The two great loves of Guillermo Miranda Cordero’s life are his family and football. As an active football player, he played in Costa Rica’s third division for 15 years. Today, he is a member of the country’s reigning club champions Liga Deportiva Alajuelense as well as Borussia Dortmund. After studying business administration at the University of San José, the 62-year-old started his own bus company, Transportes Miro del Milenio S.A. 

Have you ever been to SIGNAL IDUNA PARK?
Yes, twice already. The first time was in December 2016 when we beat Mönchengladbach 4-1. I was back in May 2019 when I watched the 3-2 win against Düsseldorf. Before the matches, I had meatballs with German mustard and beer at the Hubertus Grill not far from the stadium. The atmosphere in and around the stadium was absolutely electric. We Ticos aren’t used to such big crowds and security measures. But the welcome I received from the Yellow Wall of Borussia Dortmund fans when I arrived with my Costa Rican flag just blew my mind. 

You’re president of Costa Rica’s Borussia Dortmund fan club. Please tell us more about your club.
The Costa Rican fan club was established in 2015 by five long-time Borussia Dortmund fans and was officially recognized by Borussia Dortmund in 2016. Whenever it’s possible – considering the seven to eight hour time difference – we host fan events and watch Borussia Dortmund matches together. Our fan club supports children in San José who play in football clubs and whose parents can’t afford to buy the jerseys. We also collect donations to buy school books, notebooks and pencils for children from poor families.

The fan club organizes trips to Borussia Dortmund home games for its members …
Yes, thanks to the incredible support provided by the Borussia Dortmund Supporters Association – especially Alexander Winkler and Sebastian Schneider who help us when purchasing the tickets. After all, you can’t fly to Dortmund from Costa Rica on the off chance without tickets. 

And is it true that you’ve forged a friendship with a group of 25 German Borussia Dortmund fans?
It sure is! We first met them by chance in 2015, when some Borussia Dortmund fans came to our country as tourists. They were surprised and delighted when they boarded a bus decorated with a large Borussia Dortmund flag at San José airport. Our German friends have already organized several get-togethers in Dortmund. For example, Rudolf Blauth took us on a tour of Dortmund’s Nordstadt district, tracing Borussia Dortmund’s origins, as it were. Then Wolfgang Arns and Martina Reich arranged a visit to the team’s training ground. 

Have Borussia Dortmund fans also visited you in Costa Rica?
Yes. In February 2020, we invited 20 German Borussia Dortmund fans to join us at the German Club in San José. We practiced Borussia Dortmund chants together and took part in a quiz on the club. The winners received fantastic fan merchandise from the Borussia Dortmund fan shop.
Interview: Uwe Schedlbauer

In this section, our main sponsor Evonik, who supports us at all of our international games, lets soccer fans who feel close to Borussia Dortmund but live nowhere near SIGNAL IDUNA PARK have their say.

EVONIK IN COSTA RICA
Like Germany’s Ruhr region, where Evonik is located, Costa Rica is home to about five million people – and they’re just as mad about football. Since 1990, Costa Rica has played in five World Cups and even beaten the likes of Italy. Many remember when Germany hosted the tournament in 2006 and beat Costa Rica 4–2 in the opening match. Located between the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean, Costa Rica is a dream tourist destination with its beautiful coastline and mountains. Twenty-seven percent of the country is a conservation area. Although agriculture and ecotourism are the biggest contributors to the economy in this democratic, socially minded country, Costa Rica recently expanded its digital services. In 2016, Evonik opened its Shared Service Center here. Its 130 employees provide financial, accounting and IT services to the Americas region. The country lies between the two American continental plates. In addition to their native Spanish, many locals also have a good knowledge of English and Portuguese, which is advantageous to Evonik. There is one thing Costa Rica and Borussia Dortmund do not have in common: The country has no defense. That’s because the military was abolished in 1949 so the money could be invested in education and social welfare.