Name: Roberto Antonio Rojas Saavedra

Nickname: "Cóndor"



Country: Chile
Club: Colo-Colo / São Paulo
Shirt Number: 1
Position: ★GK
Side: RF/BS
Age: 29-32 years (08/08/1957)

Height: 178 cm
Weight: 75 kg

Attack: 30
Defence: 89
Balance: 81
Stamina: 66
Top Speed: 72
Acceleration: 73
Response: 96
Agility: 83
Dribble Accuracy: 52
Dribble Speed: 56
Short Pass Accuracy: 60
Short Pass Speed: 57
Long Pass Accuracy: 63
Long Pass Speed: 60
Shot Accuracy: 44
Shot Power: 78
Shot Technique: 44
Free Kick Accuracy: 45
Swerve: 47
Heading: 50
Jump: 88
Technique: 55
Aggression: 64
Mentality: 80
Goalkeeper Skills: 85
Team work: 75

Injury Tolerance: A
Condition/Fitness: 6
Weak Foot Accuracy: 4
Weak Foot Frequency: 4
Consistency: 6
Growth type: Standard

CARDS:
S12 - 1-On-1 Keeper

SPECIAL ABILITIES: 1-On-1 Stopper

Attack/Defence Awareness Card: Defence-Minded

INFO:
Roberto Rojas is a retired Chilean footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Born in Providencia, Santiago (08/08/1957), he joined the youth category of what was his first team, Deportes Aviación, in 1975, and at sixteen years old, he had the opportunity to debut as a professional. After Aviación dissolved in 1981 and being rejected by Universidad de Chile (who claimed to have the position covered by Jaime Tejeda), Rojas had significant stints with Colo-Colo and São Paulo F.C. By the late 1980s, his physical and mental agility, along with his elasticity and vision of the game, elevated him to incredible heights in goalkeeping, making spectacular saves and directing the defense, sharing leadership with central defender Fernando Astengo. Rojas began to stand out as one of the best goalkeepers globally. His fame grew, and speculations about interest from major clubs like Atlético Madrid and Real Madrid of Spain began. During this time, Belgian goalkeeper Michel Preud'homme considered the best goalkeeper in Europe, said on more than one occasion, "(Roberto) Rojas is even better than me." After his outstanding performance in the 1987 Copa América, he was transferred to São Paulo in Brazil for three hundred thousand dollars, where he played until 1989, the year he was banned for life by FIFA due to the controversial "Maracanazo de Chile." He was part of Chile's youth teams during the 1970s but was first nominated by the Chilean senior team in 1982. After a dispute over the starting position with Marco Cornez, he firmly established himself as Chile's goalkeeper in 1983. In the national team's goal, he delivered the best performances of his career in the qualifiers for Mexico 86, the 1987 Copa América, and the Italy 90 qualifiers. He was the goalkeeper, captain, and standout figure of the Chilean team that was runner-up in the 1987 Copa América held in Argentina, with his performance particularly highlighted in Chile's 4-0 victory over Brazil. His last professional match was in the controversial Brazil vs. Chile game in the final round of the 1990 World Cup qualifiers.

Rojas is arguably the best Chilean goalkeeper of all time, alongside Sergio Livingstone and Claudio Bravo, although unfortunately, he was tainted by fans due to his dishonorable performance in the Maracanazo that ended up leaving Chile out of 2 World Cups. La Roja played their return match against Brazil in a qualifier for the Italy 90 World Cup. With tensions already high from the first leg in Santiago, which even led Chile to lose their home advantage and face Venezuela at home in Mendoza, they reached the final match. Brazil only needed a draw to qualify for the World Cup, while Chile needed a win because Brazil had a better goal difference. When Chile was losing 1-0, and taking advantage of a flare being thrown, Rojas cut himself on the face to simulate an attack by Brazilian fans. This led to the suspension of the match, as Chile, led by second captain Fernando Astengo, left the field due to a "lack of guarantees." After a brief investigation by both FIFA and CONMEBOL, it was confirmed that Rojas had lied, and it was all part of a conspiracy by the Chilean football team and its officials to force a third match on neutral ground. After the fraud attempt was proven, Rojas was banned from football for life (a punishment he was pardoned from in 2001) at forty-four years of age. FIFA also disqualified the national team from the 1994 World Cup in the United States. After the sentence, Rojas eventually confessed to the Chilean newspaper La Tercera on May 25, 1990. The goalkeeper stated that it had all started as a joke by Orlando Aravena, and the plan had been devised with the help of Fernando Astengo and Alejandro Koch. After his confession, Rojas faced difficult years in Chile, where he underwent social scrutiny and struggled to find work, eventually moving to Brazil to serve as São Paulo's goalkeeper coach, thanks to Telê Santana.

I know nothing about him but with those stats he is much better than Bravo and Livingstone, that are the two chilean keepers in the all stars Chile team of this forum, if those stats are realistic he must be the main keeper in the national all stars hands down

I think most people would agree that he’s the best Chilean goalkeeper ever, he was a fantastic player, but it’s difficult to keep him in Chile All Stars when he “betrayed” his country like that.

I agree with Stuart. In my opinion, Roberto Rojas is by far the best Chilean goalkeeper in terms of skill, and one of the best also at the South American level, at least from the 80s onwards. Now, while it is true that Roberto Rojas had exceptional goalkeeping abilities, his career was overshadowed by the "Maracanazo" scandal, and that undoubtedly affected his legacy. Sergio Livingstone revolutionized the goalkeeper position in Chile and across the continent, he was always considered the best Chilean goalkeeper of all time, and Bravo is undoubtedly the most important goalkeeper in the history of the Chilean national team, so I believe that in an All-Star Team, it would be most prudent to rank Roberto Rojas in third place, but that doesn't diminish his (very) impressive skills.

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