Manuel Rojas (footballer)

Manny Rojas

Personal information
Full name	Manuel Antonio Rojas Zúñiga
Date of birth	(1954-06-13) June 13, 1954
Place of birth	Santiago, Chile
Position(s)	Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1971-1975	Palestino
1975–1976	Club América	20	(2)
1981-1982	Universidad Católica
1983	Tampa Bay Rowdies	29	(8)
1983-1984	Tampa Bay Rowdies (indoor)	25	(13)
1984	Golden Bay Earthquakes	10	(3)
1984	Chicago Sting	11	(1)
1984-1988	Chicago Sting (indoor)	163	(70)
1988	Tampa Bay Rowdies
1988-1991	Chicago Power (indoor)
International career
1976-1982	Chile
Managerial career
	Chicago Power (assistant)
2012	Chicago Soul (Head Coach)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Manuel Antonio “Manny” Rojas Zúñiga (born June 13, 1954 in Santiago, Chile) is a retired football midfielder from Chile, who represented his native country at the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain. His professional career took him from his native Chile to Mexico and ultimately the United States where he currently is the head coach of the Chicago Soul. He spent two seasons in the North American Soccer League, four in the Major Indoor Soccer League, three in the American Indoor Soccer Association and one in the American Soccer League.

Playing

Rojas began his professional club with Chilean First Division club Palestino. He then moved to Mexican Club América for the 1975 season. At some point, he signed with Universidad Católica of Chile and was on their roster for the 1981-1982 season. In 1983, he moved to the United States where he signed with the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the North American Soccer League (NASL). He scored eight goals in twenty-nine games that season to lead the team in scoring. On March 23, 1984, the Rowdies released Rojas and he signed a few days later with the Golden Bay Earthquakes. However, on July 10, 1984, the Earthquakes sent Rojas and Hayden Knight to the Chicago Sting in exchange for Ricardo Alonso and Charlie Fajkus. Rojas found himself with a team on the rise as the Sting won the 1984 NASL championship. While he scored only one goal during the regular season, he added two more in the post-season, including one in a 2-1 victory over the Toronto Blizzard in the first game of the championship series. When the NASL folded at the end of the 1984 NASL season, the Sting moved to the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). Rojas remained with the Sting until it folded at the end of the 1987-1988 MISL season. That summer, he played for the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the American Soccer League then signed with the expansion Chicago Power of the American Indoor Soccer Association. Rojas remained with the Power through the 1990-1991 season, scoring seven goals in twenty-one games^[1] as the Power won the AISA championship.

National team

Rojas’ career with Chilean national team spanned from 1976 to 1982. That year, he capped his national team career when he was selected to the Chilean team which competed in the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain. He was awarded the Chilean National Sportsmanship Award 1978 and 1981

Coaching

Rojas has extensive coaching experience, most of it at the youth level. He did acted as an assistant coach while with the Chicago Power. He has assistant coached Libertyville High School and Vernon Hills High School soccer teams.^[2] He now works with younger players on a daily basis. On September 25, 2012, he was named the head coach of the Chicago Soul in the MISL, but was fired on December 2, 2012 after the team went 2-7. He is now coaching at Trevian Soccer Club in Illinois.

External links

• Youth club bio
• (German) Weltfussball profile
• NASL/MISL stats
• Manuel Rojas Liga MX stats at Medio Tiempo.com (Spanish)