Marvin Rodríguez

Marvin Rodríguez
Personal information
Full nameMarvin Rodríguez Ramírez
Date of birth26 November 1934
Place of birthSan José, Costa Rica
Playing positionMidfielder
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1952-1959Saprissa
1960Alajuelense
1961-1964Municipal
1965-1966Saprissa
National team
1955-1961Costa Rica43(7)
Teams managed
1964-1965Municipal
1968-1970Cartaginés
1969Costa Rica
1971-1976Saprissa
1978Aurora
1978-1980Herediano
1981-1984Real España
1984-1986Puntarenas
1989Costa Rica
1990-1991FAS
1995-1996Xelajú
1999-2000Costa Rica
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).
This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Rodríguez and the second or maternal family name is Ramírez.

Marvin Rodríguez Ramírez (born 26 November 1934) is a Costa Rican football coach and former midfielder.

He coached the Costa Rican national team to its first World Cup participation in 1990.

Career

Club

Born in barrio Don Bosco, San José,[1] Rodríguez was a local star playing for Deportivo Saprissa back in the 1950s and 1960s. He was part of the Saprissa team that went on a world tour in 1959, becoming the first Latin American team to do such a trip. He also played for Municipal of Guatemala between 1961 and 1964, where he became player-manager. He retired as a player with Saprissa in 1966 after breaking his ankle.[1]

International

In addition to his club career, Rodríguez made 43 playing appearances for the Costa Rica national football team,[2] scoring 7 goals.[1] In the 1950s, he was part of the team known as Chaparritos de Oro,[3] which against all odds won a silver medal at the Pan-American Games held in Buenos Aires. He represented his country in 14 FIFA World Cup qualification matches.[4]

Managerial

As a coach, Rodríguez managed his former playing club Saprissa during different stints in the 1970s and early 1980s. He won four national championships coaching Saprissa in the 1970s,[5] to add to the several championships that he had won previously with the team as a player. Most significantly, he led unfashionable Puntarenas to the 1986 league title. As of August 2013, he had coached 683 matches and won 6 Costa Rican league games.[6]

In 1988, he coached Costa Rica's national squad, guiding the team to its first World Cup qualification. Despite such success, he did not coach the team during the 1990 World Cup finals, as Bora Milutinovic was assigned that duty[7] by the Costa Rican Football Federation. Later, Rodríguez coached Municipal, Aurora and Xelajú in Guatemala, winning the national league title with each team as well.[8]

Personal life

Rodríguez is married to Flor de María Vega Durán and they have 4 children.[9]

References