Roberto Rojas
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Roberto Antonio Rojas Saavedra | ||
| Date of birth | August 8, 1957 | ||
| Place of birth | Santiago, Chile | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Aviación | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1976–1982 | Aviación | ||
| 1983–1987 | Colo-Colo | 136 | (0) |
| 1987–1989 | São Paulo | 17 | (0) |
| National team | |||
| 1983–1989 | Chile | 49 | (0) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2003 | São Paulo | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Roberto Antonio "Cóndor" Rojas Saavedra (born August 8, 1957, in Santiago) is a retired Chilean football goalkeeper. In 1989 he deliberately injured himself during a World Cup qualifying match in an attempt to avoid a loss by the Chilean national team. The incident resulted in a lifetime ban for Rojas and one World Cup ban for Chile. His ban was subsequently lifted in 2001.
Rojas was born and raised in Chile. He began his career in 1976 with the Chilean club Aviación. Rojas went on to play for Colo-Colo from 1983 until 1987. With Colo-Colo, Rojas won national titles in 1983 and 1986. In 1987, after a successful performance in the Copa América 1987 championship, he transferred to Brazil's São Paulo where he remained until 1989. After his retirement he returned to São Paulo to serve as a goalkeeper coach, training Rogério Ceni. In 2003, Rojas served as interim coach and took the team to the Copa Libertadores for the first time since 1994. He is currently a goalkeeper coach for Brazilian side Sport Club do Recife.
In 1989, Rojas was in goal for Chile's 1990 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Brazil at Rio de Janeiro's Maracanã stadium. Chile, down 1–0, would be eliminated from the upcoming World Cup if they lost. Around the 70-minute mark of the match, Rojas fell to the pitch writhing and holding his forehead. A firework, thrown from the stands by a Brazilian fan named Rosenery Mello do Nascimento, was smoldering on the pitch about a yard away. It seemed that Rojas had been hit by the firework, an incident that could've had the match nullified and possibly even have had Brazil penalized by FIFA. Rojas, his head bloodied, was carried off the field; his teammates then refused to return claiming that conditions were unsafe. The match was unfinished.
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