Rodolfo Zelaya

Rodolfo Antonio Zelaya García (born July 3, 1988 in Usulután) is a Salvadoran professional footballer who plays for Mexican club Celaya F.C. and the El Salvador national team.[1][2][3][4][5]

Rodolfo Zelaya

Zelaya training with Alianza in January 2011
Personal information
Full name	Rodolfo Antonio Zelaya García
Date of birth	(1988-07-03) July 3, 1988
Place of birth	Usulután, El Salvador
Height	1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position(s)	Second striker
Club information
Current team	Celaya
Number	22
Youth career
2001	CD Alacrán
2004	San Rafael
2004–2005	Atlético La Merced
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2005–2007	Intipucá	31	(19)
2008	CD Chalatenango	17	(8)
2008–2009	Alianza FC	29	(18)
2009–2010	León	10	(1)
2010–2018	Alianza FC	227	(112)
2011	→ Alania Vladikavkaz (loan)	13	(3)
2013	→ Alania Vladikavkaz (loan)	3	(0)
2019	Los Angeles FC	4	(1)
2019	→ Las Vegas Lights (loan)	2	(0)
2020–	Celaya	2	(1)
National team^‡
2008–	El Salvador	52	(23)
Honours Alianza F.C. Winner Clausura 2011 Winner Apertura 2015 Runner-up Apertura 2010
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20:05, 11 February 2020 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 23:39, 12 October 2019 (UTC)

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Zelaya and the second or maternal family name is García.

In October 2013, Zelaya was given a one-year ban from football for his involvement in a match-fixing scandal with the El Salvador national team.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12]

Club career

San Rafael

Zelaya started his career playing for San Rafael in 2004, where he played for one year. The following season, he moved to Atlético La Merced.

In July 2006, both Zelaya and Rúsvel Saravia were offered contracts to play for one of El Salvadors biggest clubs, Águila. Unfortunately for both Zelaya and Saravia, they could not come to terms with the club over their proposed salaries, and as a result, the transfer fell through.

Intipucá

Zelaya then moved on to play in Segunda División with Intipucá. After 2 years with the club, Zelaya caught the attention of Chalatenango coach Vladan Vićević.

Chalatenango

After meeting with Vićević, Zelaya was offered, and accepted a contract to play with his first Primera División club Chalatenango. Zelaya went on to impress in his first season with the club and grew a fan base with both spectators and reporters for being one of El Salvador's most promising young strikers.

Chalatenango finished in fifth place in the league table with 25 points. Zelaya scored 8 goals at the end of the Clausura 2008.

Alianza

In 2008, Zelaya moved to Alianza after former Chalatenango president Lisandro Pohl switched clubs. This switch lead to Pohl taking various players with him to Alianza whose rights he supposedly owned due to them being bought when he was president at Chalatenango.

Mexico

On June 15, 2009, Zelaya was one of the three Salvadoran footballers signed to Mexican club León on a loan deal, the other two were Cristian Castillo and Julio Enrique Martínez.[13] On 3 December 2009, it was announced that Club León had permanently signed Zelaya along with the other two Salvadorans with a three-year contract.

On 12 December 2009, it was confirmed by Alianza's own president, Lisandro Pohl, that Zelaya would return to Alianza on a loan deal.[14] Zelaya later played without a loan deal and participated at the Clausura 2011, where he was top goalscorer with 13 goals to his part.

He also had the opportunity to reign champion and score 2 goals at the final to give his team the tournament.

Russia

Zelaya in Alania Vladikavkaz in 2011

On 19 July 2011, Zelaya signed with Russian First Division club Alania Vladikavkaz on a loan transfer for six months. Alania may be able to redeem his transfer by January 2012.[15]

On August 9, 2011, Zelaya debuted at the Russian league championship in a match against Torpedo Vladimir as a starter. On November 4, he scored two goals against Mordovia Saransk, but also received a knee injury that would rule him out for 7 months. [16] During the summer of 2012, Alania decided not to keep him and sent him back to Alianza.

On January 26, 2013, he once again signed a six-month loan to rejoin Alania Vladikavkaz, who had been promoted to the Russian Premiere League.

He was sent back to Alianza in June after his contract expired.[17][18]

Return to Alianza

In June 2014, Zelaya signed again with Alianza.

Zelaya scored four goals in a 7–0 victory against Chalatenango in the second leg of the quarterfinals of the Apertura 2018, at the Estadio Cuscatlán, on December 2018. Alianza reached the semi-finals.

Los Angeles FC

On January 30, 2019, it was announced that Zelaya would join Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC. In January 2020, the club announced that it and Zelaya had mutually agreed to part ways.[19]

Las Vegas Lights (loan)

On August 15, 2019, Zelaya was loaned to USL Championship side Las Vegas Lights FC.[20]

International career

Zelaya officially received his first cap on April 23, 2008 in a friendly match against China.[21]

He scored his first goal with the national team on September 6, 2008 in a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Haiti. This game also saw him score his first hat-trick which lead El Salvador to a 5–0 win against the then Caribbean Nations Cup champions.

At the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Zelaya received two trophies for the best player in the matches against Cuba and Panama.[22] Overall, Zelaya scored 4 goals being the second top goalscorer of the tournament.

Zelaya was noted by Goal.com as being one of the Best XI of the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup — alongside Javier Hernández as forwards.[23] CONCACAF also noted "Fito" scoring the fifth best goal of the tournament, a decent feat considering 80 goals scored in the tournament.[24]

According to IFFHS (International Federation of Football History & Statistics) Rodolfo Zelaya was one of the most skilled and popular Central American players of 2012. After being out of action for almost a year due to injury Zelaya, was selected to represent El Salvador for the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup scoring all four goals for the team leading them to the Quarter-finals, as well as being named one of the best players of the tournament.[25]

Scoring two goals versus Trinidad & Tobago, one goal versus Haiti, and versus United States, several critics said that Zelaya was the only player that makes a big difference in the field, due to his dribbling skills and ability to score.[26]

In September 2013, Zelaya was handed a one-year ban from international football for his involvement in a match-fixing scandal with the El Salvador national football team. This ban was extended to worldwide in October of the same year.[6][27][28][29][30][31]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 4 September 2016[32][33]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		Continental		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Alianza	2009–2010	Salvadoran Primera División	14	5	0	0	–		14	5
	2010–2011			26	0	0	–			26
	2011–2012		0	0	0	0	–		0	0
	2012–2013		10	4	0	0	–		10	4
	2013–2014		3	0	0	0	–		3	0
	Total			35	0	0	-	-		35
Alania Vladikavkaz (loan)	2011–12	Russian National League	13	3	0	0	2	0	15	3
Alania Vladikavkaz (loan)	2012–13	Russian Premier League	1	0	0	0	–		1	0
Alianza	2014–2015	Salvadoran Primera División	25	4	0	0	–		25	4
	2015–16		40	15	0	0	–		40	15
	2016–17		6	1	0	0	2	0	8	1
	Total		71	20	0	0	2	0	73	20
Career total			85	23	0	0	4	0	89	23

International

El Salvador national team
Year	Apps	Goals
2008	10	4
2009	12	0
2010	2	2
2011	7	7
2012	1	0
2013	5	4
2014	0	0
2015	0	0
2016	0	0
2017	11	4
2018	0	0
2019	4	2
Total	52	23

Statistics accurate as of match played 12 October 2019[33]

International goals

Scores and results list El Salvador's goal tally first.[33]

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	6 September 2008	Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador, El Salvador	Haiti	1–0	5–0	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
2.				2–0
3.				3–0
4.	15 October 2008		Suriname	1–0	3–0
5.	4 September 2010	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, United States	Honduras	1–0	2–2	Friendly
6.				2–0
7.	29 May 2011	Robertson Stadium, Houston, United States		1–2	2–2
8.	9 June 2011	Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, United States	Costa Rica	1–0	1–1	2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup
9.	12 June 2011	Soldier Field, Chicago, United States	Cuba	1–0	6–1
10.				4–0
11.	19 June 2011	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington, D.C., United States	Panama	1–0	1–1	2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup
12.	2 September 2011	Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador, El Salvador	Dominican Republic	1–0	3–2	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
13.				3–1
14.	8 July 2013	Red Bull Arena, Harrison, United States	Trinidad and Tobago	1–1	2–2	2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup
15.				2–1
16.	15 July 2013	BBVA Compass Stadium, Houston, United States	Haiti	1–0	1–0
17.	21 July 2013	M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, United States	United States	1–2	1–5	2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup
18.	15 January 2017	Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama	Honduras	1–0	1–2	2017 Copa Centroamericana
19.	22 March 2017	Stadion dr. Antoine Maduro, Willemstad, Curaçao	Curaçao	1–1	1–1	Friendly
20.	27 May 2017	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington, D.C., United States	Honduras	2–2	2–2
21.	13 July 2017	Sports Authority Field at Mile High, Denver, United States	Curaçao	2–0	2–0	2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup
22.	12 October 2019	Blakes Estate Stadium, Lookout, Montserrat	Montserrat	2–0	2–0	2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League B
23.	15 October 2019	Darren Sammy Cricket Ground, Gros Islet, Saint Lucia	Saint Lucia	1–0	2–0

Personal

Zelaya holds a U.S. green card which qualifies him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes.[34]

Honors

Club

Alianza

• Primera División Winner (3): Clausura 2011, Apertura 2015, Apertura 2017, Clausura 2018

Individual

• Alania Vladikavkaz Player of the Year – 2011
• Univision Goal of the Year – 2011
• CONCACAF Gold Cup Best XI – 2011, 2013

References

1. "Fito Zelaya reaccionó tras despido de Eduardo Lara".
2. "Comisión disciplinaria confirmó las sanciones para jugadores del FAS y para Fito Zelaya".
3. "Rodolfo Zelaya vuelve a ser titular con Alianza y será capitán ante Dragón".
4. "Rodolfo Zelaya: "Marcar 100 goles con Alianza no es fácil"".
5. "Rodolfo Zelaya ya es líder de goleo en el Clausura 2018".
6. "22 suspended during fixing probe". www.espnfc.com. ESPN FC. 22 September 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
7. Gráfica, La Prensa. "Fito será titular el domingo". La Prensa Gráfica.
8. Gráfica, La Prensa. "Fito Zelaya es el Robben salvadoreño". La Prensa Gráfica.
9. Gráfica, La Prensa. "Zelaya disputará su quinta final". La Prensa Gráfica.
10. Gráfica, La Prensa. "Fito volverá a jugar mañana". La Prensa Gráfica.
11. Gráfico, El. "Rodolfo Zelaya y Nelson Bonilla, ¿dupla para Copa Oro?".
12. Gráfico, El. "Gol de Rodolfo Zelaya es incluido entre los mejores de Copa Oro".
13. "Martínez, Zelaya y Castillo, hacia México". El Salvador.com. Retrieved 2009-06-15.
14. "Zelaya retorna al Alianza" (in Spanish). elgrafico.com. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
15. Родольфо Зелая стал игроком "Алании" (видео) (in Russian). fc-alania.ru. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
16. Протокол матча "Алания" — "Торпедо" Владимир: Россия, Первенство России, ФНЛ 2011, Тур 20 — 1:0 (in Russian). Sportbox.ru. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
17. Gráfico, El. "Alianza rechaza una oferta de Catar por Rodolfo Zelaya".
18. Gráfico, El. "Alianza ya inscribió a Rodolfo Zelaya para el Apertura 2017".
19. "LAFC And Forward Rodolfo Zelaya Mutually Agree To Part Ways". LAFC.com. 2020-01-07. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
20. "LAFC Loans Peter-Lee Vassell To Phoenix Rising; Dejan Jaković And Fito Zelaya To Las Vegas Lights". Los Angeles FC. 2019-08-15. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
21. "International Friendly Matches 2008". RSSSF. Retrieved 2008-10-20.
22. Flores, Gustavo. ""Fito" Zelaya, el arma letal de la Azul" [Fito Zelaya, the lethal weapon of the Blue]. elsalvador.com. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
23. Gubala, David. "Gold Cup Best XI: Mexico reigns supreme". goal.com. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
24. "CONCACAF TV – On Demand – Catch Up Video – Asmir Begovic". www.concacaftv.premiumtv.co.uk.
25. "El delantero Rodolfo Zelaya es el hombre del momento". El Grafico. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015.
26. Reyes, Mario (16 July 2013). "¿Fitodependencia?" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 24 August 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
27. Gráfico, El. "El pastelazo a Rodolfo Zelaya en el día de su cumpleaños".
28. Gráfico, El. "Rodolfo Zelaya causa alarma en el entrenamiento de selección salvadoreña".
29. Gráfico, El. "Fito Zelaya se recupera con el sistema "Impre"".
30. Gráfico, El. "Narciso Orellana la sorpresa en la alineación titular ante México".
31. Gráfico, El. "Rodolfo Zelaya: "Daremos la lucha hasta donde podamos"".
32. "R.Zelaya". soccerway.com. Soccerway. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
33. "Rodolfo Zelaya". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
34. "LAFC Signs Forward Rodolfo Zelaya". Los Angeles FC. 2019-01-30.

External links

• Rodolfo Zelaya at Soccerway
• Rodolfo Zelaya at National-Football-Teams.com
• Rodolfo Zelaya at Sportbox.ru (in Russian)