For students all throughout the school, lunch time can’t come fast enough. It’s a time to relax, talk to friends, and sometimes finish up some last-minute homework. Adding to the daily LHS dining experience is the familiar face of the exuberant cashier who students have come to know and love, Manny.

Manuel Rojas, born in Santiago, Chile, in 1954, grew up with the game of soccer all around him. Rojas was a part of a big family in Chile that consisted of six older siblings: four brothers and two sisters.

“Life was good, I was always around the sport and grew up in a neighborhood where the only thing you could do was play soccer. We never had football or baseball, and tennis, as well as golf, was for a talented select few,” Rojas stated.

At the age of 12, Rojas tried out for the Junior Professional Team First Division Club Palestino and his soccer career took flight. From there, he took all of the steps necessary in order to train with the Chilean national team when he was 16.

“I had the skills, even at how young I was. I was mature in the game, and I started to play professionally at 17 years old,” Rojas mentioned.

At 19 years old, Rojas traveled to Mexico to play with the Mexican Club America for the 1975 season. It was at that point where Rojas got to show off his skills to the coaches of the Chilean National Team. Rojas started his professional playing career in 1976 with Chile, and after the 1982 World Cup, he stopped playing for the national team. The 1982 World Cup took place in Spain and was like that of an American Super Bowl, according to Rojas.

“You see the best players in the world, and, at that time, [there were] 24 national teams, and you would see the best. Just to be there … it was a gift,” he said.

In the first game of the tournament, Rojas saw action in the 71st minute of the 90-minute contest as a midfielder substitute against Austria. Unfortunately, Chile didn’t have much success in the tournament as they were matched up with three tough opponents. Chile ended up losing to Germany, Austria, and Algeria. Ultimately, Germany faced off against Italy in the final. Italy would end up winning the World Cup.

After the tournament, Rojas returned to Chile and signed to play for the club team Universidad Catolica for about four months. In 1983, Rojas took his wife, two kids, and his soccer career to the United States.

“I got a call from someone in the United States to play in Tampa. I was glad to come into this country. I played two years for Tampa, and, after 1984, I came to Chicago,” he said.

The first team Rojas played for in America was the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the North American Soccer League (NASL). During the first year of his two-year stint with the team, Rojas scored nine goals in 29 appearances, which was a team-high for most goals scored that season.

After Rojas was released by the Rowdies in 1984, he was sent to the Chicago Sting, where he had tremendous success.

“Chicago Sting was something very special for me because after the World Cup, we didn’t meet expectations. I was a little bit down to keep playing in Chile, and I had the chance to come into this country with the Chicago Sting. We won the championship in the first year I was here and that brought me up and made me keep playing,” Rojas said.

During the 1984 NASL playoffs, Rojas scored two crucial goals for the Sting. In a semifinal game, Rojas  scored a goal against the Vancouver Whitecaps in the 51st minute  for a 2-1 victory and advanced his team to the championship series against the Toronto Blizzard. In the first game of the best-of-three series, the Sting and Blizzard were tied at 1 with the game coming to an end. In the 86th minute, Rojas found the back of the net to give his squad the win. The Sting would go onto to win the championship in game two if the series.

After the 1984 season with the Sting, the NASL folded, and the team was moved to the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). Rojas played for the Sting until the 1997-1988 season when the team folded and became the Chicago Power.

“I also won [a] championship with them (Chicago Power). It was very fun. A fun career with playing in Chicago the second time in my life. When you win championships, everybody is happy. The experience was great,” he said.

Eventually, Rojas crossed paths with current LHS P.E. teacher, Mr. Scott Schinto, at a soccer facility he ran in Palatine.

“Manny was a great player who had incredible vision and touch. He was amazing to watch,” Mr. Schinto stated.

At the time, Mr. Schinto was the head coach of the boys and girls soccer teams at LHS and Rojas had just started working in the cafeteria. It was a “perfect fit,” according to Mr. Schinto.

“I used to coach where he worked, and one time I said I wanted to coach and came to LHS,” Rojas informed.

Rojas coached soccer at LHS for two years before Vernon Hills opened. He then moved there from 2000 to 2007 and coached soccer before moving to the club level.

After coaching at the high school ranks, Rojas went on to coach the Chicago Soul of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) for a part of the 2012 season. Unfortunately the economic situation was poor with the Soul.

“There were problems with players’ and coaches’ pay, and it was better to come back to my quiet life. I said to myself, ‘why don’t I come back to LHS?’ I saw the cafeteria, and that’s how I got to where I am now.”

Rojas now is coaching younger children ages  8-11 around the area. Outside of coaching, Rojas enjoys spending time with his family and playing golf. 

“It’s fun. It’s good to give what you gave for your life and give a little to the kids and make them better,” he said.