Rodrigo Braña

Rodrigo Braña (born 7 March 1979) is a former Argentine football midfielder. His last team was Estudiantes (LP) of the Argentine Primera División.

Rodrigo Braña
Personal information
Full name Rodrigo Braña
Date of birth (1979-03-07) March 7, 1979
Place of birth Berazategui, Argentina
Height 1.67 m (5 ft 5 1⁄2 in)
Playing position(s) Defensive midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1997–2004 Quilmes 158 (13)
1998–1999 → Mallorca B (loan) 32 (0)
2001 → Unión (loan) 13 (0)
2004–2013 Estudiantes LP 207 (8)
2013–2016 Quilmes 43 (0)
2016–2019 Estudiantes LP 45 (0)
National team
2009–2013 Argentina 9 (0)
Teams managed
2020 Estudiantes LP (caretaker)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Career

Braña started his career playing for Quilmes in the Primera B Nacional (Argentine second division). He has had three different spells with the club, which alternated between the second and the top division.

Braña had a short spell with RCD Mallorca in Spain where he played for their B team between 1998 and 1999. Braña also had a short spell with Argentine club Unión de Santa Fe in 2001.

In 2005 Braña joined Estudiantes, where he has become an idol for the La Plata club. The two biggest highlights of his career to date have been winning the Apertura 2006 and the Copa Libertadores 2009 with Estudiantes.

Braña was a key figure on the Estudiantes team that won its first Argentine League title in 23 years after a 2-1 playoff victory against Boca Juniors to decide the winner of the Apertura 2006 champions. "El Chapu" won many accolades for his contribution to the championship winning team; he was selected as the third best player of the Apertura 2006 tournament by Argentine sports newspaper Olé.[1] The only players that finished above him in the list were teammates Mariano Pavone and Juan Sebastián Verón. He has formed a formidable partnership in the center of midfield with Veron in recent seasons.

In 2008, he formed part of the team that finished as runners-up in Copa Sudamericana 2008.

Braña during the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup.

Braña was then a regular player in the team that won Copa Libertadores 2009. His typical speed, stamina, and defensive skills in the midfield were key factors in Estudiantes' lifting the continental championship for the first time in 39 years.

After the Libertadores victory, he faced a serious offer from Mexican club Monterrey to take him to play in Mexico. Braña eventually decided to stay with Estudiantes, a decision that was rewarded with his first-ever call up to the Argentine National Team on 1 September 2009.

Braña retired at the end of the 2018-19 season.[2]

International appearances and goals

Honors
Estudiantes

References
  1. 1 Olé article Archived 2007-10-22 at the Wayback Machine
  2. 22-5: RODRIGO BRAÑA SE DESPIDIÓ DE ESTUDIANTES, infocielo.com, 22 May 2019
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