Raúl Rodríguez (footballer)

Raúl Rodríguez Navarro (Spanish pronunciation: [raˈul roˈðɾiɣeθ]; born 22 September 1987) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Kuwaiti club Al-Arabi SC as a central defender.

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Rodríguez and the second or maternal family name is Navarro.
Raúl Rodríguez
Rodríguez playing for Catalonia in 2013
Personal information
Full name Raúl Rodríguez Navarro
Date of birth (1987-09-22) 22 September 1987
Place of birth Barcelona, Spain
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position(s) Centre back
Club information
Current team
 Al-Arabi
Number 3
Youth career
1999–2006 Josep Gené
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2007 Vilassar Mar
2007–2010 Gramenet 83 (3)
2010–2011 Espanyol B 14 (0)
2010–2015 Espanyol 80 (0)
2015–2016 Houston Dynamo 52 (3)
2017 Shanghai Shenxin 28 (3)
2018 Meixian Techand 3 (0)
2019– Al-Arabi 3 (0)
National team
2011 Catalonia 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 26 October 2019

He played 92 matches for Espanyol, and subsequently competed in the United States, China and Kuwait.

Club career

Espanyol

Born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Rodríguez made his professional debuts with UDA Gramenet, going on to play three full Segunda División B seasons with the team. In summer 2010 he signed for neighbouring RCD Espanyol, being initially assigned to their reserves.

After the club sold Víctor Ruiz in the 2011 January transfer window, and Juan Forlín suffered a serious injury, Rodríguez was propelled to the first team by manager Mauricio Pochettino. On 27 November 2010 he made his La Liga debut, coming on as a substitute for Dani Osvaldo in the last minute of a 3–2 away win against Atlético Madrid,[1] and finished his first professional season with ten appearances, including eight starts.

Rodríguez was definitely promoted to the main squad on 1 August 2011.[2] On 19 June 2012 he renewed his contract with the club, running until 2015.[3]

On 8 January 2015, having been completely ostracised by new coach Sergio, Rodríguez cut ties with the Pericos as his link was due to expire on 30 June.[4]

Abroad

On 9 January 2015, Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer announced they had signed Rodríguez.[5] He made his debut for his new club on 8 March, being replaced in injury time of a 1–0 home win over the Columbus Crew.[6] His first goal came on 25 April, in a 4–4 draw against Sporting Kansas City.[7]

After leaving the United States, Rodríguez played for China League One pair Shanghai Shenxin F.C. and Meizhou Meixian Techand F.C. before signing for Al-Arabi SC of the Kuwaiti Premier League in 2019. He was signed for all three clubs by compatriot manager Juan Ignacio Martínez.[8]

International career

Rodríguez was never capped by Spain at any level. He played one match for the Catalonia representative side on 30 December 2011, a goalless draw with Tunisia at his club ground the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, as a half-time substitute for Gerard Piqué.[9]

Club statistics
As of match played on 31 March 2018
Club Season League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Gramenet 2007–08[10] Segunda División B 28000—280
2008–09[10] Segunda División B 23100—231
2009–10[10] Segunda División B 32210—332
Total 83310—843
Espanyol 2010–11[10] La Liga 10000—100
2011–12[10] La Liga 28040—320
2012–13[10] La Liga 22010—230
2013–14[10] La Liga 19050—240
2014–15[10] La Liga 1020—30
Total 800120—920
Houston Dynamo 2015[11] Major League Soccer 27210—282
2016[11] Major League Soccer 25121—272
Total 52331—554
Shanghai Shenxin 2017[12] China League One 28360—343
Meizhou Techand 2018[12] China League One 3000—30
Career total 2469220002689

References
  1. "Atlético Madrid 2–3 Espanyol". ESPN Soccernet. 27 November 2010. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
  2. "Raúl Rodríguez, al primer equip" [Raúl Rodríguez, to the first team] (in Catalan). RCD Espanyol. 1 August 2011. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  3. "Raúl Rodríguez, fins al 2015" [Raúl Rodríguez, until 2015] (PDF) (in Catalan). RCD Espanyol. 19 June 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 January 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  4. Cordovilla, Anna (8 January 2015). "Raúl Rodríguez rescinde su contrato con el Espanyol" [Raúl Rodríguez rescinds his contract with Espanyol]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  5. "Houston Dynamo expect signing of La Liga center back Raul Rodriguez to address backline weaknesses". Major League Soccer. 9 January 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  6. "Match recap: Houston Dynamo 1, Columbus Crew SC 0". Houston Dynamo. 8 March 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  7. Lovell, Darrell (25 April 2015). "Match recap: Houston Dynamo 4, Sporting KC 4". Houston Dynamo. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  8. Manchón, Martín (14 August 2019). "Raúl Rodríguez, el hombre de confianza de JIM" [Raúl Rodríguez, JIM's sidekick] (in Spanish). Migrantes del Balón. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  9. Ruiz, David (30 December 2011). "Catalunya empata con Túnez en el tradicional amistoso navideño" [Catalonia draw with Tunisia in traditional Christmas-time friendly]. La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  10. "Raúl Rodríguez: Raúl Rodríguez Navarro". BDFutbol. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  11. "Raúl Rodríguez". Soccerway. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  12. "Raúl Rodríguez". Soda Soccer. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
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