in 1999, beating FAS 5–4 on penalty kicks. In 2000, Club president and owner Sergio Torres died the week before the final match against ADET, and the players dedicated the match to his memory. They went on to win, bringing home their seventh title.

Modern era

After 2000, Firpo's success began to decline. With players retiring, moving abroad, or being sold onto other clubs, the death of Sergio Torres cost the team their primary sponsor and led the club into financial instability. As a result, Firpo reached the grand final repeatedly, but could not win another title for seven years.

In the 2007 Apertura, Argentinian coach Horacio Cordero guided the team to another final, and they defeated FAS 5–3 in a penalty shootout. The next season saw the club hoist the crown again, winning the Clausura 2008. They beat FAS again, 1–0, and celebrated their third repeat championship.

The team won their tenth title in the 2013 Clausura under the direction of Argentinian coach Roberto Gamarra with another win over their rivals from FAS.

On May 5, 2014, after 32 years of top-flight football, Firpo were relegated to the second division after a 1–1 draw with Dragón. However, the relegation didn't stay, as Firpo purchased Juventud Independiente's license. On May 27, 2019, the club achieved a record sixth relegation from the Primera Division, after the team lost 3–1 against Alianza.

At the end of the 2020 season, Pablo Herrera (owner of the franchise license of Independiente) announced that Independiente will lose their license and he will be giving the license to Luis Angel Firpo for the Clausura 2020.

On September, 2023 the club celebrated a centenary of existence, the club played a friendly against Guatemalan giant Municipal, which the clun lost 1-0. [1]