Óscar Rojas (Costa Rican footballer)

Oscar Emilio Rojas Ruiz (born 27 April 1979 in San José)<ref>Oscar Rojas profile (Liga MX)</ref> is a Costa Rican football midfielder or forward, who last played for Municipal Grecia.

Club career

Rojas made his professional debut in 1999 for Carmelita<ref name=Nacion/> before moving abroad to play in the Primera División with La Piedad in the 2001 Invierno. He had a stint at second division Tigrillos de Nuevo León and has also played for Irapuato.

He made his return to the Primera División in 2004, joining Dorados for the 2004 Apertura. He was a mainstay in midfield with the team, starting 16 of 17 games, and scoring three goals. Rojas subsequently moved to Veracruz in summer 2005<ref>Rojas debutó con triunfo en Veracruz - Nación Template:In lang</ref> and Jaguares Chiapas in 2006. He remained with until the end of 2008, helping the club reach the playoff series twice. He left them for a brief spell at Morelia,<ref>Tico fue presentado ayer Técnico del Morelia alaba a Óscar Rojas - Nación Template:In lang</ref> then dropped into the second division to play for Mérida, Indios<ref>Oscar Rojas primer futbolista costarricense en militar con el CF Indios - La Red Noticias Template:In lang</ref> and Toros Neza before returning to Costa Rica with Herediano ahead of the 2012 Verano championship.<ref>Óscar Rojas jugará seis meses con el Herediano - Nación Template:In lang</ref>

Return to Mexico

In summer 2012, Rojas returned to La Piedad,<ref name=Nacion>Óscar Rojas regresa al futbol de México con La Piedad - Nación Template:In lang</ref> with the club being relocated to Veracruz and recalled Tiburones Rojos. His debut was postponed when Morelia, who still owed him, did not immediately agree on the transfer.<ref>Óscar Rojas está varado en México - Nación Template:In lang</ref> He left the club in summer 2013 after they told him he did not fit in their plans after winning promotion to Mexico's top tier.<ref>Óscar Rojas dejó Tiburones de Veracruz tras su ascenso en México - Nación Template:In lang</ref> After a few months out of a club, he joined another Mexican second division side, Estudiantes Altamira.<ref>Pablo Gabas jugará con los Delfines del Carmen■Óscar Rojas, por su parte, se encuentra entrenando con los Estudiantes de Altamira - Nación Template:In lang</ref>

International career

Óscar Rojas made his debut for Costa Rica in a 1–0 World Cup qualification victory over Jamaica on 11 November 2001 and earned a total of 28 caps, scoring 1 goal. He represented his country in 9 FIFA World Cup qualification matches<ref>Template:FIFA player</ref> and appeared at the 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup,<ref>CONCACAF Championship, Gold Cup 2002 - Full Details - RSSSF</ref> but missed out on the 2002 FIFA World Cup as one of the last cuts by national coach Alexandre Guimaraes. Absent from the national team for three years, he returned to the selection in 2005, first under Jorge Luis Pinto and then under the reappointed Guimaraes and he played at the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup.<ref>CONCACAF Championship, Gold Cup 2005 - Full Details - RSSSF</ref> Again, however, he was not chosen for the World Cup squad in 2006. His first international goal came against Peru national football team on 22 August 2007.

He announced his retirement from the national team on 10 April 2009.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> However, he was once again selected by Pinto for a match against Jamaica on 21 March 2012, making his return to the national team just weeks before his thirty-third birthday. His final international was a September 2012 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Mexico

International goals

Scores and results list Costa Rica's goal tally first.

Template:Tooltip	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	22 August 2007	Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá, San José, Costa Rica	Template:Fb	1–0	1–1	Friendly match

Personal life

Rojas is married to Jessica Tencio and they were expecting their fourth child in October 2014.<ref>Óscar Rojas espera su cuarto ‘chavito’ - Al Día Template:In lang</ref>

External links

• Template:NFT player
• Template:MedioTiempo
• Template:Soccerway