Maxi Rodríguez

Maxi Rodríguez
Maxi Rodríguez2.jpg
Personal information
Full name Maximiliano Rubén Rodríguez[1]
Date of birth January 2, 1981 (1981-01-02) (age 30)
Place of birth Rosario, Argentina
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position Right winger / Striker
Club information
Current club Liverpool
Number 17
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1999–2002 Newell's Old Boys 56 (20)
2001 → Oviedo (loan) 1 (0)
2002–2005 Espanyol 111 (26)
2005–2010 Atlético Madrid 121 (32)
2010– Liverpool 18 (1)
National team‡
2003–present Argentina 41 (12)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19:47, 7 May 2010 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 16:43, 28 July 2010 (UTC)

Maximiliano Rubén "Maxi" Rodríguez (born 2 January 1981 in Rosario, Argentina) is an Argentine footballer who currently plays for Liverpool in the Premier League. Nicknamed La Fiera, he is commonly used as a right winger, but can also operate as an attacking midfielder or striker.[2]

Rodríguez arrived in Spain in his early 20s, and went on to spend the bulk of professional career there, playing for Espanyol and Atlético Madrid. He is of partial Spanish and partial Italian descent, and is holder of an Italian passport.[3]

Contents

Club career

Newell's Old Boys

Rodríguez playing for Atlético Madrid

Rodríguez came through the youth set-up at Newell's Old Boys in the Argentine League, and played for the club for three seasons before moving to Spain (having already played six months on loan to Real Oviedo, then in the country's second division).

Espanyol

In 2002, he moved to La Liga with RCD Espanyol, his league debut coming on 2 September in a 0–2 loss against Real Madrid. He played 37 matches in every campaign with the Catalonians, scoring 15 times during his last season, including the club's 2000th Spanish league goal.

Atlético de Madrid

At the start of the 2005–06 season, Rodríguez moved to Atlético Madrid for a transfer fee of €5 million,[4] where he continued to post consistent numbers. In his second year, he suffered, alongside teammate (and winger) Martin Petrov, a serious knee injury (ACL), which limited him to only 10 appearances.[5] With the Departure of (then) Captain Fernando Torres, Rodriguez succeeded him as captain until his departure to Liverpool in 2010.

On 10 November 2009, Rodríquez put four goals past UD Marbella in the Spanish Cup Round-of-32 second leg, in an eventual 6–0 home win (8–0 aggregate).

Liverpool

On 13 January 2010, Rodríguez completed a 2.5 million to Liverpool, signing a three-and-a-half year deal [6] and being given the number 17 shirt.[7] He made his debut for the club as a second-half substitute in a league match against Stoke City on the 16th,[8] his first full start coming a week and a half later, away to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

In his first games for Liverpool, Rodríguez gained two league assists, both of which were for former Atlético teammate Fernando Torres. He scored his first goal for the club in a 4–0 win over Burnley on 25 April 2010.[9]

International career

Rodríguez won the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship with the Argentina under-20s on home turf, scoring four goals in seven matches, scoring the first and last goals for the winners.

He made his full squad debut in a friendly match against Japan on June 8, 2003, in which he also scored.[10] After being part of the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup squad, Rodríquez was called for the 2006 FIFA World Cup by national boss José Pekerman. On 16 June, he scored twice in Argentina's 6–0 victory over Serbia and Montenegro in the group stage.

In the round of 16, Rodríguez scored the winning goal against Mexico in a 2–1 extra time victory. He controlled a cross-field pass from Juan Pablo Sorín with his chest before volleying into the top corner from outside the penalty area with his left foot, in the 98th minute.[11] In an unofficial online poll by FIFA, it was voted the best goal of the tournament.[12]

After Argentina lost the quarter-final game against Germany on 30 June 2006, Rodríquez punched German player Bastian Schweinsteiger in the back. FIFA fined him CHF5,000 and suspended him from two matches in the 2007 Copa América for violent conduct.[13] However, after a serious knee injury in a friendly with Spain in October 2006, he missed the continental competition, as national team manager Alfio Basile, whom initially intended to select the player, eventually rested him for precaution.[14]

Rodríguez scored in Diego Maradona's first game in charge of Argentina, a 0–1 friendly win in Scotland.[15] On 19 May 2010, he was named in the squad of 23 for the World Cup in South Africa[16] and, in the last home game before the finals five days later, scored twice against Canada in a 5–0 win.[17]

International goals

Argentina's goal tally first

Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 8 June 2003 Nagai Stadium, Osaka, Japan  Japan 4 – 1 4 – 1 Friendly
2. 17 August 2005 Ferenc Puskas Stadium, Budapest, Hungary  Hungary 1 – 0 2 – 1 Friendly
3. 30 May 2006 Stadio Arechi, Salerno, Italy  Angola 1 – 0 2 – 0 Friendly
4. 16 June 2006 Veltins-Arena, Gelsenkirchen, Germany  Serbia and Montenegro 1 – 0 6 – 0 2006 FIFA World Cup
5. 16 June 2006 Veltins-Arena, Gelsenkirchen, Germany  Serbia and Montenegro 3 – 0 6 – 0 2006 FIFA World Cup
6. 24 June 2006 Zentralstadion, Leipzig, Germany  Mexico 2 – 1 2 – 1 (a.e.t.) 2006 FIFA World Cup
7. 22 August 2007 Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway  Norway 1 – 2 1 – 2 Friendly
8. 4 June 2008 Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, USA  Mexico 3 – 0 4 – 1 Friendly
9. 19 November 2008 Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland  Scotland 1 – 0 1 – 0 Friendly
10. 28 March 2009 El Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina  Venezuela 3 – 0 4 – 0 2010 WCQ
11. 24 May 2010 El Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina  Canada 1 – 0 5 – 0 Friendly
12. 24 May 2010 El Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina  Canada 2 – 0 5 – 0 Friendly

Club statistics

All-Time Club Performance
Club Season Domestic League Domestic Cup International
Club Competition		 Total
App Goals App Goals App  Goals App Goals
Liverpool 2010–11 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 0
2009–10 17 1 0 0 0 0 17 1
Total 18 1 0 0 1 0 19 1
Atlético Madrid 2009–10 14 2 2 5 8 1 24 8
2008–09 33 6 0 0 6 3 39 9
2007–08 35 8 0 0 4 0 39 8
2006–07 10 6 0 0 0 0 10 6
2005–06 29 10 4 1 0 0 33 11
Total 121 32 6 6 18 4 145 42
Espanyol 2004–05 37 15 0 0 0 0 37 15
2003–04 37 4 0 0 0 0 37 4
2002–03 37 7 0 0 0 0 37 7
Total 111 26 0 0 0 0 111 26
Newell's Old Boys 2002 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2001 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Oviedo 2001 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Total 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Newell's Old Boys 2000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1999 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career Totals 237 58 6 6 18 4 261 68

Other ventures

In 2009, Rodríguez appeared in a music video for Coti, starring alongside Atlético teammate Diego Forlán.[18]

References

  1. ↑ "List of Players under Written Contract Registered Between 01/01/2010 and 31/01/2010". The Football Association. http://www.thefa.com/TheFA/RulesandRegulations/~/media/Files/PDF/TheFA/PlayerRegistrations/January%202010.ashx/January%202010.pdf. Retrieved 7 February 2010. 
  2. ↑ A2BWorldCup biography
  3. ↑ Maxi Rodríguez - Transfermarkt.de
  4. ↑ Al final llegaron a buen puerto (Finally they agreed); ESPN Deportes, 29 June 2005 (Spanish)
  5. ↑ Maxi Rodriquez, Petrov out for six months; ESPNsoccernet, 16 October 2006
  6. ↑ "Maxi makes Reds move". Sky Sports. 13 January 2010. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_5858007,00.html. Retrieved 13 January 2010. 
  7. ↑ In profile: Our new no. 17; Liverpool's official website
  8. ↑ Smith, Rory (16 January 2010). "Stoke City 1 Liverpool 1: match report". London: The Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/stokecity/7004039/Stoke-City-1-Liverpool-1-match-report.html. Retrieved 20 January 2010. 
  9. ↑ "Burnley 0 Liverpool 4: match report". The Daily Telegraph. 25 April 2010. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/liverpool/7631789/Burnley-0-Liverpool-4-match-report.html. Retrieved 27 May 2010. 
  10. ↑ "Kirin Cup 2003". RSSSF. 10 Jul 2004. http://www.rsssf.com/tablesk/kirin03.html. Retrieved 25 May 2010. 
  11. ↑ "Argentina 2–1 Mexico (aet)". BBC Sport. 24 June 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2006/4991492.stm. Retrieved 10 July 2006. 
  12. ↑ "FIFAworldcup.com sets new standards in online coverage of football". FIFA.com. 13 June 2006. http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/germany2006/media/newsid=20656.html. Retrieved 18 February 2009. 
  13. ↑ "Rooney, Cufre and Rodriquez handed bans by FIFA". Deutsche Presse-Agentur. 8 July 2006. http://sport.monstersandcritics.com/worldcup2006/news/article_1179121.php/Rooney_Cufre_and_Rodriquez_handed_bans_by_FIFA. Retrieved 10 July 2006. 
  14. ↑ No lo tendrá en cuenta (Will not be called); ESPN Deportes, 14 June 2007 (Spanish)
  15. ↑ Maxi winner gets Maradona off the mark; UEFA.com, 19 November 2008
  16. ↑ "Coloccini fails to make cut for Argentina party". BBC Sport. 19 May 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2010/8676659.stm. Retrieved 27 May 2010. 
  17. ↑ "Argentina 5 - 0 Canada". ESPNsoccernet. 24 May 2010. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=289193&cc=5739. Retrieved 27 May 2010. 
  18. ↑ Maxi Rodríquez y Diego Forlán, invitados de lujo en el nuevo videoclip de Coti (Maxi Rodríquez and Diego Forlán, stellar guests in Coti's new video); Atlético's official website, 17 March 2009 (Spanish)

External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by
Fernando Torres		 Atlético Madrid Captain
2007–2009		 Succeeded by
Antonio López
Liverpool F.C. – current squad

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