Manuel Antonio "Manny" Rojas Zúñiga (born June 13, 1954) is a retired

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

from

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

, who represented his native country at the

1982 FIFA World Cup The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Spain between 13 June and 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy national foo ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. His professional career took him from his native Chile to Mexico and ultimately the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. He spent two seasons in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

, four in the Major Indoor Soccer League, three in the

American Indoor Soccer Association American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

and one in the American Soccer League. Rojas also coached the now-defunct Chicago Soul soccer team for the 2012 year before being fired midseason after a 2-7 start.

Playing

Rojas began his professional club with Chilean First Division club

Palestino Club Deportivo Palestino is a professional football club based in the city of Santiago, Chile. The club was founded in 1920 and plays in the Primera División de Chile. They play their home games at the Estadio Municipal de La Cisterna stadium ...

. He then moved to Mexican

Club América Club de Fútbol América S.A. de C.V., commonly known as Club América or simply América, is a professional football club based in Mexico City. Nicknamed ''Las Águilas'' (The Eagles), it competes in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football ...

for the 1975 season. At some point, he signed with Universidad Católica of Chile and was on their roster for the 1981–82 season. In 1983, he moved to the United States where he signed with the

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Champions ...

of the

(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 Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall *Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershir ...

. However, on July 10, 1984, the Earthquakes sent Rojas and

Hayden Knight Hayden Knight (born March 15, 1957 in Port of Spain, Trinidad) is a retired Trinidad-American soccer defender and current high school soccer coach. He earned three caps with the United States men's national soccer team in 1984. Playing career Y ...

to the

Chicago Sting The Chicago Sting (1974–1988) was an American professional soccer team representing Chicago. The Sting played in the North American Soccer League from 1975 to 1984 and in the Major Indoor Soccer League in the 1982–83 season and again from 1 ...

in exchange for

Ricardo Alonso Ricardo Alonso was a soccer player who began as a forward before moving to defender later in his career. Alonso spent six seasons in the North American Soccer League, four in Major Indoor Soccer League, at least three in the American Indoor Socc ...

and

Charlie Fajkus Charlie Fajkus (born March 4, 1957 in the United States) is a retired American soccer midfielder who spent six seasons in the North American Soccer League and five in the Major Indoor Soccer League. He also earned three caps with the U.S. nation ...

. 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 Toronto Blizzard may refer to: *Toronto Blizzard (1971–1984), the original soccer club, a franchise of the North American Soccer League *Toronto Blizzard (1986–1993), the later club and franchise of the Canadian Soccer League *Toronto Azzurri B ...

in the first game of the championship series. When the NASL folded at the end of the

1984 NASL season The 1984 North American Soccer League season was the 72nd season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer, the 17th with a national first-division league, in the United States and Canada. It would be the 17th and final season of the NASL. Changes from the previo ...

, 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 rejoined the Rowdies, who were then playing in the American Soccer League then signed with the expansion

Chicago Power The Chicago Power were an indoor soccer club based in Chicago, Illinois that competed in the American Indoor Soccer Association and National Professional Soccer League. After the 1995–96 season, the team was sold to Peter Pocklington, moved ...

of the

. Rojas remained with the Power through the 1990–91 season, scoring seven goals in twenty-one games
/sup> as the Power won the AISA championship.

National team

Rojas' career with Chile national football team, 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

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 acted as an assistant coach while with the

. He has also been an assistant coach for both the Libertyville and

Vernon Hills Vernon Hills is a suburb north of Chicago, Illinois in Lake County, Illinois, United States. The population was 26,850 at the 2020 census. Vernon Hills serves as a retail hub for its surrounding area ( Libertyville, Lake Forest, Long Grove, Lin ...

high school soccer teams.
/sup> On September 25, 2012, he was named the head coach of the Chicago Soul FC, Chicago Soul in the

MISL The Misls (derived from an Arabic word wikt:مثل#Etymology_3, مِثْل meaning 'equal') were the twelve sovereign states of the Sikh Confederacy, which rose during the 18th century in the Punjab region in the northern part of the Indian ...

, but was fired on December 2, 2012 after the team went 2-7. He is now coaching at FC 1974 in Libertyville with U10-U14 teams.

References

External links

Youth club bio
*

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rojas, Manuel 1954 births Living people Footballers from Santiago Chilean men's footballers Chilean expatriate men's footballers Club Deportivo Palestino footballers Men's association football midfielders Club América footballers Club Deportivo Universidad Católica footballers Chile men's international footballers 1982 FIFA World Cup players 1979 Copa América players Chilean Primera División players Liga MX players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players Tampa Bay Rowdies (1975–1993) players San Jose Earthquakes (1974–1988) players Chicago Sting (NASL) players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players Chicago Sting (MISL) players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players Chicago Power players American soccer coaches National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) coaches Chilean expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Chilean expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico United Soccer League (1984–85) players