Indy Eleven Adds Forward Jair Reinoso

With its third season in the North American Soccer League just days away, Indy Eleven made an addition to its attacking corps today with the signing of Colombian forward Jair Reinoso. 

Reinoso will be available for selection for “Indiana’s Team” pending receipt of his international transfer certificate (ITC), which is expected to come in advance of the team’s NASL Spring Season opener this Saturday, April 2, at the Tampa Bay Rowdies. Reinoso possesses a United States Green Card and will therefore not occupy one of the roster’s seven allotted international player spots.

Indy Eleven today also announced the release of three players – defender Stephen DeRoux, midfielder Dragan Stojkov, and forward Dino Williams. Today’s transactions puts Indy Eleven’s roster at 21 players in advance of Saturday’s season opener.

“We are pleased to add a player of this caliber this close to the start of the season," Indy Eleven head coach Tim Hankinson said. "Jair will add a new dimension to the squad, providing another attacking option that is stylistically quite different from what we currently have. His track record is that of a proper goalscorer who can isolate a defender one-on-one and use his technical ability to beat players and go to goal.”

Born in Cali, Colombia, Reinoso would begin his soccer tutelage in the youth system of his hometown team and then-powerhouse side America de Cali in the mid-90s before moving to Florida as a teenager. He would head back to South America to start his professional career, cutting his teeth in the reserve system of three Argentine clubs, including standout side River Plate, before making his first team debut with the most successful team in Bolivian soccer, Club Bolivar, in 2008.

Since then, the 30-year-old striker has scored 79 goals in 185 games while representing clubs in South America and Asia, including another legendary Bolivian team, The Strongest; Colombian first division regulars Once Caldas and Cucuta Deportivo; and, most recently, Chinese League One squad Zhejiang Yiteng. Reinoso has contributed to a pair of title-winning sides, helping Club Bolivar and The Strongest to Apertura (Opening) Season victories in 2009 and 2013, respectively, and also tallied five times in 14 games during play in the prestigious Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana international competitions.

Stojkov was the only player of the three released today that suited up for Indy Eleven, notching two assists while starting 18 of his 21 appearances in NASL play in 2015. DeRoux and Williams were both signed in February, but the former players at previous stops under Hankinson suffered injuries that will sideline both for significant time, putting their 2016 seasons in jeopardy.

“A roster is always a work in progress until you feel you have all the pieces that you need to win games, and parting ways with good players and teammates like Dragan Stojkov, Stephen DeRoux, and Dino Williams is a part of that process,” Hankinson said. “Stephen and Dino were the unfortunate recipients of long-term injuries, forcing us to search for different options at their positions. In Dragan’s case, he’s a very solid professional that carries a lot of good attributes, but he also occupies an international slot. Having the flexibility to pick up an international player to improve the roster is crucial as we get into the season, and unfortunately it was Dragan that had to be sacrificed in this instance.”