Santiago Formoso (born July 4, 1953) is an American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

defender who spent five 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 ...

. He also earned seven

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with the U.S. national team in 1976 and 1977.

Club career

Santiago Formoso was born in Vigo, Spain, 1953. He emigrated to the United States in 1969, following his father, a merchant seaman. He established in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area. and attended Kearny High School, graduating in 1973. He also played with Newark Beira-Mar. His father became a cook in

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

, while his mother worked in a clothing factory. His father died of cancer in 1974. After high school, Formoso attended the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

where he played on the men’s soccer team. While at university, he became a U.S. citizen. In 1976, Formoso left the university and signed with the

Hartford Bicentennials The Connecticut Bicentennials were an American soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1975 to 1977. Originally founded as the Hartford Bicentennials, the team relocated to New Haven, Connecticut after the 19 ...

of the

(NASL). The team moved from Hartford to

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

between the 1976 and 1977 seasons, making a name change with the move. At the end of the 1977 season, the Bicentennials relocated to Oakland, California and Formoso decided to terminate his contract to remain close to his mother. Next, he joined the

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Independe ...

. He spent two seasons in New York before being traded to the

Los Angeles Aztecs The Los Angeles Aztecs was an American professional soccer team based in Los Angeles, California that existed from 1974 to 1981. The Aztecs competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1974 to 1981 as well as the 1975 NASL Indoor tour ...

. However, he played only eleven games of the 1980 season before moving to the

Houston Hurricane The Houston Hurricane was a soccer team based out of Houston that played in the NASL. They played from 1978 to 1980. Their home field was the Astrodome. Their colors were orange, white and red. History The team was the last of six expansion t ...

for the last ten games of that season. In 1982, he played for the

Carolina Lightnin' The Carolina Lightnin' was an American soccer club based in Charlotte, North Carolina that was a member of the American Soccer League. The Lightnin' played home matches at American Legion Memorial Stadium. Attendance at home games averaged 6,000 ...

in the American Soccer League. In 1984, he played for the Charlotte Gold in the

United Soccer League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a Association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues curren ...

. With the collapse of the USL, Formoso moved north to play for

Greek American AA NY Greek American Atlas Astoria, commonly known as New York Greek American, is an American soccer team from New York City that currently plays in the Eastern Premier Soccer League and in the Cosmopolitan Soccer League. The club was formed in 194 ...

in the

Cosmopolitan Soccer League The Cosmopolitan Soccer League is a regional soccer league consisting of semi-pro and amateur teams based in and around New York City. Established in 1923, it is one of the oldest soccer leagues in the United States and has contributed greatly ...

International career

In 1975, while at the university, Formoso was called into the U.S. Olympic soccer team as it ran through the qualification campaign for the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...

. However, two losses to Mexico in August 1975 kept the U.S. out of the Olympics. Formoso was on the American team 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 ...

. Formoso earned his first of seven

with the U.S. national team on October 3, 1976. That game, a qualifier for the

1978 FIFA World Cup The 1978 FIFA World Cup was the 11th edition of the FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial international football world championship tournament among the men's senior national teams. It was held in Argentina between 1 and 25 June. The Cup was won by t ...

ended in a scoreless tie with

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 ...

. Formoso’s next game with the national team did not end so well when the U.S. lost 3–0 twelve days later to Mexico in

Puebla Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...

. Formoso then played in two friendlies with

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

before playing in the U.S. loss to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

on December 22, 1976, which bumped the U.S. from contention for the World Cup finals. Formoso played two games in 1977, his last was a 1–0 victory over

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

on October 10, 1977.USA – Details of International Matches 1970–1979
/ref>

After retirement

MetroStars

Formoso was also a part of the MetroStars marketing department from at least 1988 until his firing in 2001.
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Honors

Formoso was inducted into the

Hudson County, New Jersey Hudson County is the most densely populated county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It lies west of the lower Hudson River, which was named for Henry Hudson, the sea captain who explored the area in 1609. Part of New Jersey's Gateway Region in t ...

Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.
/sup>

References

External links

NASL/MISL stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Formoso, Santiago 1953 births American men's soccer players American Soccer League (1933–1983) players Carolina Lightnin' players Buffalo Stallions players Connecticut Bicentennials players Greek American AA players Houston Hurricane players Kearny High School (New Jersey) alumni Los Angeles Aztecs players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players People from Kearny, New Jersey American people of Galician descent New York Cosmos (1970–1985) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Spanish emigrants to the United States Pan American Games competitors for the United States Footballers at the 1975 Pan American Games United States men's international soccer players Living people United Soccer League (1984–85) players Soccer players from Hudson County, New Jersey Footballers from Vigo Penn Quakers men's soccer players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players Men's association football defenders Spanish men's footballers