Hernan "Chico" Borja (August 24, 1959 – January 25, 2021) was an

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

ian-born

American 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 ...

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 ...

player and coach. He spent time in the several U.S.-based leagues including 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 ...

, Major Indoor Soccer League and the American Soccer League. He also earned eleven

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

with the U.S. national team. He was a resident of

Belleville, New Jersey Belleville (French: "Belle ville" meaning "Beautiful city / town") is a township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States Census, the township's population was 38,222, reflecting an increase of 6.4% from th ...

Youth

Borja was born in

Quito Quito (; qu, Kitu), formally San Francisco de Quito, is the capital and largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its urban area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha. Quito is located in a valley o ...

on August 24, 1959. His family immigrated to the United States where he attended

New Jersey Institute of Technology {{Infobox university , name = {{nowrap, New Jersey Institute of Technology , image = New Jersey IT seal.svg , image_upright = 0.9 , former_names = Newark College of Engineering (1930–1975)Ne ...

(NJIT), where Borja played on the men's soccer team. At that time, NJIT played in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Division III. In 1980, his senior year, Borja was selected as a Division I First Team All American, the first NJIT men's soccer player to be named an All American. He finished his career with multiple entries in the NCAA record books for both single game and season scoring. In 1989, New Jersey Institute of Technology inducted Borja, a 1981 graduate, into its Hall of Fame.

NASL

Borja began his professional career as a midfield winger with 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 Independ ...

of the

in 1981. In his first two years with the team, he played in two NASL championship games, losing the first and winning the second in 1982. In 1983, the

U.S. Soccer Federation The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is ...

, in coordination with the NASL, entered the U.S. national team, known as Team America, into the NASL as a league franchise. The team drew on U.S. citizens playing in the NASL, Major Indoor Soccer League and American Soccer League. Borja left the Cosmos and signed with Team America. When Team America finished the 1983 season with a 10–20 record, the worst in the NASL, USSF withdrew the team from the league. Borja returned to the Cosmos for the 1984 season. Although the Cosmos failed dismally, not making the playoffs, Borja's play earned him a place on the NASL North American all-star team that year. He finished his NASL career with 83 games, 20 goals and 24 assists. One of his scoring highlights came in a 1984 Cosmos 3–2 victory over

Argentinos Juniors Asociación Atlética Argentinos Juniors is an Argentine sports club based in La Paternal, Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its football team, which currently plays in the Argentine Primera División, and was recognized as one of the ...

MISL

After the Cosmos folded, Borja joined the

Las Vegas Americans The Las Vegas Americans were a soccer team based out of Las Vegas that played in the original Major Indoor Soccer League. Prior to Las Vegas, the team had operated as the Memphis Americans. They only played in Las Vegas during the 1984–85 seaso ...

of Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). He played a single season with the team before it was expelled from the league on July 17, 1985. From Las Vegas, Borja, moved to the

Wichita Wings The Wichita Wings were a professional indoor soccer franchise based in Wichita, Kansas. The Wings were admitted to the Major Indoor Soccer League as an expansion team on August 21, 1979.

for two seasons, 1986–1987 and 1987-1988 before his transfer to the

Los Angeles Lazers The Los Angeles Lazers were an indoor soccer team that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) from 1982 to 1989. History Jerry Buss, the owner of California Sports, the parent company of the Los Angeles Lakers, Kings and Strings of ...

. He was with L.A. for a single season, then returned to Wichita, with whom he remained until his retirement in 1992. He was named the MISL Pass Master (season assist leader) for the 1988–1989 season. In 1989 and 1990, Borja played on loan during the summer with the

Albany Capitals The Albany Capitals joined the third incarnation of the American Soccer League in 1988. The team joined the American Professional Soccer League in 1990 when the ASL merged with the Western Soccer League. The club played in Albany, New York. Afte ...

of the American Soccer League. Borja retired from the MISL eighth on the career points list (612 points) and fourth on the career assists list (338 assists). Throughout his indoor career, he was a constant scoring threat. However, he was also noted for his lack of reluctance to get physical which led to numerous penalties.

National and Olympic teams

Borja began playing for the

United States men's national soccer team The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT) represents the United States in men's international soccer competitions. The team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and is a member of FIFA and CONCACAF. The U.S. team ha ...

in 1982. He finished his playing career with eleven

and three goals. His first game was the lone U.S. game of 1982, a 2–1 win over

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

on March 21, 1982. In 1983, the U.S. played only one game, a 2–0 win over

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 ...

on April 8. Borja scored the second U.S. goal of the match. In 1985, he played two World Cup qualification matches, scoring a goal in a 2–1 victory over Trinidad and Tobago. He finished his national team career in a scoreless World Cup qualification game with

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

on July 24, 1988, when he came on for Bruce Murray in the 61st minute. In 1984, Borja was called up for the U.S. Olympic soccer team which competed at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

. Borja played all three games as the U.S. ran to a 1-1-1 record in group play, failing to qualify for the second round. While the U.S. fielded its full international team at the Olympics, these games do not count as national team games as FIFA did not recognize them as full internationals. Borja was also on the U.S. team at the

1987 Pan American Games The 1987 Pan American Games, officially known as the X Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event held in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, on August 7–23, 1987. Over 4,300 athletes from 38 countries in the Americas c ...

. While Borja retired from professional soccer in 1992, that year he played for the U.S.

Futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hardcourt, hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and Indoor soccer, indoor football. Futsal is played between two teams of five players ...

team which won the silver medal at the

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

. Borja was selected to the tournament first team. He continued to play on the U.S. Futsal team until 1995, scoring a total of 9 goals, placing him in the top ten list of U.S. futsal players.

Coaching

After retiring from playing, Borja joined the coaching ranks. He began with the

Houston Hotshots The Houston Hotshots are a professional indoor soccer team in Houston, Texas. They play in the Premier Arena Soccer League (PASL) From 1994 to 1997 and 2000–2001, the Houston Hotshots were a full professional indoor soccer team in Houston ...

of the

Continental Indoor Soccer League The Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) was a professional indoor soccer league that played from 1993 to 1997. History In the summer of 1989 Dr Jerry Buss, the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and California Sports, told his executive Vice Pre ...

in 1994 and the Houston Force for their one competitive game in 1995. The Force folded after that single game. He also coached high school girls' soccer in Houston. He was on the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) National Staff and coached the Renegade Elite in Florida. Prior to 2012, he coached boys' soccer and girls' and boys' golf at

Coral Glades High School Coral Glades High School is a public high school in Coral Springs, Florida, United States. Founded in 2004, it is part of the Broward School District. It educates students in grades 9 through 12. Academics The school's core academics include ...

in Coral Springs, Florida. He was also an Assistant Principal at

South Plantation High School South Plantation High School is a four-year public high school located in the city of Plantation, Florida in the United States. SPHS is part of the Broward County Public Schools school district, which is the sixth-largest district in the nation w ...

Plantation, Florida Plantation is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 91,750. It is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area. The city's name comes from the previous part-owner of the land, the Eve ...

."GOODBYE, CHICO: Former Cosmos, USMNT player Borja dies at 61"
Front Row Soccer, January 28, 2021. Accessed August 29, 2021.

References

External links

NCAA Record Book

{{DEFAULTSORT:Borja, Chico 1959 births 2021 deaths Albany Capitals players All-American men's college soccer players American men's futsal players American Professional Soccer League players American Soccer League (1988–89) players American soccer coaches American soccer players Ecuadorian footballers Footballers from Quito Ecuadorian football managers Continental Indoor Soccer League coaches Ecuadorian emigrants to the United States Association football forwards Association football midfielders Association football utility players Footballers at the 1984 Summer Olympics Hispanic and Latino American sportspeople Las Vegas Americans players Los Angeles Lazers players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players New Jersey Institute of Technology alumni New York Cosmos players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players Footballers at the 1987 Pan American Games Pan American Games competitors for the United States Olympic soccer players of the United States People from Belleville, New Jersey Sportspeople from Essex County, New Jersey Soccer players from New Jersey Team America (NASL) players United States men's international soccer players Wichita Wings (MISL) players