Claudio Marcelo Morel Rodríguez (born 2 February 1978) is a

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

an former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

. He holds the player record for Copa Sudamericano wins with three - with San Lorenzo in 2002, and Boca Juniors in 2004 and 2005. He also played as a left back for the Paraguay national team. He is the son of ex-Paraguayan footballer Eugenio Morel.

Career

Club career

San Lorenzo

Morel Rodríguez started his career in Argentina with San Lorenzo in the Primera División. In the 2000–01 season he won the

Clausura The ' and ' tournaments is a split season format for Spanish-speaking sports leagues. It is a relatively recent innovation for many Latin American football leagues in which the traditional association football season from August to May is divi ...

with San Lorenzo, and in 2001 he helped them win the

Copa Mercosur The Copa Mercosur (, pt, Copa Mercosul , "Mercosur Cup") was a football competition played from 1998 to 2001 by the traditional top clubs from Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Chile. The competition was created by CONMEBOL to generate TV m ...

, beating Brazilian club

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; English: ''Flamengo Rowing Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea, best known for their professional football ...

in the final. He scored his first goal for the club on 5 October 2002 in a 2–1 win over

Newell's Old Boys Club Atlético Newell's Old Boys () is an Argentine sports club based in Rosario, Santa Fe. The club was founded on 3 November 1903, and is named after Isaac Newell of the English county of Kent, one of the pioneers of Argentine football. A ...

at the

Estadio Pedro Bidegain The Estadio Pedro BidegainEstadio Pedro Bidegain
on San Lorenzo website (), more often known ...

. He won the 2002 Copa Sudamericana with the club, beating

Atlético Nacional Atlético Nacional S. A., best known as Atlético Nacional, is a Colombian professional football club based in Medellín. The club is one of only three clubs to have played in every first division tournament in the country's history, the oth ...

of Colombia 4–0 in the final in November 2002. He scored one more goal for San Lorenzo also in the 2002–03 season, and also against Newell's Old Boys, in a 2–1 defeat on 2 May 2003 at the

Estadio Newell's Old Boys Estadio Marcelo A. Bielsa is Newell's Old Boys' multi-use stadium in Rosario, Argentina. It didn't have any official name until December 22, 2009, when it was named after the former coach of the club Marcelo Bielsa. Until then it was simply cal ...

Boca Juniors

He moved to Boca Juniors in 2004 and made his Boca debut in a 0–0 draw against

Lanús Lanús () is the capital of Lanús Partido, Buenos Aires Province in Argentina. It lies just south of the capital city Buenos Aires, in the Greater Buenos Aires metropolitan area. The city has a population of 212,152 (), and the Partido de Lan� ...

on 15 August 2004. His first trophy with Boca came in 2004 when the club won the Copa Sudamericana, by beating Bolivian club Bolivar 2–1 over two legs in the final. In 2005, he won the Recopa Sudamericana and the Copa Sudamericana as well as winning both the 2005 Apertura and the 2006 Clausura in the 2005–2006 season. He won the Recopa Sudamericana 2006 with Boca, beating

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

4–3 on aggregate. On 10 February 2007, Morel scored his first goal with Boca Juniors in a 4–0 victory over Banfield, later that year in December he played in the

2007 FIFA Club World Cup The 2007 FIFA Club World Cup (officially known as the FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2007 presented by Toyota for sponsorship reasons) was a football tournament played in Japan from 7 to 16 December 2007. It was the fourth FIFA Club World Cup, a tourn ...

in Japan and helped Boca to the runners-up spot, losing to Italian club

A.C. Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional Association football, football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 ...

4–2 in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

. He was runner-up behind fellow Paraguayan

Salvador Cabañas Salvador Cabañas Ortega (born 5 August 1980) is a Paraguayan former professional footballer who played as a striker. Cabañas played for Club 12 de Octubre, Guaraní, Audax Italiano, Chiapas, Club América, General Caballero, Tanabi and ...

in the 2007

South American Footballer of the Year The Rey del Fútbol de América ("King of Football of America"), often referred to as the South American Footballer of the Year, is an annual association football award presented to the best footballer in South America over the previous calendar ...

award. He was also selected in the "Ideal Eleven of South America in 2007". In August 2008 he helped Boca win the 2008 Recopa Sudamericana, beating fellow Argentine club Arsenal 5–3 on aggregate. In December 2008 he was chosen as the

Paraguayan footballer of the year The Paraguayan Footballer of the Year is an award given to the best Paraguayan professional football player every year. The award began officially in 1997 and it is presented by Paraguayan newspaper '' ABC Color''. Players that participate in thi ...

by the press. On 20 June 2010, prior to Paraguay's group match against

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

at the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

, Boca Juniors announced they would not renew Morel Rodríguez' contract.

Return to Paraguay

In 2015, he and Sol de América colleague

Aureliano Torres Aureliano Torres Román (born 16 June 1982) is a Paraguayan former footballer who last played for 12 de Octubre in the Paraguayan División Intermedia. At club level, Torres achieved the 2002 Emperor's Cup in Japan, the Torneo Clausura of the ...

both joined 12 de Octubre of the División Intermedia.

International career

He made his international debut in 1999. Morel Rodríguez also represented Paraguay U23 at the

2000 CONMEBOL Men Pre-Olympic Tournament The 2000 CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament began on 19 January 2000 and was the 11th CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament. This was the 3rd tournament open to players under the age of 23 without any other restriction. There was no qualification stage and ...

, making three appearances. He played in the

2002 World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football world championship for men's national teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea an ...

qualifiers, and has played in the qualifying games for the

2010 World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

Later and coaching career

After a spell at Sarmiento de Leones, Morel began playing for Argentine amateur club San Eliseo in San Vicente. In the beginning of 2019 it was reported, that Morel had been appointed manager of the club. In August 2020, there were rumors about Morel would be appointed manager of Ciclón de Tarija. However, the rumors was never officially confirmed. In February 2021, Morel returned to Boca Juniors as a youth coach.

Honours

;San Lorenzo * Argentine Primera División: 2001 Clausura *

: 2001 * Copa Sudamericana: 2002 ;Boca Juniors * Argentine Primera División: 2005 Apertura, 2006 Clausura, 2008 Apertura * Copa Sudamericana: 2004, 2005 * Recopa Sudamericana: 2005, 2006,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

* Copa Libertadores: 2007 ;Individual *

Paraguayan Footballer of the Year The Paraguayan Footballer of the Year is an award given to the best Paraguayan professional football player every year. The award began officially in 1997 and it is presented by Paraguayan newspaper '' ABC Color''. Players that participate in thi ...

: 2008

Career statistics

Club

Estadísticas actualizadas a la fecha: 29 de mayo de 2012.Estadísticas de Marca
/ref>

¹Las copas locales se refieren a la

Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footb ...

. *

²Las competiciones internacionales se refieren a la Copa Libertadores, Copa Sudamericana,

, Mundial de Clubes y Recopa Sudamericana.

References

External links

Deportivo official profile

Argentine Primera statistics
at Fútbol XXI * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Morel Rodriguez, Claudio 1978 births Living people Sportspeople from Asunción Paraguayan footballers Association football defenders Argentine Primera División players San Lorenzo de Almagro footballers Boca Juniors footballers La Liga players Segunda División players Deportivo de La Coruña players Paraguay international footballers 2007 Copa América players 2010 FIFA World Cup players Paraguayan expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Argentina Expatriate footballers in Spain