Mario Rafael Rodríguez

Mario Rodríguez
Personal information
Full nameMario Rafael Rodríguez Rodríguez
Date of birthSeptember 14, 1981
Place of birthGuatemala City, Guatemala
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing positionstriker/right winger
Club information
Current team
CSD Municipal
Number25
Youth career
USAC
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2002–2004Comunicaciones
2004Alajuelense
2004–2005CSD Municipal17(0)
2005Columbus Crew19(1)
2006Miami FC18(7)
2006–presentCSD Municipal(82)
National team
2003–presentGuatemala78(10)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14 March 2010.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 7 September 2010

Mario Rafael Rodríguez Rodríguez (born September 14, 1981 in Guatemala City, Guatemala) is a Guatemalan football midfielder. He currently plays for the local club CSD Municipal.

Rodríguez has played locally for CSD Comunicaciones and in Major League Soccer for Columbus Crew. He is also a member of the Guatemala national team.

Club career

Rodríguez, nicknamed El Loco (Spanish for The Crazy Man), started his career in Guatemala in 2002 with Comunicaciones, where he would remain until 2004. In February 2004 during the 211th clasico between longtime arch-rivals Municipal and Comunicaciones, he collided with goalkeeper Danny Ortiz causing Ortiz to suffer a torn pericardium. Ortiz was taken to the Hospital Centro Médico where he died two hours later.

In 2005, he joined Columbus Crew from Costa Rican side Alajuelense,[1] and in 2006, he played for Miami FC, and with 7 goals and 4 assists he was second in scoring for the club behind Brazilian forward Romário. He returned to Guatemala to play for Municipal for the 2007 Clausura.

He has been productive for Municipal. But despite being the top scorer on the team since joining, he hasn't always had the best relationship with Municipal fans because of his past with rivals Comunicaciones.[2]

In March 2009, Rodríguez almost signed with Chunnam Dragons from the Korean League,[3] only for the deal to fail through at the second attempt.[4]

International career

Rodríguez made his international debut in a January 2003 friendly match against El Salvador and has since been capped over 50 times for his country.[5] He represented his country in 19 FIFA World Cup qualification matches[6] as well as at the 2003[7] and 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cups.[8]

In 2006, Rodríguez was recalled by Guatemala national coach Hernán Darío Gómez to play against Haiti. He scored a goal and then was recalled for a friendly in Guatemala City against Panama. He made his return to the national squad for the 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign, scoring three goals in the first two matches, against Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

International goals

Scores and results list. Guatemala's goal tally first.
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 8 June 2005 Estadio Ricardo Saprissa, San José, Costa Rica  Costa Rica 2-2 2-3 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
2 16 August 2006 Tropical Park Stadium, Miami, USA  Haiti 1-0 1-1 Friendly match
3 23 April 2008 Estadio Mateo Flores, Guatemala City, Guatemala  Haiti 1-0 1-0 Friendly match
4 14 June 2008 Estadio Mateo Flores, Guatemala City, Guatemala  Saint Lucia 1-0 6-0 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
5 6 August 2008 RFK Memorial Stadium, Washington, D.C., USA  Bolivia 3-0 3-0 Friendly match
6 10 September 2008 Estadio Mateo Flores, Guatemala City, Guatemala  Cuba 3-1 4-1 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
7 7 September 2010 Nagai Stadium, Osaka, Japan  Japan 1-2 1-2 Friendly match
8 2 September 2011 Estadio Mateo Flores, Guatemala City, Guatemala  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 3-0 4-0 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
9 7 October 2011 Arnos Vale Stadium, Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1-0 3-0 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
10 7 October 2011 Arnos Vale Stadium, Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2-0 3-0 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification

External links

References