Hecklers greet disgraced Costa Rica side

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica, June 22 (Reuters) After losing all its World Cup final matches in Germany, a disgraced and jetlagged Costa Rican soccer team had to face taunts from a group of angry hecklers when it arrived home.

Receiving the loudest catcalls was national team coach Alexandre Guimaraes, who emerged from the airport to chants of of ''Dog! dog!'' from a small group of unhappy fans yesterday.

Costa Rica lost 4-2 to Germany, 3-0 to Ecuador and 2-1 to Poland, leading to speculation that Guimaraes, already the team's third coach in little over a year, might need to look for another job upon his return home.

One heckler, 65-year-old truck driver Leo Herrera, suggested the players might do better in an industry for which, unlike soccer, the small Central American nation is renowned for its excellence across the globe.

''Sirs: Coffee pickers are needed,'' read a sign he waved at the players. ''The only requirement: lack of shame.'' Gilberto Vargas, 65, brought a bucket of water, soap and towels.

''Guimaraes said they were going to wash their faces (with Poland) in their last game,'' he said. ''But they didn't, so I'm giving him the chance now.'' REUTERS PM ND0926