Santiago Formoso (born July 4, 1953) is an American

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 ...

defender who spent five seasons in 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 ...

. He also earned seven

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

with the 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. He established in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

, and attended Kearny High School, graduating in 1973. He also played with Newark Beira-Mar. His father became a cook in

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

, while his mother worked in a clothing factory. His father died of cancer in 1974. After high school, Formoso attended the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

where he played on the men's soccer team. While at university, he became a U.S. citizen. In 1976, Formoso left the university and signed with the

Hartford Bicentennials The Connecticut Bicentennials were an American soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1975 to 1977. Originally founded as the Hartford Bicentennials, the team relocated to New Haven, Connecticut after the 1 ...

of the

(NASL). The team moved from Hartford to

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

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. Next, he joined the

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Indepen ...

. He spent two seasons in New York before being traded to the

Los Angeles Aztecs The Los Angeles Aztecs were an American professional soccer team based in Los Angeles, California, that existed from 1974 to 1981. The Aztecs competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1974 North American Soccer League season, 1974 ...

. However, he played only eleven games of the 1980 season before moving to the

Houston Hurricane The Houston Hurricane was a soccer team based out of Houston that played in the NASL. They played from 1978 to 1980. Their home field was the Astrodome. Their colors were orange, white and red. History The team was the last of six expansion ...

for the last ten games of that season. In 1982, he played for the Carolina Lightnin' in the American Soccer League. In 1984, he played for the Charlotte Gold in the

United Soccer League The United Soccer League (USL) is an organizer of various professional and amateur soccer leagues in the United States league system. It currently organizes its Championship, League One, and League Two for men, its Super League and W Leag ...

. With the collapse of the USL, Formoso moved north to play for

Greek American AA NY Greek American Atlas Astoria, commonly known as New York Greek American, is an American soccer team from New York City that currently plays in the Eastern Premier Soccer League and in the Cosmopolitan Soccer League. The club was formed in ...

in the

Cosmopolitan Soccer League The Cosmopolitan Soccer League is a regional soccer league consisting of semi-pro and amateur teams based in and around New York City. Established in 1923, it is one of the oldest soccer leagues in the United States and has contributed greatl ...

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 The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...

. However, two losses to Mexico in August 1975 kept the U.S. out of the Olympics. Formoso was on the American team at the

1975 Pan American Games The 1975 Pan American Games, officially known as the VII Pan American Games () and commonly known as Mexico 1975 (), were held in Mexico City, Mexico, from October 12 to October 26, 1975, exactly twenty years after the second Pan American Games ...

. Formoso earned his first of seven

with the U.S. national team on October 3, 1976. That game, a qualifier for the

1978 FIFA World Cup The 1978 FIFA World Cup was the 11th edition of the FIFA World Cup, a Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament among the men's senior national teams. It wa ...

ended in a scoreless tie with

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. 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 Puebla, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Puebla, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its capital is Puebla City. Part of east-centr ...

. Formoso then played in two friendlies with

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

before playing in the U.S. loss to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

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 China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

on October 10, 1977.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>

Honors

Formoso was inducted into the

Hudson County, New Jersey Hudson County is a county in the U.S. state of New Jersey, its smallest and most densely populated. Lying in the northeast of the state and on the west bank of the Hudson River, the North Jersey county is part of the state's Gateway Region an ...

Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.
/sup>

References

External links

NASL/MISL stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Formoso, Santiago 1953 births American men's soccer players American Soccer League (1933–1983) players Carolina Lightnin' players Buffalo Stallions players Connecticut Bicentennials players Greek American AA players Houston Hurricane players Kearny High School (New Jersey) alumni Los Angeles Aztecs players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players American people of Galician descent New York Cosmos (1970–1985) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Spanish emigrants to the United States Pan American Games footballers for the United States Footballers at the 1975 Pan American Games United States men's international soccer players Living people United Soccer League (1984–85) players Soccer players from Kearny, New Jersey Footballers from Vigo Penn Quakers men's soccer players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players Men's association football defenders Spanish men's footballers 20th-century American sportsmen 20th-century Spanish sportsmen