Gonzalo Rodríguez (footballer, born 1984)

Gonzalo Javier Rodríguez Prado (American Spanish: [ɡonˈsalo roˈðɾiɣes]; born 10 April 1984), sometimes known as simply Gonzalo, is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a central defender.

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

Gonzalo Rodríguez

Rodríguez with Fiorentina in 2015
Personal information
Full name	Gonzalo Javier Rodríguez Prado
Date of birth	(1984-04-10) 10 April 1984[1]
Place of birth	Buenos Aires, Argentina[1]
Height	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Playing position(s)	Centre back
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2002–2004	San Lorenzo	57	(4)
2004–2012	Villarreal	184	(6)
2012–2017	Fiorentina	159	(22)
2017–2020	San Lorenzo	33	(2)
Total		433	(34)
National team
2003–2015	Argentina	7	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

After starting out at San Lorenzo, he spent most of his career with Villarreal, appearing in 253 official games over the course of eight La Liga seasons (nine goals). He also played five years in the Italian Serie A, with Fiorentina.

Club career

San Lorenzo

Born in Buenos Aires, Gonzalo started playing with San Lorenzo de Almagro. He made his Primera División debut on 26 July 2002 at the age of only 18, against Rosario Central.

At age 20, Rodríguez had already represented Argentina, previously having appeared at the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship with the under-20 team.

Villarreal

In July 2004, Rodríguez joined Spain's Villarreal CF, being an undisputed starter in his first two seasons and renewing his link for a further five years.[2] However, after the surprise elimination from the UEFA Intertoto Cup at the hands of NK Maribor, in which he was sent off,[3] and a mere month into the league season, he suffered a serious injury, tearing the cruciate ligament in his right knee; after returning to activity in April 2007, he suffered the same injury two months later.[4]

Rodríguez returned to good form in the 2008–09 campaign, often partnering Uruguayan Diego Godín[5][6][7] and appearing in 48 La Liga games in two seasons combined, with Villarreal always qualifying to the UEFA Europa League, finishing fifth and seventh respectively. On 7 April 2011, in the Europa League's quarter-finals against FC Twente, he broke his fibula after a tough challenge by Marc Janko, being rushed to hospital in an ambulance and lost for the remainder of the season.[8]

Fiorentina

In early August 2012, following Villarreal's relegation, Gonzalo joined Italian side ACF Fiorentina along with teammate Borja Valero.[9] He scored six Serie A goals from 35 appearances in his first year, helping to a final fourth place and the subsequent qualification to the Europa League.

In 2015–16, Rodríguez was named new team captain by new manager Paulo Sousa.[10] He made his 200th competitive appearance for the club on 9 April 2017, and marked the occasion with his 25th goal in a 2–2 away draw against U.C. Sampdoria.[11]

Return to San Lorenzo

In July 2017, Rodríguez returned to San Lorenzo on a free transfer. On 23 June 2020, he announced his retirement as a professional footballer.[12]

Career statistics

Club

[13]

Club	Season	League		Cup		International		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
San Lorenzo	2002–03	27	3	0	0	7	1	34	4
	2003–04	30	1	0	0	5	1	35	2
Total		57	4	0	0	12	2	69	6
Villarreal	2004–05	34	2	0	0	15	2	49	4
	2005–06	29	0	1	0	11	0	41	0
	2006–07	6	0	0	0	2	0	8	0
	2007–08	18	0	0	0	2	0	20	0
	2008–09	27	2	0	0	8	0	35	2
	2009–10	21	0	2	0	7	0	30	0
	2010–11	23	1	6	0	10	1	39	2
	2011–12	26	1	0	0	5	0	31	1
Total		184	6	9	0	60	3	253	9
Fiorentina	2012–13	35	6	0	0	0	0	35	6
	2013–14	33	4	3	0	10	2	46	6
	2014–15	30	7	5	0	10	1	45	8
	2015–16	35	4	3	0	5	0	43	4
	2016–17	26	1	1	0	7	0	34	1
Total		159	22	12	0	32	3	203	25
San Lorenzo	2017–18	14	0	2	0	3	0	19	0
	2018–19	10	1	6	0	4	1	20	2
	2019–20	9	1	1	0	0	0	10	1
Total		33	2	9	0	7	1	49	3
Career Total		433	34	30	0	111	9	574	43

International

[13]

Argentina
Year	Apps	Goals
2003	2	1
2004	1	0
2005	2	0
2008	1	0
2015	1	0
Total	7	1

International goals

Scores and results list Argentina's goal tally first.[14]

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	3 February 2003	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, United States	Mexico	1–0	1–0	Friendly

Honours

San Lorenzo

• Copa Sudamericana: 2002

Villarreal

• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2004

Individual

• Fiorentina All-time XI[15]

References

1. "Gonzalo Rodriguez". Eurosport. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
2. Villarreal refresh Rodríguez contract; UEFA, 27 January 2006
3. Maribor soar as Villarreal crash out; UEFA, 22 July 2006
4. Grim news for Gonzalo at Villarreal; UEFA, 14 June 2007
5. Fabián, Rafael (5 March 2008). "La pareja de moda" [Hip duo]. El Periódico Mediterráneo (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 January 2018.
6. Andrés, A. (19 September 2008). "Old Trafford doctora a la pareja Gonzalo-Godín" [Gonzalo-Godín duo get PhD at Old Trafford]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 January 2018.
7. Ruiz Fájula, Damián (6 July 2010). "Godín vuelve a tiempo" [Godín returns on time]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 January 2018.
8. EL: Villarreal punishes FC Twente; Benfica beats PSV; Sports Illustrated, 7 April 2011
9. Borja Valero, Gonzalo Rodriguez and Aquilani to Fiorentina Archived 29 December 2016 at the Wayback Machine; ACF Fiorentina, 4 July 2012
10. Fiorentina, Rodriguez ci crede: "Il sogno di vincere lo Scudetto adesso è concreto" (Fiorentina, Rodriguez a believer: "The dream of winning the Scudetto is now real); Goal, 1 January 2016 (in Italian)
11. Campanale, Susan (10 April 2017). "Serie A Week 31: Did You Know?". Football Italia. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
12. "Gonzalo Rodríguez se retira del fútbol profesional". Diario AS. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
13. "G. Rodríguez". Soccerway. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
14. "Rodriguez's goal enough for Argentina to edge Mexico". The Star. 6 February 2003. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
15. Magrini, Matteo (23 August 2016). "Festa al Franchi, presenti e assenti. No eccellenti da Rui Costa, Baggio e Batistuta" [Party at the Franchi, present and absentees. Excellent players, from Rui Costa, to Baggio and Batistuta, decline] (in Italian). Fiorentina.it. Archived from the original on 24 August 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2016.

External links

• Fiorentina official profile
• Gonzalo Rodríguez at BDFA (in Spanish)
• Argentine League statistics at the Wayback Machine (archived 7 March 2009) (in Spanish)
• Gonzalo Rodríguez at BDFutbol
• Gonzalo Rodríguez at TuttoCalciatori.net (in Italian)
• Gonzalo Rodríguez at National-Football-Teams.com
• Gonzalo Rodríguez – FIFA competition record