Mario Rodríguez (footballer, born 1981)

For other people named Mario Rodríguez, see Mario Rodríguez (disambiguation).
Mario Rodríguez
Personal information
Full name Mario Rafael Rodríguez Rodríguez
Date of birth (1981-09-14) September 14, 1981 (age 43)
Place of birth Guatemala City, Guatemala
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
2000-2002 USAC
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2004 Comunicaciones 65 (6)
2004 Alajuelense 0 (0)
2004–2005 Municipal 17 (0)
2005 Columbus Crew 19 (1)
2006 Miami FC 18 (7)
2006–2014 Municipal 304 (97)
2014-2015 Antigua 8 (2)
2015 USAC 18 (1)
International career‡
2003–2013 Guatemala 79 (10)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14 March 2010
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 7 September 2013

Mario Rafael Rodríguez Rodríguez (born September 14, 1981 in Guatemala City, Guatemala) is a retired Guatemalan football midfielder. He has played for local club Municipal.

Rodríguez has played locally also played for Comunicaciones and in Major League Soccer for Columbus Crew. He was 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 70 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.

Post-career

On 12 March 2023, Rodriguez was proclaimed a candidate for the 2023 Guatemala City mayoral election with the National Convergence Front.[9]

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, United States  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., United States  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

Honours

Comunicaciones
Municipal
  • Liga Nacional de Guatemala: Clausura 2005, Apertura 2005, Clausura 2006, Apertura 2006, Clausura 2008, Clausura 2010, Apertura 2011

References

  1. ^ Revolution face familiar Crew - Boston.com
  2. ^ Mario Rodríguez desea salir de Municipal Archived 2010-04-18 at the Wayback Machine - La Red Deportiva (in Spanish)
  3. ^ Mario Rodríguez jugará en Corea Archived 2010-03-28 at the Wayback Machine - La Red Deportiva (in Spanish)
  4. ^ Mario Rodríguez se unió al rojo Archived 2009-09-25 at the Wayback Machine - La Red Deportiva (in Spanish)
  5. ^ Appearances for Guatemala National Team - RSSSF
  6. ^ Record at FIFA Tournaments - FIFA
  7. ^ CONCACAF Championship, Gold Cup 2003 - Full Details Archived 2008-10-24 at the Wayback Machine - RSSSF
  8. ^ CONCACAF Championship, Gold Cup 2007 - Full Details Archived 2008-10-24 at the Wayback Machine - RSSSF
  9. ^ "FCN-Nación le apuesta a "El Loco" Rodríguez para alcalde de Guatemala". 12 March 2023.