Rodrigo (footballer, born 1991)

This name uses Portuguese naming customs. The first or maternal family name is Moreno and the second or paternal family name is Machado.
Rodrigo

Rodrigo lining-up for Benfica in 2012
Personal information
Full nameRodrigo Moreno Machado
Date of birth6 March 1991
Place of birthRio de Janeiro, Brazil
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing positionStriker
Club information
Current team
Valencia
Number17
Youth career
2002Flamengo
2003–2005Ureca
2005–2009Celta
2009Real Madrid
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2009Real Madrid C4(1)
2009–2010Real Madrid B18(5)
2010–2014Benfica68(27)
2010–2011Bolton Wanderers (loan)17(1)
2014Valencia (loan)11(1)
2014–Valencia11(2)
National team
2009–2010Spain U1911(6)
2011Spain U206(3)
2011–2013Spain U2116(15)
2012Spain U234(0)
2014–Spain1(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21 February 2015.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 12 October 2014

Rodrigo Moreno Machado (born 6 March 1991), commonly known as Rodrigo, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Valencia CF, as a striker.

He started his career with Real Madrid, appearing solely for its reserve teams. In 2010 he signed with Benfica with whom he won several titles, including the 2014 national championship.

Born in Brazil, Rodrigo represented Spain at youth level, and in 2013 he won the European Championship with the under-21 team. The following year, he earned his first cap for the senior team.

Club career

Early years / Real Madrid

Born in Rio de Janeiro, Rodrigo moved to Spain in his early teens, settling in Galicia and started playing organized football with Celta de Vigo. In 2009, aged 18, he moved to Real Madrid to complete his development.[1]

Only a few weeks after arriving, he started playing as a senior with the C-team. Shortly after, he was promoted to Real Madrid Castilla in Segunda División B, making his debut with the latter on 29 November 2009 in a 4–3 away win against UD Lanzarote (29 minutes played).

Benfica

On 31 July 2010, Rodrigo signed a five-year contract with S.L. Benfica for approximately 6 million. Real Madrid had an option to re-buy the player for €12 million during the next two seasons; however, after Fábio Coentrão's transfer to the Spanish club, the teams agreed to cancel the buyback clause.[2]

Rodrigo (furthest left) and Matthew Taylor defending a free kick from Chelsea's Florent Malouda in December 2010

The following month, he joined Bolton Wanderers of the Premier League on a season-long loan,[3][4] and he made his official debut in a League Cup game at Burnley on 21 September, starting in a 0–1 away loss.[5]

He made his league debut for the Trotters on 23 October 2010, at Wigan Athletic, coming on as a substitute for Lee Chung-Yong midway through the second half of a 1–1 draw.[6] On 5 January 2011, against the same opponent, he scored his only goal of the campaign, with the game ending with the same result.[7]

Returning to Benfica for 2011–12, he played in 38 official matches in his first year and scored 16 goals, including the opener in the season's domestic League Cup final against Gil Vicente FC, which his team won for the fourth year in a row (2–1).[8] On 2 January 2013 he combined with Óscar Cardozo for five goals in a 6–0 home routing of C.D. Aves for the campaign's Portuguese Cup.[9]

On 31 January 2014, Benfica sold 100% of Rodrigo's economic rights to a private company, Meriton Capital Limited, owned by Peter Lim, for €30 million, plus another potential €10 million on performance-related bonuses.[10] He remained with the Reds until the end of the season.[11][12] On 10 April he scored both of his team's goals in a 2–0 home win against AZ Alkmaar for the quarterfinals of the UEFA Europa League, which powered the hosts to the last-four stage 3–0 on aggregate.[13]

He scored Benfica's first goal in a 2–0 final win over Rio Ave F.C. in the Portuguese League Cup, and was subsequently voted Man of the match as his team won the competition for the fifth time in seven years.[14] On 14 May he had his penalty shootout attempt saved by Sevilla FC's Beto, in an eventual Europa League final loss.[15][16]

Valencia

On 23 July 2014, Rodrigo moved back to Spain, after agreeing to a one-year loan deal with Valencia CF.[17] Although Rodrigo's economic rights are owned by Peter Lim, a loan deal was arranged to take him and André Gomes to Valencia due to Lim's purchase of the latter club.[18]

He made his debut for the Che on 23 August 2014, starting and playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–1 away draw against Sevilla FC.[19] He scored his first La Liga goal on 22 September, netting the last of a 3–0 away success against Getafe CF through a penalty, but was later sent off.[20]

On 2 December 2014, Rodrigo revealed that he had signed a contract with Valencia for the next 5 seasons, with fellow teammate André Gomes.[21][22]

International career

Rodrigo competed for Spain internationally, starting with the under-19, which he helped to the second position in the 2010 UEFA European Championship by netting two goals, including one in the final against France. He then competed in the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup, helping the national team to the quarter-finals with his three goals.

Rodrigo made his debut for the Spanish U21s on 1 September 2011, scoring a hat-trick in Georgia for the 2013 European Championship qualifiers (7–2 win).[23] On 21 March 2013, in a friendly against Norway, he netted his 13th goal in the category to help to the 5–2 triumph in Toledo, thus becoming the highest goal scorer after surpassing Óscar García's record which had stood since 1992.[24]

Rodrigo was included in Spain's squad at the 2012 Summer Olympics,[25] appearing in two games in an eventual group stage exit in London.

On 3 October 2014, Rodrigo was called up to Spain manager Vicente del Bosque's 23-man squad for UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying matches against Slovakia and Luxembourg.[26] On 12 October, he made his debut away against Luxembourg as an 82nd-minute substitute for Diego Costa in an eventual 4-0 win, assisting the last goal for Juan Bernat.

Club statistics

As of match played 21 February 2015[27]
Club Season League Cup League Cup Europe Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Real Madrid B 2009–10 185185
Total 185185
Bolton Wanderers 2010–11 1712010201
Total 1712010201
Benfica 2011–12 2293244913816
2012–13 20762311013911
2013–14 26115231944318
Total 682713610628611845
Valencia 2014–15 22311234
Career totals 1253616711628617954

International

As of match played 12 October 2014
Spain
YearAppsGoalsAssists
2014101
Total101

Honours

Club

Benfica

International

Spain U21
Spain U19

Individual

Personal life

Thiago Alcântara and Rafinha, who were groomed at FC Barcelona and also represented Spain internationally, are Rodrigo's cousins.[32]

References

  1. "Entrevista exclusiva Rodrigo: "Estaría encantado de volver al Real Madrid. ¿Quién no?" [Exclusive interview Rodrigo: "I'd be delighted to return to Real Madrid. Who wouldn't?]. Goal.com. 22 March 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  2. El Real Madrid traspasa a Rodrigo al Benfica por seis millones de euros (Real Madrid sells Rodrigo to Benfica for six million euros); Marca, 31 July 2010 (Spanish)
  3. Rodrigo signs on at The Reebok; Bolton Wanderers FC, 31 August 2010
  4. "Bolton sign Rodrigo Moreno from Benfica on loan". BBC Sport. 31 August 2010. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
  5. "Elliott effort ensures Clarets win". ESPN Soccernet. 21 September 2010. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  6. "Elmander grabs point for Trotters". ESPN Soccernet. 23 October 2010. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  7. "Stam strike rescues Wigan". ESPN Soccernet. 5 January 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  8. "Benfica win Taça da Liga". PortuGOAL. 14 April 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  9. "Benfica annihilate Aves". PortuGOAL. 3 January 2013. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  10. "Comunicado" [Announcement] (PDF). S.L. Benfica SAD. CMVM. 3 April 2014. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  11. "Benfica cash in on Rodrigo, Andre Gomes". Soccer News. 1 February 2014. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  12. "Peter Lim, o homem que comprou os passes de Rodrigo e André Gomes" [Peter Lim, the men who bought the rights for Rodrigo and André Gomes]. Maisfutebol.iol.pt (in Portuguese). 1 February 2014. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
  13. "Rodrigo at the double to down AZ". ESPN FC. 10 April 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
  14. "Rodrigo eleito melhor em campo" [Rodrigo voted man of the match] (in Portuguese). Zerozero. 7 May 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  15. Gardner, Paul (15 May 2014). "Brazen goalkeeper cheating helps Sevilla win Europa League". SoccerAmerica. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
  16. "Spot-on Sevilla leave Benfica dreams in tatters". UEFA.com. 14 May 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  17. "Comunicado oficial" [Official announcement] (in Spanish). Valencia's official website. 23 July 2014. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
  18. "Valência procura "forma jurídica" para levar Rodrigo e André Gomes" [Valencia looks for 'legal way' to take Rodrigo and André Gomes]. Radio Renascença. 15 July 2014. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
  19. "Sevilla 1-1 Valencia: Ten-man visitors snatch draw at the death". Goal.com. 23 August 2014. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  20. Un trabajo muy cómodo (A very comfortable job); Marca, 22 September 2014
  21. "Estoy seguro de que los goles llegarán con naturalidad" [I'm sure the goals will come naturally] (in Spanish). Valencia's official website. 2 December 2014. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  22. Ferreira, Pedro (4 December 2014). "André Gomes e Rodrigo são oficialmente do Valencia" [André Gomes and Rodrigo are officially Valencia players]. Record (in Portuguese).
  23. "2–7: España golea a Georgia y suma sus primeros puntos de cara al Europeo" [2–7: Spain routs Georgia and scores first points for European Championship] (in Spanish). El Mundo Deportivo. 1 September 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  24. "5–2: Exhibición de Tello y goleada de España" [5–2: Tello show and Spain routing] (in Spanish). El Mundo Deportivo. 21 March 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
  25. "Euro 2012 trio Mata, Alba & Martinez in Spain Olympic squad". BBC Sport. 5 July 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  26. "Chelsea's Diego Costa named in Spain squad". BBC. 3 October 2014. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
  27. "Rodrigo". Soccerway. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  28. "Guimarães claim famous cup win". PortuGOAL. 26 May 2013. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  29. "Ivanović heads Chelsea to Europa League glory". UEFA.com. 15 May 2013. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  30. Chris Myson (19 June 2013). "Euro Under-21 Team of the Tournament: Thiago & Isco star as Spain dominate". Goal.com. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  31. "UEFA Europa League squad of the season". UEFA.com. 3 Jun 2014. Retrieved 3 Jun 2014.
  32. Primos en el césped (Cousins on the pitch); Marca, 5 December 2012 (Spanish)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rodrigo (footballer, born 1991).