Jorge Alberto Rojas Méndez (born January 10, 1977 in Mérida) is a Venezuelan former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

Career

Club

After playing for several small clubs in Venezuela, Rojas began to establish himself as one of the nations top players while at Caracas FC. Following his successful first stint at Caracas, which included two league titles, he joined Ecuadorean power Emelec in 2003. That season, he was selected as the top foreign player in the league. Rojas than briefly returned to Caracas before joining Colombian club Atlético Nacional. While at Nacional Rojas helped the club to the 2005 Apertura Championship, and was considered one of the top players in the league. Following his successful stint with Nacional, Rojas returned for his third stint with Caracas FC guiding the club to back to back league titles in 2006 and 2007. At the conclusion of the 2007 campaign he returned to Colombia to play for

América de Cali América de Cali S. A., best known as América de Cali or América, is a Colombian professional football club based in Cali. It competes in the Categoría Primera A, the top-flight league of Colombian football. The team plays its home games at ...

, while at Cali he appeared in 22 matches, notching 4 goals (3 from the penalty spot). Following the Colombian league season, Rojas was sold to Unión Atlético Maracaibo. He scored his first goal with Maracaibo in a 1-2 defeat to his former club Caracas FC. While at Maracaibo, Rojas participated in a famous 1-1 draw against

Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine sports club headquartered in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its promotion in 1913, has always played in the A ...

in the 2008

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...

. He also led Maracaibo to the final of the Copa de Venezuela where his club would lose the series to

Aragua Fútbol Club Aragua Fútbol Club () is a Venezuelan football team based in the city of Maracay, in the state of Aragua. The club began its professional career playing in the Venezuelan Segunda División a year after the club was founded. Since 2005, Aragua ...

on away goals. Rojas signed with New York Red Bulls of

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

in July 2008. He had two assists in his first game for the club against the Los Angeles Galaxy on July 19, 2008. He appeared in 11 regular season matches for New York, registering 5 assists. Following the

season it appeared that Rojas would go loan to Mineros de Guayana during the MLS off-season, however the move never materialized. In his next season with New York Red Bulls he would score two goals. But this form he produced would only come once. At the end of the season he was cut loose and returned to Venezuela to play for

Deportivo Táchira ''Deportivo'' (Spanish, 'sporting') may refer to: * Deportivo de La Coruña, commonly known as simply Deportivo, a Spanish football club * Déportivo, a French rock band * Deportivo (Mexicable), an aerial lift station in Ecatepec, Mexico * Deport ...

. He then later also played for Mineros de Guayana, Aragua and Metropolitanos. On 27 December 2019, 42-year old Rojas announced his retirement from football.

International

Rojas started his career with the Venezuela National Team at the age of 14, when he joined the U-15 squad, coached by Ratomir Djukovic and then by Augusto Viso. Rojas went on to play at the Bolivarian Games and then to the South American Games in Colombia in 1993. Rojas continue through all the Natl Youth Teams until he finally was called up to the Senior Team. Rojas has earned 90 caps for the Venezuela national team, making him the second most capped player in the history of Venezuelan international football as of April 2009.rsssf: Venezuela record international players
He made his international debut on January 27, 1999 in a friendly against Denmark. The match ended 1-1 and was played at Estadio José Pachencho Romero in Maracaibo.

International goals

Honors

Club

Universidad de Los Andes F.C. Unión Local Andina Fútbol Club, usually known as Universidad de Los Andes, or by the acronym ULA, is a Venezuelan football club based in Mérida. History The club was founded on February 28, 1977, as ''Universidad de Los Andes Mérida Fútbo ...

** Segunda División Venezolana (1) 1994/1995 * Caracas FC **

Primera División Venezolana Primera may refer to * Nissan Primera, a car * Primera Air, a former airline * Primera división (disambiguation), multiple top division football leagues * Primera, Texas, a town in Cameron County, Texas * Alí Primera, Venezuelan musician, compos ...

(4) 2000/2001, 2002/2003, 2005/2006, 2006/2007 * Copa de Venezuela (1) 2001 * Atlético Nacional ** Copa Mustang (1) 2005-I * Unión Atlético Maracaibo ** Copa de Venezuela Runner Up 2008 * New York Red Bulls ** MLS Cup Runner Up 2008 *

(1) 2010/2011

Statistics

References

External links

* *
International statistics at rsssf
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rojas, Jorge 1977 births Living people Association football defenders Association football midfielders Venezuelan footballers Venezuela international footballers Estudiantes de Mérida players Caracas FC players C.S. Emelec footballers Atlético Nacional footballers América de Cali footballers UA Maracaibo players New York Red Bulls players Deportivo Táchira F.C. players A.C.C.D. Mineros de Guayana players Aragua FC players Metropolitanos FC players Boca Juniors footballers 1999 Copa América players 2001 Copa América players 2004 Copa América players 2007 Copa América players Association football utility players Venezuelan Primera División players Categoría Primera A players Ecuadorian Serie A players Major League Soccer players Expatriate footballers in Argentina Expatriate footballers in Colombia Expatriate footballers in Ecuador Expatriate soccer players in the United States Venezuelan expatriate sportspeople in Argentina Venezuelan expatriate sportspeople in Colombia Venezuelan expatriate sportspeople in Ecuador Venezuelan expatriate sportspeople in the United States People from Mérida, Mérida