Jorge Espinoza (born March 11, 1953) is a Chilean retired professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who played in the Major Indoor Soccer League and National Professional Soccer League. He also coached at the high school, collegiate and professional levels including two games with the San Jose Clash of

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

in 1999.

Playing career

From 1972 to 1976, Espinoza played for

Colo Colo Colo-Colo (), officially Club Social y Deportivo Colo-Colo, is a Chilean professional football club based in Macul, Santiago. Founded in 1925 by David Arellano, it competes in the Chilean Primera División, from which the club has never been ...

, and 1978 for Universidad Católica in Chile. In 1979, he moved to the United States and signed with the

Chicago Sting The Chicago Sting (1974–1988) was an American professional soccer team representing Chicago. The Sting played in the North American Soccer League from 1975 to 1984 and in the Major Indoor Soccer League in the 1982–83 season and again from ...

of the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

. Over three seasons with the Sting, Espinoza was hampered by knee injuries and did not crack the first team. In 1981, he moved to the Memphis Americans in the Major Indoor Soccer League. He spent three seasons in Memphis before moving with the team to Las Vegas in 1984. He then played the 1984–85 MISL season with the Las Vegas Americans. The team folded at the end of the season and the Pittsburgh Spirit moved to sign Espinoza. However, the

Wichita Wings The Wichita Wings were a professional indoor soccer franchise based in Wichita, Kansas. The Wings were admitted to the Major Indoor Soccer League as an expansion team on August 21, 1979.

also claimed him. MISL commissioner Francis Dale awarded the rights to Espinoza to the Wings on September 26, 1985. In September 1986, the Wings sold Espinoza's contract to the Kansas City Comets. On June 4, 1987, the Comets released Espinoza. He then signed as a free agent with the Dallas Sidekicks on November 17, 1987. The Sidekicks released him at the end of the season. In the summer of 1987 he played in the

National Soccer League The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its ...

with

Toronto Italia The National Soccer League was a soccer league in Canada that existed from 1926 to 1997. Teams were primarily based in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The league was renamed to Canadian National Soccer League in 1993 following the folding ...

. He then moved to Canada to sign with the

North York Rockets The North York Rockets were a professional soccer team based in North York, Toronto, Ontario that competed in the original Canadian Soccer League (1987–1992), Canadian Soccer League. They were one of four teams to participate in every season of ...

of the

Canadian Soccer League The Canadian Soccer League (CSL; ) is a semi-professional league for Canadian soccer clubs primarily located in the province of Ontario, and claims the history of the Canadian National Soccer League (CNSL). It is a non-FIFA league previously ...

. He played two seasons with the Rockets, then returned to the United States in 1990 to join the Illinois Thunder of the National Professional Soccer League. He played one season with the Thunder, scoring eight goals. In January 1992, Espinoza signed with the

Milwaukee Wave The Milwaukee Wave are an American professional indoor soccer team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that competes in the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL). Founded in 1984, they have been the oldest continuously operating professional indoor footbal ...

of the NPSL. The Wave released him at the end of the season.

Coaching career

When the Kansas City Comets released Espinoza in the summer of 1987, he turned to coaching the

Palatine High School Palatine High School, or PHS, is a public four-year high school in Township High School District 211. Located at 1111 N. Rohlwing Road in Palatine, Illinois, United States, a northwest suburb of Chicago, it serves primarily all of and only those ...

boys soccer team while waiting for another team to sign him. On September 1, 1990, Rosary College hired Espinoza as head coach of the soccer team. In 1993, he moved to

Triton College Triton College is a Public college, public community college in River Grove, Illinois. History Junior College District 300 was voted into existence in a referendum in March 1964. In March 1965, a second referendum was passed approving the purch ...

. In 1994, he coached the

Rockford Raptors The Rockford Raptors were an American soccer team based in Rockford, Illinois. The team began in the USISL and moved to the USL Second Division, USISL Pro League in 1995. In 1999, the team was relegated to the Premier Development League. The ...

of the

USISL The United States Interregional Soccer League (USISL) was a semi-professional men's outdoor soccer league that played six seasons from 1989 to 1994. It was the first outdoor league to be operated by the organization known today as the United ...

. In 1995, he coached the Mexico Toros of the

Continental Indoor Soccer League The Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) was a professional indoor soccer league that played from 1993 to 1997. History In the summer of 1989 Dr Jerry Buss, the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and California Sports, told his executive Vice ...

. He coached the team to a 17-11 record. In February 1996, the Indiana Twisters of the

hired Espinoza as its head coach. Over two seasons, he took them to a 27-29 record. In 1998, the San Jose Clash hired Espinoza as an assistant coach. In 1999, the Clash fired Brian Quinn. Espinosa served as head coach for two games, both victories, before

Lothar Osiander Lothar Osiander (born November 8, 1939) is a German soccer coach who has served as head coach to the U.S. national and Olympic teams as well as the Atlanta Ruckus, Los Angeles Galaxy and San Jose Clash. Biography Osiander moved to the United ...

assumed the position of head coach. In 2004 and 2005, Espinoza served as the head coach of the

Del Mar High School Del Mar High School (DMHS) is a four-year, public secondary school established in 1959 in San Jose, California. It is part of the Campbell Union High School District, (CUHSD), the other schools in which are Branham, Leigh, Prospect, and Westm ...

girls soccer team. In May 2006, Espinoza became the head coach of the Gavilan College women's soccer team. In December 2007, he was named the head coach of the

San Jose Frogs San Jose Frogs was an American soccer team based in San Jose, California, United States. Founded in 2005, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2008, when the franchise ...

References

External links

NASL/MISL stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Espinoza, Jorge 1953 births Living people Footballers from Santiago, Chile Chilean men's footballers Chilean expatriate men's footballers Colo-Colo footballers Club Deportivo Universidad Católica footballers Chicago Sting (NASL) players Memphis Americans players Las Vegas Americans players Wichita Wings (MISL) players Kansas City Comets (1979–1991) players Toronto Italia players Dallas Sidekicks (original MISL) players North York Rockets players Illinois Thunder players Milwaukee Wave players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players Canadian Soccer League (1987–1992) players Canadian National Soccer League players Men's association football midfielders Chilean football managers Chilean expatriate football managers San Jose Earthquakes head coaches USISL coaches Continental Indoor Soccer League coaches Major League Soccer head coaches Chilean expatriate sportspeople in the United States Chilean expatriate sportspeople in Canada Chilean expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Expatriate soccer coaches in the United States Expatriate football managers in Mexico St. Louis Ambush (1992–2000) coaches 20th-century Chilean sportsmen