Jorge Alberto Rojas

For other people of the same name, see Jorge Rojas.

Jorge Rojas

Personal information
Full name	Jorge Alberto Rojas Méndez
Date of birth	January 10, 1977 (1977-01-10)
Place of birth	Mérida, Venezuela
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Playing position	Left Winger/Left Back
Club information
Current club	Deportivo Táchira
Number	13
Youth career
1994	Universidad de Los Andes
1995	Unicol
1996	Mineros de Guayana
1997	Boca Juniors
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1998–1999	Estudiantes de Mérida
1999	Universidad de Los Andes
2000–2002	Caracas FC	27	(7)
2003	Emelec	39	(2)
2004	Caracas FC	18	(4)
2004–2006	Atlético Nacional	52	(3)
2006–2007	Caracas FC	49	(10)
2007	América de Cali	22	(4)
2008	Unión Atlético Maracaibo	21	(3)
2008–2009	New York Red Bulls	32	(2)
2010-2011	Deportivo Táchira	12	(3)
2011-	Mineros de Guayana
National team‡
1999–	Venezuela	90	(3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2 November 2010. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 4 April 2009

This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is Rojas and the second or maternal family name is Méndez.

Jorge Alberto Rojas (born January 10, 1977 in Mérida) is a Venezuelan footballer. He currently plays for Atlético Club Mineros de Guayana.

Career

Club

After playing for several small clubs in Venezuela, Rojas began to establish himself as one of the nations top players while at Caracas FC. Following his successful first stint at Caracas, which included two league titles, he joined Ecuadorean power Emelec in 2003. That season, he was selected as the top foreign player in the league. Rojas than briefly returned to Caracas before joining Colombian club Atlético Nacional. While at Nacional Rojas helped the club to the 2005 Apertura Championship, and was considered one of the top players in the league.^{[citation needed]}

Following his successful stint with Nacional, Rojas returned for his third stint with Caracas FC guiding the club to back to back league titles in 2006 and 2007. At the conclusion of the 2007 campaign he returned to Colombia to play for América de Cali,while at Cali he appeared in 22 matches, notching 4 goals (3 from the penalty spot). Following the Colombian league season, Rojas was sold to Unión Atlético Maracaibo. He scored his first goal with Maracaibo in a 1-2 defeat to his former club Caracas FC. While at Maracaibo, Rojas participated in a famous 1-1 draw against Boca Juniors in the 2008 Copa Libertadores. He also led Maracaibo to the final of the Copa de Venezuela where his club would lose the series to Aragua Fútbol Club on away goals.

Rojas signed with New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer in July 2008. He had two assists in his first game for the club against the Los Angeles Galaxy on July 19, 2008. He appeared in 11 regular season matches for New York, registering 5 assists. Following the Major League Soccer season it appeared that Rojas would go loan to Mineros de Guayana during the MLS off-season, however the move never materialized. In his next season with New York Red Bulls he would score two goals. But this form he produced would only come once. At the end of the season he was cut loose and returned to Venezuela.

International

Rojas has earned 90 caps for the Venezuela national team, making him the second most capped player in the history of Venezuelan international football as of April 2009.

He made his international debut on January 27, 1999 in a friendly against Denmark. The match ended 1-1 and was played at Estadio José Pachencho Romero in Maracaibo.

International goals

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	August 18, 2005	Estadio de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas, Spain	Spain	1–1	3-2	Friendly
2.	February 3, 2008	Monumental de Maturín, Maturín, Venezuela	Haiti	1–0	1-0	Friendly
3.	August 20, 2008	José Antonio Anzoátegui, Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela	Syria	3–0	4-1	Friendly

Honors

Club

• Universidad de Los Andes Fútbol Club
  • Segunda División Venezolana (1) 1994/1995

• Caracas FC
  • Primera División Venezolana (4)

2000/2001, 2002/2003, 2005/2006, 2006/2007

• Copa de Venezuela (1) 2001

• Atlético Nacional
  • Copa Mustang (1) 2005-I

• Unión Atlético Maracaibo
  • Copa de Venezuela Runner Up 2008

• New York Red Bulls
  • MLS Cup Runner Up 2008

Statistics

League	Appearances	Goals
Primera División Venezolana	0 0 106	0 23
Fútbol Profesional Colombiano	0 0 74	0 7
Campeonato Ecuatoriano de Fútbol	0 0 39	0 2
Copa Libertadores	0 0 29	0 3
Copa de Venezuela	0 0 6	0 2
Major League Soccer	0 0 31	0 2
US Open Cup	0 0 1	0 2

External links

• MLS player profile
• National Football Teams profile
• International statistics at rsssf
• (Spanish) BDFA profile