- Marco Rojas
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Marco Rojas Personal information Full name Marco Rodrigo Rojas[1] Date of birth 5 November 1991 Place of birth Hamilton, New Zealand Height 1.66 m (5 ft 5 1⁄2 in) Playing position Attacking Midfielder Club information Current club Melbourne Victory Number 11 Youth career Waikato FC Senior career* Years Team Apps† (Gls)† 2008–2009 Waikato FC 14 (1) 2009–2011 Wellington Phoenix 21 (2) 2011– Melbourne Victory 6 (0) National team‡ 2011– New Zealand U-20 7 (4) 2011– New Zealand 2 (0) * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22 November 2011.
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 6 June 2011Marco Rodrigo Rojas (born 5 November 1991) is a New Zealand association football player who plays as a midfielder for A-League team Melbourne Victory, and for the New Zealand national team.
Contents
Club career
Wellington Phoenix
Marco Rojas was awarded a trial with the Wellington Phoenix after winning the "Retro Ricki Youth Scholarship" from the Yellow Fever. Rojas impressed Wellington coach Ricki Herbert and put in some good performances in the Phoenixs warm up friendlies resulting in Rojas getting offered a 2 year contract with the Hyundai A-League side.
On September 13, 2009 he made his senior debut in the A-League for the Wellington Phoenix against Melbourne Victory at the age of 17, coming off the bench as a 77th minute substitution for Daniel[2] making him the second youngest player to play for the Phoenix behind Kosta Barbarouses. Rojas got his second appearance for the Phoenix when he was substituted on for Paul Ifill in the 73rd minute against Central Coast Mariners on 27 September 2009.[3]
Rojas scored his first goal on his full debut for the Phoenix on 18 December 2010 in a 4-0 victory over the Newcastle Jets. His second goal was in the 72nd minute on 5 January against Melbourne Victory helping them secure a 2-0 win at Westpac Stadium. Rojas provided the assist for Chris Greenacre's opening goal in a 3-1 win over North Queensland Fury in the Phoenix's final home game of the 2010-11 season.
On 18 February 2011, Rojas was awarded the NAB Young Player of the Month.[4]
On 22 February 2011, Rojas was awarded the Wellington Phoenix young player of the year.
On 27 February 2011, Wellington Phoenix announced that Rojas declined to sign a new contract with the club and wanted to move on.[5] Following this announcement, some media outlets claimed unofficially that Rojas had signed for Melbourne Victory,[6][7] however, officially, Melbourne coach Ernie Merrick denied this.[8] It was believed at the time that Melbourne Victory, Adelaide United and a South American club were vying for the signature of the highly rated youngster.[9][10]
Melbourne Victory
On the 11th of March 2011, Melbourne Victory ended weeks of speculation by officially confirming that they had indeed signed Rojas, securing him on a two-year deal.[11]
On 8 October 2011, Rojas made his A-League debut for Melbourne Victory in the season opener against Sydney FC.[12]
A-League Career Statistics
All-Time Club Performances Club Season 
A-LeagueFinals Series Asia Total App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals Wellington Phoenix F.C.
(A-League)2009–10 4 0 4 0 2010–11 16 2 16 2 Club Total 20 2 20 2 Career totals 20 2 20 2 Last updated 18 Feb 2011 International career
On the 8 March 2011 Rojas was called up to play to a 30 man squad for the up coming games against China and Japan for New Zealand's national team the All Whites. He made his debut as a second half substitute in the 1-1 draw with China on 25 March 2011 before he made any appearance for any other junior New Zealand sides.[13] The scheduled match against Japan was called off due to logistics and safety concerns following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. He gained his 2nd International cap against Australia, 5th May 2011 he came on as a second half substitute. Australia won the game 3-0
Rojas could still yet play for Chile as he has not played in an official FIFA tournament yet [14]
Rojas was selected for the New Zealand U-20 team to compete in the 2011 OFC U-20 Championship in April 2011 and the Suwon Cup in Korea. During the OFC U-20 championship he played in all four matches helping the Junior All Whites win the tounrment and secure qualification to the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
During the junior All White's game against Uruguay in the 2011 under-20 World Cup, Rojas contributed to the goal that put New Zealand in the lead at 54 minutes (the game finished in a 1-1 draw).
References
- ^ "List of Players — 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup". Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 10 August 2011. http://www.fifadata.com/document/FWYC/2011/pdf/FWYC_2011_SquadLists.pdf. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
- ^ Jeremy Ruane. "Reigning Champions Hold Wellington To A Draw". http://www.sportswebsoccer.com/cgi-bin/control.pl?Function=News&Option=phoenix&Item=20090914.txt. Retrieved 29 Sept 2009.
- ^ http://www.a-league.com.au/Scoreboard_HAL/0000420078/scoreboard.html
- ^ http://www.wellingtonphoenix.com/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=38992
- ^ http://www.a-league.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=39142
- ^ http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/a-league/news/1046483/Victory-snares-Phoenix-s-Rojas
- ^ http://www.foxsports.com.au/football/a-league/melbourne-victory-have-secured-18-year-old-new-zealander-marco-rojas-from-wellington-phoenix/story-e6frf4gl-1226013147029
- ^ http://www.a-league.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=39150
- ^ http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/melbourne-victory/news/1046655/Rojas-exit-has-fans-livid Rojas exit has fans livid
- ^ Worthington, Sam (2 March 2011). "Phoenix star Marco Rojas 'still open to offers'". The Dominion Post. http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/4720115/Phoenix-star-Rojas-still-open-to-offers. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
- ^ http://www.a-league.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=39311 Victory secure Rojas signing
- ^ http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/melbournevictory/news-display/Victory-take-tough-point/41616
- ^ Martin, Sean (26 March 2011). "All Whites draw with China in friendly". The Sunday Star-Times. NZPA. http://www.stuff.co.nz/sunday-star-times/sport/latest-sport/4812491/All-Whites-draw-with-China. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
- ^ New Zealand withdraw from Japan Friendly
External links
Melbourne Victory FC – current squad Categories:- 1991 births
- Living people
- New Zealand association footballers
- New Zealand international footballers
- Wellington Phoenix players
- People from Hamilton, New Zealand
- People of Chilean descent
- A-League players
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