Marcos Antonio Rojas Porras (born 8 November 1952) is a Costa Rican retired

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 ...

. He is considered by some as the best

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

's history.

Club career

Rojas played almost his entire career for

Deportivo Saprissa Deportivo Saprissa is a Costa Rican sports club, mostly known for its football team. The club is based in San Juan de Tibás, San José, and play their home games at the Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá. The team's signature colours are purple ...

, where he is still regarded as an idol. He played a total of 17 seasons, winning seven national titles, including a record six consecutive titles, and three "Fraternidad" international championships with Saprissa, amassing a total of 331 games. He also played for Cartaginés and Limonense in 1988. In 2007, Rojas was nominated for a place in Costa Rica's sports hall of fame.

International career

Rojas also played for the

Costa Rica national football team The Costa Rica national football team ( es, Selección de fútbol de Costa Rica) represents Costa Rica in men's international football. The national team is administered by the Costa Rican Football Federation (FEDEFUTBOL), the governing body fo ...

during the 70's and 80's. He was Costa Rica's captain during the 1984 Olympic Games held in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, in which the Ticos beat the then World Cup Champions

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

(1-0). He represented his country in 6

FIFA World Cup qualification The FIFA World Cup qualification is a competitive match that a national association football team takes in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the (men's) FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments are hel ...

matches. He also represented Costa Rica at the

1975 Pan American Games The 1975 Pan American Games were held in Mexico City, Mexico, from October 12 to October 26, 1975, exactly twenty years after the second Pan American Games were held there. It was the third major sporting event held in the Mexican capital in seve ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Personal life

Rojas is married to television presenter Vicky Chávez and they had two daughters, their oldest was killed in a car accident in February 2011.Exportero Marco Antonio Rojas pierde a hija en choque
- Al Día

References

1952 births Living people Men's association football goalkeepers Costa Rican men's footballers Costa Rica men's international footballers Olympic footballers for Costa Rica Footballers at the 1984 Summer Olympics Pan American Games competitors for Costa Rica Footballers at the 1975 Pan American Games Deportivo Saprissa players C.S. Cartaginés players {{CostaRica-footy-bio-stub