Hernan "Chico" Borja

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Personal information
Chico Borja
Full name	Hernan Borja
Date of birth	August 24, 1959 (age 47)
Place of birth	Quito, Equador
Nickname	Chico
Playing position	Midfielder / Forward
Club information
Current club	Retired
Youth clubs
1977-1980	New Jersey Institute of Technology
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1981-1982 1983 1984 1984-1985 1985-1987 1987-1988 1988-1992 1989-1990	New York Cosmos Team America New York Cosmos Las Vegas Americans Wichita Wings Los Angeles Lazers Wichita Wings → Albany Capitals (loan)	048 (12) 017 0(3) 018 0(5) 083 (84) 051 (48) 119 (90)
National team
1982-1988	United States	11 (3)
Teams managed
1994 1995 ?-1998	Houston Hotshots Houston Force Rockhurst University
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. * Appearances (Goals)

Hernan “Chico” Borja is a retired U.S.-Ecuadorian soccer player and current soccer coach.

Borja was born in Quito, Ecuador on August 24, 1959. His family immigrated to the United States where he attended the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), where Borja played on the men's soccer team. NJIT plays in the NCAA Division III. In 1980, his senior year, Borja was selected as a Division III First Team, All American, the first NJIT men’s soccer player to be named an All American. He finished his career with multiple entries in the NCAA record books for both single game and season scoring.

Borja began his professional career as a midfield winger with the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League in 1981. In his first two years with the team, he played in two NASL championship games, losing the first and winning the second in 1982.

In 1983, the U.S. Soccer Federation, in coordination with the NASL, entered the U.S. national team, known as Team America, into the NASL as a league franchise. The team drew on U.S. citizens playing in the NASL, Major Indoor Soccer League and American Soccer League. Borja left the Cosmos and signed with Team America. When Team America finished the 1983 season with a 10-20 record, the worst in the NASL, USSF withdrew the team from the league. Borja returned to the Cosmos for the 1984 season. Although the Cosmos failed dismally, not making the playoffs, Borja play earned him a place on the NASL North American all star team that year. He finished his NASL career with 83 games, 20 goals and 24 assists. One of his scoring highlights came in a 1984 Cosmos 3-2 victory over Argentinos Juniors.

After the Cosmos folded, Borja joined the Las Vegas Americans of Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). He played a single season with the team before it was expelled from the league on July 17, 1985.

From Las Vegas, Borja, moved to the Wichita Wings for two seasons, 1986-1987 and 1987-1988 before his transfer to the Los Angeles Lazers. He was with L.A. for a single season, then returned to Wichita, with whom he remained until his retirement in 1992. He was named the MISL Pass Master (season assist leader) for the 1988-1989 season. In 1989 and 1990, Borja played on loan during the summer with the Albany Capitals of the American Soccer League.

Borja retired from the MISL eighth on the career points list (612 points) and fourth on the career assists list (338 assists). Throughout his indoor career, he was a constant scoring threat. However, he was also noted for his lack of reluctance to get physical which led to numerous penalties.

Borja began playing for the United States men's national soccer team in 1982. He finished his playing career with eleven caps and three goals. In 1984, he played all three U.S. games at the Olympics. While the U.S. fielded its full international team, these games do not count as national team games as FIFA did not recognize them as full internationals. Later that year, Borja played in a single qualification match for the 1986 FIFA World Cup. In 1985, he played in two more World Cup qualification matches, scoring a goal in a 2-1 U.S. victory over Trinidad & Tobago. He finished his national team career in a May 18, 1985 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Trinidad & Tobago.

While Borja retired from professional soccer in 1992, that year he played for the U.S. Futsal team which won the silver medal at the World Championship. Borja was selected to the tournament first team. He continued to play on the U.S. Futsal team until 1995, scoring a total of 9 goals, placing him in the top ten list of U.S. futsal players.

After retiring from playing, Borja joined the coaching ranks. He coached the Houston Hotshots of the Continental Indoor Soccer League in 1994 and the Houston Force for their one competitive game in 1995. The Force folded after that single game. He also coached high school girls’ soccer in Houston. He is currently on the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) National Staff and coached the Renegade Elite in Florida. He also coaches boy’s soccer and girl’s and boy’s golf at Coral Glades High School in Coral Springs, Florida.

In 1989 the New Jersey Institute of Technology inducted Borja, a 1981 graduate, into its Hall of Fame.