Jorge Acosta (born May 29, 1964) is a Colombian-born American retired

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 ...

forward. He spent most of his career in the lower U.S. divisions, as well as four in the Colombian first division. He also earned twelve

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 Ja ...

with the U.S. national team in 1991 and 1992.

Early life

Acosta was born in Colombia, but attended Kennedy High School in

Paterson, New Jersey Paterson ( ) is the largest city in and the county seat of Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Long Island University Long Island University (LIU) is a private university with two main campuses, LIU Post and LIU Brooklyn, in the U.S. state of New York. It offers more than 500 academic programs at its main campuses, online, and at multiple non-residential. LIU ...

Career

Professional

In 1988, he signed with the

New Jersey Eagles The New Jersey Eagles were an American soccer team founded in 1987 as the Cosmopolitan Eagles. In 1988, they entered the third American Soccer League as the New Jersey Eagles. They folded following the 1990 American Professional Soccer League sea ...

of the American Soccer League (ASL). The Eagles played their home games in historic Hinchliffe Stadium. That season he led the ASL in scoring with fourteen goals, garnering All Star honors. Acosta spent two more seasons with the Eagles, his scoring declining each year. The Eagles folded at the end of the 1990 season and Acosta moved to 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 Al ...

. However, he managed only a single goal in ten games with the Capitals. The team folded at the end of the season and Acosta moved to Colombia to pursue a career there. While with the Eagles, the St. Louis Steamers of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) drafted Acosta in the second round of the 1988 Player Draft. However, the Steamers folded before the season began and the league held a dispersal draft. The Dallas Sidekicks then selected Acosta. Acosta spent one season with the Sidekicks, scoring only five goals in thirty-seven games. The Sidekicks released Acosta at the end of the season and he returned to the Eagles for the 1989 ASL season. In 1991, he played for the

. In 1991, Acosta moved to Colombia where he joined

Deportivo Cali Asociación Deportivo Cali, best known as Deportivo Cali, is a Colombian sports club based in Cali, most notable for its football team, which currently competes in the Categoría Primera A. Deportivo Cali is one of the most successful footbal ...

. He played for Deportivo until 1995, when he returned to the United States and signed with the New York Fever of

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

. He played fifteen games and scored three goals that year. The MetroStars of

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Cana ...

(MLS) selected Acosta in the 15th round (149th overall) of the

1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft The MLS Inaugural Player Draft, held before Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United Sta ...

. However, the MetroStars waived Acosta on April 15, 1996 and he rejoined the Fever. He scored his first of five goals in the 1996 season nine days after he was released from the MetroStars.1996 APSL
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International

Acosta earned twelve

with the U.S. national team. His first cap came in a September 14, 1991 win over

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 Hispa ...

. He became a regular with the team through the rest of 1991 and into 1992. However, he was unable to score and by the end of 1992, he was dropped from the national team.

Coaching

Since retiring from playing professionally, Acosta has held various youth athletic and soccer positions including Assistant Camp Director of the

Mickey Kydes Mickey Kydes (born July 25, 1964 in Norwalk, Connecticut) is a retired American soccer midfielder who played professionally in the Major Indoor Soccer League, USISL and Major League Soccer. He also spent three seasons in Greece and several in the ...

Soccer Enterprises and the Program Director for Rec clinics at Old Greenwich Riverside Civic Center in Connecticut.

References

External links

Sidekicks profile

Mickey Kydes Soccer Enterprises
{{DEFAULTSORT:Acosta, Jorge 1964 births Colombian footballers Footballers from Barranquilla Colombian emigrants to the United States John F. Kennedy High School (Paterson, New Jersey) alumni Sportspeople from Paterson, New Jersey Association football forwards Albany Capitals players A-League (1995–2004) players Soccer players from New Jersey American Professional Soccer League players American Soccer League (1988–89) players American expatriate soccer players Dallas Sidekicks (original MISL) players Deportivo Cali footballers Hispanic and Latino American sportspeople LIU Sharks men's soccer players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players New Jersey Eagles players New York Fever players Penn-Jersey Spirit players United States men's international soccer players USL Second Division players Living people American soccer players