But that happened on Friday when the Junior All Whites lost 1-0 to Portugal – a result that later proved enough to eliminate them from the FIFA U-20 World Cup – as Rojas came up against Rui Caetano, a fellow skilful yet diminutive player.
Both have played distinguished roles in their teams’ performances despite being dwarfed by some of the towering defenders on duty at the tournament. While Rojas stands 5’6 tall, Caetano is only 5’4, but both say the fact that they usually have to look up to their opponents does not mean they don’t know how to get the better of them.
Hailing from a country famed for its rugby-playing giants, Kiwi Rojas reckons he does not have a problem with his height.
“It’s never been an issue for me,” he says. “To my mind it’s not the most important thing in football and there are countless examples of small players who’ve had a lot of success, like Lionel Messi.”
The 19-year-old has another role model aside from the Argentinian wizard – new Barcelona signing Alexis Sanchez, who stands only an inch taller than him at 5’7. And like Sanchez, Rojas also has Chilean blood coursing through his veins, courtesy of his father, though his allegiance lies with his mother’s homeland, where he was born and brought up.
“Half of my family is from Chile and the other half from New Zealand,” he explains. “I made the decision to play here because that’s where I feel most comfortable, though I’ve never forgotten my roots. I speak Spanish and I like the country.”
While U-20 coach Chris Milicich has made Rojas one of his midfield linchpins, the young gun has also battled his way into the senior team reckoning and impressed in his first two appearances earlier this year against China and Australia.
“It was a great experience for me and an honour to be one of the players selected,” the former Hamilton Wanderers and Wellington Phoenix player says. “I hope I can keep it going.”
Caetano, whose Portugal side face Guatemala in the Round of 16 on Tuesday, says he has no problem with his lack of height either.
“There’s nothing I can do about it,” he says. “My mum and dad are both short so I was never going to be tall myself. If I had been, then my dad wouldn’t be my dad.”
Though he can joke about it now, Caetano did initially struggle to make his way in the game. Fortunately for him, Porto recognised his talent at the age of 12 and over the next six years he would hone his skills with the Portuguese giants before making the move to domestic rivals Pacos de Ferreira, where he will remain for at least the next year of his career.
A fan of pint-sized geniuses Diego Maradona and Messi, the 20-year-old is determined to keep on working hard at his game.
“I always focus a lot on mobility and speed, and I’ve always given 100 per cent on the pitch,” he says, adding that he does not see any special need to improve his heading skills. “I leave that to the big guys. I don’t need to get into the box.”
Story courtesy of FIFA.com.
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