Santiago Formoso

Santiago Formoso (born July 4, 1953) is an American soccer defender who spent five seasons in the North American Soccer League. He also earned seven caps 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, In 1984, he played for the Charlotte Gold in the United Soccer League. With the collapse of the USL, Formoso moved north to play for Greek American AA in the Cosmopolitan Soccer League.

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 1975 Pan American Games.

Formoso earned his first of seven caps with the 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. 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. Formoso then played in two friendlies with Haiti before playing in the U.S. loss to 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 on October 10, 1977.

After retirement MetroStars Formoso was also a part of the MetroStars marketing department from at least 1988 until his firing in 2001.

Honors Formoso was inducted into the Hudson County, New Jersey Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.