María José Rojas facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
María José Rojas

Rojas with Chile in 2019
Personal information
Full name	María José Alondra Rojas Pino
Date of birth	(1987-12-17) 17 December 1987 (age 37)
Place of birth	Santiago, Chile
Height	1.63 m (5 ft 4 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Flinders United
College career
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2010–2012	UTSA Roadrunners	58	(18)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2003–2009	Universidad de Chile	23	(63)
2014	Gulf Coast Texans		(5)
2014	Herforder SV	4	(2)
2015–2017	Adelaide University		(65)
2017	Gintra Universitetas	2	(0)
2018	Orca Kamogawa		(1)
2018	Canberra United	8	(1)
2019	Slavia Praha	2	(0)
2019	Santiago Morning	6	(9)
2020	Salisbury Inter	14	(24)
2020–2021	Adelaide United	12	(1)
2021–2022	Sydney FC	11	(5)
2022	Salisbury Inter	9	(14)
2022	Apollon Ladies	8	(7)
2022–2023	Melbourne City	11	(5)
2023	Flinders United
2023–2024	Canberra United	13	(0)
2024	Santiago Morning	21	(10)
2025–	Flinders United
International career‡
2006	Chile U20		(2)
2011–	Chile	57	(12)
Medal record Women's football Representing  Chile South American Games Silver 2014 Santiago Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 9 August 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17 November 2022

María José Alondra Rojas Pino (born 17 December 1987), also known as Cote Rojas, is a professional footballer. She plays as a forward for Flinders United in Australia. Cote is a very important player for the Chilean national team, called La Roja. She has scored 11 goals in 44 international games.

Cote Rojas was the first female player from Chile to sign a contract to play football in another country. This helped many other Chilean players, like Tianne Endler and Yanara Aedo, to play professionally around the world. Cote has played in many countries, including Germany, the United States, Japan, Lithuania, Czech Republic, and Australia. This has made her a very experienced and skilled player.

People often compare her playing style to famous male Chilean players like Alexis Sánchez and Arturo Vidal. They say she has the "impetus of Arturo, the technique of the wonder child and the grip of the Pitbull." FIFA.com described her as a player who brings "character, experience and a goalscoring threat." She is known for her speed, great touch, and dribbling skills.

Cote Rojas has played in big tournaments like the 2019 Women's World Cup. She also played in the Champions League with Gintra SK in 2018 and Slavia Praha in 2019. She is known for performing well under pressure. She helped UTSA Roadrunners win their first championship in the US. She also helped Santiago Morning win their second championship in 2019, scoring 6 goals in 5 games. Santiago Morning also reached the quarter-finals of the 2019 Copa Libertadores, where Cote scored three goals in one game.

In Australia, Cote Rojas has played for Canberra United in the W-League. The Australian Government even gave her a special visa for talented people to play and help develop football there. She became an Australian citizen in 2025. Many see her as a role model for young players who dream of playing football on the world stage.

In the 2022/23 season, María José Rojas won the A-Leagues Fan Player of the Year award for her great performance with Melbourne City. She scored 5 goals in 11 matches, and fans voted for her to receive this honor. Cote Rojas is also a strong supporter of women's rights. She often speaks to the media about issues that affect women's football.

Playing for Clubs

Cote Rojas has played in top football leagues in many countries. These include Chile, Germany, the United States, Lithuania, Japan, and Australia.

In 2019, she played for SK Slavia Praha in the Czech Republic and for Santiago Morning in Chile. Santiago Morning won the Chilean premier division in 2018 and 2019.

Cote joined Canberra United for the 2018-19 W-League season. She also played two seasons in the South Australian WNPL, scoring 65 goals and winning two "golden boot" awards for being the top scorer. In 2008, she scored an amazing 63 goals in 23 matches for her club, Universidad de Chile, becoming the Goalscorer of the Year.

In 2020, Rojas played for Salisbury Inter in the 2020 Women's NPL. She scored 27 goals in 18 matches and won the Shirley Brown Medal as the WNPL Player of the Year. Later that year, she joined Adelaide United in the W-League.

In September 2021, Rojas moved to Sydney FC. In August 2022, she joined the Cypriot club Apollon Ladies.

In November 2022, Rojas returned to Australia to play for Melbourne City. In May 2023, she joined Flinders United in South Australia.

In September 2023, it was announced that Rojas would return to Canberra United. In March 2024, she left Canberra United to play for Santiago Morning in Chile again. In January 2025, Rojas returned to Australia and rejoined Flinders United.

Playing for Her Country

Cote Rojas has had a successful international career playing for Chile.

She was part of the Chile team that won the silver medal at the 2014 South American Games. She also scored two goals at the 2018 Copa América Femenina. These goals helped Chile qualify for the FIFA Women's World Cup for the first time ever!

For the 2019 Women's World Cup, Rojas was named the 'Player to Watch' for Chile. She was the highest-scoring player in the squad and seen as one of Chile's most dangerous attackers.

International Goals for Chile

Here are some of the goals Cote Rojas has scored for the Chilean national team:

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	22 October 2011	Estadio Omnilife, Zapopan, Mexico	Trinidad and Tobago	3–0	3–0	2011 Pan American Games
2	10 April 2018	Estadio La Portada, La Serena, Chile	Uruguay	1–0	1–0	2018 Copa América Femenina
3	12 April 2018		Peru	5–0	5–0

Awards and Achievements

Chile National Team

• South American Games Silver medal: 2014
• Copa América Silver medal: 2018

See also

In Spanish: María José Rojas para niños