Matías Rojas (footballer, born 1995)

Matías Nicolás Rojas Romero (born 3 November 1995) is a Paraguayan professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami CF and the Paraguay national football team.[2]

Matías Rojas
Personal information
Full name Matías Nicolás Rojas Romero
Date of birth (1995-11-03) 3 November 1995 (age 29)
Place of birth Asunción, Paraguay[1]
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[2]
Position(s) Attacking midfielder[3]
Team information
Current team
Inter Miami
Number 7
Youth career
Cerro Porteño
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2019 Cerro Porteño 31 (2)
2017–2018Lanús (loan) 9 (0)
2018–2019Defensa y Justicia (loan) 22 (10)
2019–2023 Racing Club 61 (6)
2023–2024 Corinthians 24 (0)
2024– Inter Miami 11 (4)
International career
2019– Paraguay 21 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 30 April 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 24 June 2024

Club career

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Rojas' first club in his career was Cerro Porteño.[2][4] He made his debut for the Paraguayan Primera División club in March 2014 during a defeat to Nacional.[2] A year later, Rojas netted his first senior goal on 13 March 2015 as Cerro Porteño beat Deportivo Capiatá 3–2 at the Estadio Defensores del Chaco.[2] One further goal, against Sportivo Luqueño, followed as Rojas featured thirty-four times across 2015 and 2016.[2] On 10 January 2017, Rojas was loaned to Lanús of the Argentine Primera División.[2][5][6] He remained for seventeen months, making eighteen appearances and scoring once; in the Copa Argentina.[2]

Rojas arrived back to Cerro Porteño on 30 June 2018, but returned to Argentina on loan weeks later after agreeing to join fellow Argentine Primera División side Defensa y Justicia.[2][7][8] He scored on his first start, netting an equaliser in a 1–1 draw with Belgrano.[2] Rojas departed Cerro Porteño permanently in June 2019, staying in Argentina after signing terms with Racing Club of the Primera División.[1]

Inter Miami

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On April 23rd in 2024, Rojas transferred to Major League Soccer club Inter Miami as a free transfer. On April 27th he made his MLS debut in a 4-1 win against New England Revolution. On May 4th he scored his first two goals for Inter Miami in a thrashing 6-2 win against New York Red Bulls. He then scored against CF Montréal it resulted in a 2-3 win.

International career

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On 2 March 2019, Rojas received a call-up to the Paraguay national team from Eduardo Berizzo ahead of that month's friendlies with Peru and Mexico.[9][10] He made his debut on 22 March in the game against Peru, as a 66th-minute substitute for Cecilio Domínguez.[11] Berizzo subsequently selected Rojas in his preliminary squad for the 2019 Copa América on 13 May, before making the official tournament squad on 29 May.[12][13]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of 1 July 2019[2]
Club statistics
Club Season League Cup League Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Cerro Porteño 2014 Paraguayan Primera División 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
2015 19 2 0 0 0 0 19 2
2016 11 0 4[a] 0 0 0 15 0
2017 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2018 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2019 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 31 2 0 0 4 0 0 0 35 2
Lanús (loan) 2016–17 Argentine Primera División 0 0 1 1 4[b] 0 0 0 5 1
2017–18 9 0 1 0 3[b] 0 0 0 13 0
Total 9 0 2 1 7 0 0 0 18 1
Defensa y Justicia (loan) 2018–19 Argentine Primera División 22 10 1 0 2 0 2[a] 0 0 0 27 10
Career total 62 12 3 1 2 0 13 0 0 0 80 13
  1. ^ a b Appearance(s) in the Copa Sudamericana
  2. ^ a b Appearance(s) in the Copa Libertadores

International

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As of match played 24 June 2024[2]
National team Year Apps Goals
Paraguay 2019 7 0
2020 1 0
2021 2 0
2022 3 0
2023 5 1
2024 3 0
Total 21 1

International goals

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No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 27 March 2023 Estadio Monumental David Arellano, Santiago, Chile   Chile 1–1 2–3 Friendly

Honours

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Cerro Porteño[2]

Racing Club

Inter Miami

References

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  1. ^ a b "Matías Rojas, el primer refuerzo de la temporada". Racing Club. 11 June 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Paraguay - M. Rojas". Soccerway. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  3. ^ "Matías Rojas". World Football. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  4. ^ "Ficha Estadistica de MATIAS ROJAS". BDFA. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  5. ^ "El paraguayo Matías Rojas, nuevo jugador de Lanús". TyC Sports. 6 January 2017. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  6. ^ "Matías Rojas tuvo su primer entrenamiento en Lanús". El Gráfico. 11 January 2017. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  7. ^ "Defensa y Justicia da la bienvenida a Rojas". ABC. 12 July 2018. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  8. ^ "Matías Rojas continuará su carrera en Defensa y Justicia". D10. 12 July 2018. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  9. ^ "23 albirrojos de clubes del exterior para amistosos vs. Perú y México". APF. 2 March 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  10. ^ "Matías Rojas es convocado por Berizzo para la Selección de Paraguay". Marca. 3 March 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  11. ^ "Peru v Paraguay game report". ESPN. 22 March 2019.
  12. ^ "Los 40 elegidos por el DT Eduardo Berizzo, para integrar la lista provisional". APF. 13 May 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  13. ^ "La lista definitiva (23) de la Albirroja para la Copa América "Brasil 2019"". APF. 29 May 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  14. ^ "Racing venció a Boca en un escandaloso final y se quedó con el Trofeo de Campeones" [Racing beat Boca in controversial ending and took Champions Trophy] (in Spanish). TyC Sports. 6 November 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  15. ^ Sigal, Jonathan (2 October 2024). "Inter Miami win 2024 MLS Supporters' Shield". MLS Soccer. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
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