Juan Carlos Toja Vega (born 24 May 1985) is a former Colombian

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 ...

Club career

Colombia

Toja started his soccer career in Colombian tournament Interclubes (played amongst select country clubs) in the Clan MacGregor team, playing alongside retired professional player Lucas Jaramillo. Joined Colombian Santa Fe at age 16, playing for the club's U-19 team for six months, was promoted to the first team in early 2004, where he played 25 games in the next two seasons.

Argentina

Toja signed with Argentine club River Plate following the tournament but struggled to break into the first team. He played 5 games in the Copa Libertadores Tournament for River Plate, scoring once. He played in only three Torneo Verano games while loaned to River Plate from Santa Fe in 2006.

United States

In February 2007, after sending a highlight video to

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise began play in 1996 as a charter club of the le ...

and impressing in a tryout held at

pre-season camp in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, Toja was signed with Major League Soccer on a loan from Independiente Santa Fe. With his electric play and flashy style (topped off with an impressive hairdo – an homage to

Jim Morrison James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, poet and songwriter who was the lead vocalist of the rock band the Doors. Due to his wild personality, poetic lyrics, distinctive voice, unpredictable and err ...

, the late lead singer of

The Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential rock acts ...

), Toja quickly became a fan favorite in Dallas. He scored his first MLS goal, the game-winner, in a 2–1 win at Kansas City Wizards on 5/12, and tallied another game-winner in a 2–1 win at Chicago Fire on 5/17. He scored his fourth goal in a 1–0 victory at

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, lat ...

on 6/23, his team-leading third game-winner. He scored two in a historic comeback at

D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

on 7/14 and earned the Week 15 MLS Player of the Week honors for his effort. He was named to the

Major League Soccer All-Star Game The Major League Soccer All-Star Game is an annual soccer game held by Major League Soccer featuring selected players from the league against an international club or selected players from Liga MX. MLS initially adopted a traditional all-star gam ...

, starting and scoring the second goal of the MLS team's 2–0 win over

Celtic F.C. The Celtic Football Club, commonly known as Celtic (), is a Scottish professional football club based in Glasgow, which plays in the Scottish Premiership. The club was founded in 1887 with the purpose of alleviating poverty in the immigran ...

on 7/19 in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

. Toja started all three SuperLiga matches and tallied a goal and an assist. He left the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal game vs. Charleston at halftime on 8/7 with a sprained ankle, which kept him out for the next two regular season games. Missed 9/15 game at

New England Revolution The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compe ...

due to sprained right ankle. Returned to play full 90 minutes on 9/20 in 1–1 tie with Chicago Fire. Started 27 regular season games, finishing second on the team with 6 goals. Appeared in all 4 U.S. Open Cup games and all 3 SuperLiga games, scoring once vs.

Los Angeles Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began pla ...

on 7/31 in SuperLiga match. His 34 appearances in all competitions tied for second on the team with Arturo Alvarez and

Drew Moor Drew Moor (born January 15, 1984) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a center-back in Major League Soccer. Born in Dallas, Moor began playing college soccer for the Furman Paladins before transferring to the Indiana ...

. His production fell after the 2007

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or d ...

as he received an ankle injury and struggled to find consistency. The season was considered a success and

purchased Toja's contract from Independiente Santa Fe. His performances remained at a high standard in the 2008 season with

, scoring 2 goals and being named to the 2008

, but he left the US shortly after the All-Star Game to follow his 'dream' to play in Europe for Romanian giants Steaua București. As a testament to the quality and effort Toja put into his performances the FC Dallas faithful would wear wigs in celebration of his trademark 'rock and roll' mullet.

Romania

On 1 August 2008,

made Toja's transfer to

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

n side Steaua București official. He was thus the first player to move from the United States to a Romanian club. Several days after his appearance at the Major League Soccer All-Star game against

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

, it had been speculated that Toja would move to Europe within a few days. He joined Colombian mates

Dayro Moreno Dayro Mauricio Moreno Galindo (born 16 September 1985) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Categoría Primera A club Atlético Bucaramanga. Moreno began his career with Once Caldas, winning the 2004 Copa Liber ...

and

Róbinson Zapata Róbinson Zapata Montaño (born 30 September 1978), is a Colombian football player. Club career Colombia Zapata started his career in Colombia with América de Cali and Real Cartagena. In 2004, he moved to Argentina where he had spells with R ...

Greece

On 21 July 2010, Toja was transferred to

Aris Aris or ARIS may refer to: People * Aris (surname) Given name * Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer * Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player * Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano * Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter * Aris Howard, Former President of the Jama ...

, signing a three-year contract. He made his debut in the UEFA Europa League against

Jagiellonia Białystok Jagiellonia Białystok () is a Polish football club based in Białystok that plays in the Ekstraklasa, the top level of Polish football. The club was founded in 1920 by soldiers in the Reserve Battalion in Białystok. Jagiellonia play their home g ...

. He scored his first goal for Aris against Olympiakos F.C. in Kleanthis Vikelidis (2011–2012).

New England Revolution

On 23 August 2012, Toja was acquired by the

of Major League Soccer through the league's Allocation process. He arrived in the United States on 9 September, and trained with the Revolution for the first time on the next day. Despite battling knee stiffness, he made his Revolution debut in a substitute appearance against

on 15 September, which was his first MLS action since 19 July 2008 when he was with

. On 26 June 2013, Toja made his first goal in a Revolution uniform in the

Lamar Hunt US Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in that country. The 2023 U.S. Op ...

against the

from a curving free kick in top left corner. Toja scored his first domestic league goal for the club on 17 July 2013 against the

on a free kick with a soft touch in the lower left corner.

Colombia National Team

He played with the Colombian U-20 national team at the 2005

South American Youth Championship The South American Youth Football Championship, also known as U-20 South American Championship and es, Torneo Juventudes de América, "Campeonato Sudamericano Sub 20" or pt, Juventude da América (English: "America's Youth") is a South American f ...

, which Colombia hosted and won. Toja then competed at the

2005 FIFA World Youth Championship The 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship was the 15th edition of the FIFA World Youth Championship. It took place in the Netherlands between 10 June and 2 July 2005. Venues Qualification The following 24 teams qualified for the 2005 FIFA Wor ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, helping Colombia to the Round of 16 before losing to eventual champion Argentina. Toja appeared in three of the team's four games, once as a substitute, including a start against Argentina. He was called up to the full Colombian national team in October 2008 and started in his first game versus Brazil on 15 October 2008 for a 2010 World Cup Qualifier.

Personal life

His family sustained a tragedy when brother Sebastian, one year younger, was involved in an accident that claimed his life when Juan was 14 years old. He is a fan of a variety of music, including rock with his favorite performers being the Rolling Stones,

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Polic ...

and

Soda Stereo Soda Stereo is an Argentine rock band formed in Buenos Aires in 1982 by Gustavo Cerati (lead vocals, guitar), Héctor "Zeta" Bosio (bass) and Carlos Alberto Ficicchia "Charly Alberti" (drums). As the first Hispanic group to achieve mainstrea ...

also likes salsa music. His grandfather on his dad's side, also named Juan Carlos Toja, was born in

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

and played professional football in his country for C.A. Peñarol; he later moved to Colombia and played for

Independiente Medellín Deportivo Independiente Medellín, also known as Independiente Medellín or DIM, is a Colombian professional football club based in Medellín that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at Estadio Atanasio Girardo ...

and Cucuta Deportivo. His grandfather on mother's side, Victor Vega, is Colombian and played professionally for Santa Fe,

Millonarios Millonarios Fútbol Club is a professional Colombian football team based in Bogotá, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at the El Campín stadium. Millonarios was initially created in 1937 by students f ...

, and was a member of the Colombia National Team. He is of Spanish descent through his paternal great-grandfather.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Toja, Juan 1985 births Living people Colombian footballers Association football midfielders Colombian expatriate footballers Independiente Santa Fe footballers FC Dallas players Major League Soccer All-Stars FC Steaua București players Aris Thessaloniki F.C. players New England Revolution players Club Atlético River Plate footballers Categoría Primera A players Major League Soccer players Liga I players Super League Greece players Argentine Primera División players Expatriate footballers in Argentina Expatriate soccer players in the United States Expatriate footballers in Romania Colombian expatriate sportspeople in Romania Expatriate footballers in Greece Colombia international footballers Colombia under-20 international footballers Footballers from Bogotá Colombian people of Uruguayan descent Colombian people of Spanish descent