Name Alejandro Rojas Years Team | Playing position Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | |
Full name Alejandro Gonzalez Rojas Date of birth (1955-03-03) 3 March 1955 (age 60) | ||
Place of birth Atenas, Costa Rica | ||
Alejandro González Rojas (born March 3, 1955 in Atenas) is a former Costa Rican goalkeeper who played most of his career for Alajuelense in the Primera Division de Costa Rica.
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Club career
He made his official debut on June 29, 1975, coming up as a substitute on a Alajuelense 4-0 win against Ramonense. After that González played a total of 360 official games in the Primera Division de Costa Rica. He scored his only goal on his final professional match against Uruguay which was won by Alajuelense 4-1 on September 23, 1990, shooting a penalty kick; he was later substituted by up-and-coming goalkeeper Paul Mayorga. González played one final match against Czechoslovak opposition Inter Bratislava on December 1990 on an international friendly which also served as his testimonial. González was again substituted by Mayorga fifteen minutes into the first half.
He kept a record successive clean sheets for la Liga, totalling 844 minutes in the 1982 season which stands as the club record, and is the goalkeeper with most appearances for the club with 315 . This record is not expected to last for much longer as current first choice keeper Patrick Pemberton surpassed the 300-match mark on April 2017, and as of 28 August 2017, is only ten caps away from the target.
He was part of the Alajuelense team that won league titles in the 1980, 1983–84 and 1984-85 seasons; as well as the team who won the CONCACAF Champions' Cup in 1986. González also played during the 1988 CONCACAF Champions' Cup in which Alajuelense made the semifinals against Club Olimpia. González superbly played on the first leg on Tegucigalpa and earned praise from the Honduran press. He nursed a shoulder injury during part of the second half, which caused him to miss the return leg at Alajuela. Save for this match and the final match of one of the group stages (both played by sub Desiderio Calvo), González made the starting XI on the entire CONCACAF run. He also disputed the Interamerican Cup in 1987 against CA River Plate, his performance on the first leg being fondly remembered by older Alajuelense fans.
International career
He made his debut for Costa Rica in a March 1983 friendly match against Mexico and earned a total of 13 caps. He represented his country in 5 FIFA World Cup qualification matches and was part of the team that participated in the Los Angeles Summer Olympic Games in 1984. He declined to join Costa Rica's 1990 World Cup squad after falling out with Bora Milutinovic.