{{short description|American soccer defender|bot=PearBOT 5}} {{Infobox football biography | name= Santiago Formoso | image = | fullname = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1953|7|4}} | birth_place = [[Vigo]], [[Francoist Spain|Spain]] | height = {{height|ft=5|in=9}} | position = [[Defender (association football)|Defender]] | youthyears1 = 1965–1969 | youthclubs1 = [[UD Santa Mariña|Santa Mariña]] | collegeyears1 = 1974 | college1 = [[Penn Quakers men's soccer|Penn Quakers]] | years1 = 1976 | years2 = 1977 | years3 = 1978–1979 | years4 = 1980 | years5 = 1980 | years6 = 1981–1982 | years7 = 1982–1983 | years8 = 1984 | years9 = 1985 | clubs1 = [[Hartford Bicentennials]] | clubs2 = [[Connecticut Bicentennials]] | clubs3 = [[New York Cosmos (1971–1985)|New York Cosmos]] | clubs4 = [[Los Angeles Aztecs]] | clubs5 = [[Houston Hurricane]] | clubs6 = [[Buffalo Stallions]] ''(indoor)'' | clubs7 = [[Carolina Lightnin']] | clubs8 = [[Charlotte Gold]] | clubs9 = [[Greek American AA]] | caps1 = 24 | caps2 = 25 | caps3 = 43 | caps4 = 11 | caps5 = 10 | caps6 = 5 | goals1 = 0 | goals2 = 1 | goals3 = 2 | goals4 = 0 | goals5 = 0 | goals6 = 0 | nationalyears1 = 1976–1977 | nationalteam1 = [[United States men's national soccer team|United States]] | nationalcaps1 = 7 | nationalgoals1 = 0 }} '''Santiago Formoso''' (born July 4, 1953) is an American [[soccer]] [[Defender (association football)|defender]] who spent five seasons in the [[North American Soccer League (1968-1984)|North American Soccer League]]. He also earned seven [[cap (sports)|caps]] with the [[United States men's national soccer team|U.S. national team]] in 1976 and 1977.
==Club career== Santiago Formoso was born in Vigo, Spain, 1953. He emigrated to the United States in 1969, following his father, a merchant seaman.<ref name="El País">{{cite news | url=http://deportes.elpais.com/deportes/2013/03/24/actualidad/1364141374_408498.html | title=Yo jugué en un equipo de monstruos | first=Cayetano | last=Ros | language=Spanish | date=24 March 2013 | publisher=[[El País (Spain)|El País]]}}</ref> He established in [[Newark, New Jersey]],<ref name="El País" /> and attended [[Kearny High School (New Jersey)|Kearny High School]], graduating in 1973. He also played with Newark Beira-Mar. His father became a cook in [[Long Island]], while his mother worked in a clothing factory. His father died of cancer in 1974.<ref name="El País" />
After high school, Formoso attended the [[University of Pennsylvania]] where he played on the men's soccer team. While at university, he became a U.S. citizen. In 1976, Formoso left the university<ref name="El País" /> and signed with the [[Hartford Bicentennials]] of the [[North American Soccer League (1968-1984)|North American Soccer League]] (NASL). The team moved from Hartford to [[New Haven, Connecticut]] between the 1976 and 1977 seasons, making a name change with the move. At the end of the 1977 season, the Bicentennials relocated to Oakland, California and Formoso decided to terminate his contract to remain close to his mother.<ref name="El País" /> Next, he joined the [[New York Cosmos (1971–1985)|New York Cosmos]]. He spent two seasons in New York before being traded to the [[Los Angeles Aztecs]]. However, he played only eleven games of the 1980 season before moving to the [[Houston Hurricane]] for the last ten games of that season. In 1982, he played for the [[Carolina Lightnin']] in the [[American Soccer League (1933-1983)|American Soccer League]].<ref>''Slickers Win Again, 3–2 Victory Avenges Earlier Loss to Carolina'' The Daily Oklahoman – Monday, August 2, 1982</ref> In 1984, he played for the [[Charlotte Gold]] in the [[United Soccer League (1984–85)|United Soccer League]]. With the collapse of the USL, Formoso moved north to play for [[Greek American AA]] in the [[Cosmopolitan Soccer League]].<ref>''U.S. SOCCER TEAM EARNS 2–1 VICTORY'' The Record (New Jersey) – Monday, April 22, 1985</ref>
==International career== In 1975, while at the university, Formoso was called into the U.S. Olympic soccer team as it ran through the qualification campaign for the [[1976 Summer Olympics]]. However, two losses to Mexico in August 1975 kept the U.S. out of the Olympics. Formoso was on the American team at the [[Football at the 1975 Pan American Games|1975 Pan American Games]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesp/panam75det.html|title=Pan-American Games 1975 (Mexico) – Match Details|date= |website=[[RSSSF]]|accessdate=2020-04-26}}</ref>
Formoso earned his first of seven [[cap (sports)|caps]] with the [[United States men's national soccer team|U.S. national team]] on October 3, 1976. That game, a qualifier for the [[1978 FIFA World Cup]] ended in a scoreless tie with [[Mexico national football team|Mexico]]. Formoso's next game with the national team did not end so well when the U.S. lost 3–0 twelve days later to Mexico in [[Puebla (city)|Puebla]]. Formoso then played in two friendlies with [[Haiti national football team|Haiti]] before playing in the U.S. loss to [[Canada national men's soccer team|Canada]] on December 22, 1976, which bumped the U.S. from contention for the World Cup finals. Formoso played two games in 1977, his last was a 1–0 victory over [[China national football team|China]] on October 10, 1977.<ref>[https://www.rsssf.org/tablesu/usa-intres-det70.html USA – Details of International Matches 1970–1979]</ref>
==After retirement== ===MetroStars=== Formoso was also a part of the [[MetroStars]] marketing department from at least 1988 until his firing in 2001.<sup>[https://web.archive.org/web/20071021231404/http://lmtonline.com/sports/archive/120898/pageb2.pdf]</sup>
==Honors== Formoso was inducted into the [[Hudson County, New Jersey]] Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.<sup>[http://www.hciaa.com/hall_of_fame.html]</sup>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [http://www.nasljerseys.com/Players/F/Formoso.Santiago.htm NASL/MISL stats]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Formoso, Santiago}} [[Category:1953 births]] [[Category:American men's soccer players]] [[Category:American Soccer League (1933–1983) players]] [[Category:Carolina Lightnin' players]] [[Category:Buffalo Stallions players]] [[Category:Connecticut Bicentennials players]] [[Category:Greek American AA players]] [[Category:Houston Hurricane players]] [[Category:Kearny High School (New Jersey) alumni]] [[Category:Los Angeles Aztecs players]] [[Category:Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players]] [[Category:American people of Galician descent]] [[Category:New York Cosmos (1970–1985) players]] [[Category:North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players]] [[Category:Spanish emigrants to the United States]] [[Category:Pan American Games footballers for the United States]] [[Category:Footballers at the 1975 Pan American Games]] [[Category:United States men's international soccer players]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:United Soccer League (1984–85) players]] [[Category:Soccer players from Kearny, New Jersey]] [[Category:Footballers from Vigo]] [[Category:Penn Quakers men's soccer players]] [[Category:North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players]] [[Category:Men's association football defenders]] [[Category:Spanish men's footballers]] [[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]] [[Category:20th-century Spanish sportsmen]]