Víctor Rodríguez (Spanish footballer)

Víctor Rodríguez Romero (born 23 July 1989) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a right winger for Elche CF.

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Rodríguez and the second or maternal family name is Romero.

Víctor Rodríguez
Rodríguez with Zaragoza in 2012
Personal information
Full name Víctor Rodríguez Romero
Date of birth (1989-07-23) 23 July 1989
Place of birth Barberà del Vallès, Spain
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Playing position(s) Winger
Club information
Current team
 Elche
Number 8
Youth career
1998–2002 Barcelona
2002–2005 Mercantil
2005–2008 Badalona
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2012 Badalona 85 (8)
2008–2009 → Vilajuïga (loan) 36 (11)
2012 Zaragoza B 1 (0)
2012–2014 Zaragoza 72 (6)
2014–2016 Elche 36 (4)
2015–2016 → Getafe (loan) 33 (2)
2016–2017 Sporting Gijón 25 (2)
2017–2019 Seattle Sounders 52 (11)
2020– Elche 1 (0)
National team‡
2015– Catalonia 2 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 1 March 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 28 December 2016

Club career

Born in Barberà del Vallès, Barcelona, Catalonia, Rodríguez played four years with FC Barcelona as a youth, sharing teams with future Valencia CF, Barcelona and Spain player Jordi Alba. Both were released for being deemed too small.[1]

Rodríguez then signed for neighbours CF Badalona of the third division, going on to play three full seasons in that tier with the club. In 2012 he joined Real Zaragoza in La Liga, but initially as a member of the reserve team, also in the third level;[2][3] he was introduced in the main squad setup by manager Manolo Jiménez shortly after, however, making his league debut on 25 August in a 2–1 away win against RCD Espanyol.[4]

On 21 October 2012, in another 2–1 away victory, now against Granada CF, Rodríguez scored once and also provided the assist in Hélder Postiga's opener.[5] As he had played in the number of first-team games required, he was immediately handed a professional contract, running until June 2015.[6]

On 7 August 2014, Rodríguez returned to the top flight after agreeing to a three-year deal with Elche CF.[7] On 2 August of the following year, he was loaned to fellow league side Getafe CF for one year.[8]

On 10 June 2016, after Getafe's relegation, Rodríguez signed a four-year deal with Sporting de Gijón also in the top tier.[9] He met the same fate at the end of the season, then agreed to terminate his contract in order to join a Major League Soccer team,[10] which turned out to be Seattle Sounders FC.[11]

On 10 November 2019, Rodríguez was named the MVP of the 2019 MLS Cup Final, scoring the Sounders' second goal in a 3–1 home win over Toronto FC.[12] The following 30 January, he returned to his former club Elche.[13]

International career

Rodríguez featured for the Catalonia unofficial team.[14]

Honours

Club

Seattle Sounders

Individual

References
  1. Víctor Rodríguez, otro embrión de La Masia que triunfa en Zaragoza (Víctor Rodríguez, another La Masia offspring making it big in Zaragoza); Mundo Deportivo, 22 October 2012 (in Spanish)
  2. Víctor Rodríguez: Desparpajo y velocidad para la banda derecha del Zaragoza (Víctor Rodríguez: Pizzazz and speed for Zaragoza's right wing); Goal, 24 September 2012 (in Spanish)
  3. El día de Víctor Rodríguez (The day of Víctor Rodríguez); Aragón Digital, 22 October 2012 (in Spanish)
  4. Postiga pounces to net Zaragoza win; ESPN Soccernet, 25 August 2012
  5. Zaragoza survive 10-man Granada fightback; ESPN Soccernet, 21 October 2012
  6. Víctor Rodríguez renueva hasta el 2015 (Víctor Rodríguez renews until 2015); Vavel, 21 October 2012 (in Spanish)
  7. El Elche incorpora a Víctor Rodríguez (Elche add Víctor Rodríguez) Archived 8 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine; Elche CF, 7 August 2014 (in Spanish)
  8. Víctor Rodríguez jugador del Getafe (Víctor Rodríguez player of Getafe); Getafe CF, 2 August 2015 (in Spanish)
  9. Víctor Rodríguez, primer fichaje rojiblanco para la temporada 2016/2017 (Víctor Rodríguez, first red-and-white signing for the 2016/2017 season); Sporting Gijón, 10 June 2016 (in Spanish)
  10. "Nota informativa sobre Víctor Rodríguez" [Informative note on Víctor Rodríguez] (in Spanish). Sporting Gijón. 26 July 2017. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  11. "Seattle Sounders sign winger Victor Rodriguez from Sporting Gijon". ESPN FC. 2 August 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  12. Le Miere, Jason (10 November 2019). "Victor Rodriguez wins MLS Cup 2019 MVP Award after Seattle Sounders beat Toronto FC". Major League Soccer. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  13. "OFICIAL | Víctor Rodríguez regresa al Elche C.F." [OFFICIAL | Víctor Rodríguez returns to Elche C.F.] (in Spanish). Elche CF. 30 January 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  14. Irigoyen, Juan I. (26 December 2015). "Fiesta en Catalunya; copa para Euskadi" [Party in Catalonia; cup to Euskadi] (in Spanish). El País. Retrieved 3 July 2018.
  15. "Seattle Sounders are 2019 MLS Cup champions: Rave Green win second MLS title". Major League Soccer. 10 November 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.