Francisco Javier "Maza" Rodríguez Pineda (; born 20 October 1981) is a Mexican former professional footballer who played as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

Club career

Guadalajara

Francisco Javier Rodríguez was born in Mazatlán,

Sinaloa Sinaloa (), officially the Estado Libre y Soberano de Sinaloa ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sinaloa), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is d ...

, which is the origin of his nickname "Maza" (short for Mazatlán). He began his professional career with

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...

under Dutch manager Hans Westerhof, debuting for the club in the Apertura 2002 tournament. In the Apertura 2006, Rodríguez had a pivotal role in Guadalajara's championship run, winning the final second-leg match 2–1 (3–2 on aggregate) against Toluca on 10 December. The win gave Chivas their eleventh league championship, a record which stood until América matched it in 2013.

PSV Eindhoven

On 9 May 2008, it was announced that he was transferred for US$1.8 million to Dutch club PSV Eindhoven, the second Mexican in the latter squad with Carlos Salcido. Rodríguez was predominantly during that debut season mostly on the bench, and proved an alternate centre backs for Dirk Marcellis. He scored his first goal with the Dutch giants on 25 November 2008 with a 30-yard shot against

Heracles Almelo Heracles Almelo is a Dutch professional football club based in Almelo, founded in 1903. The club has won the Dutch national title twice, in 1927 and 1941. Heracles won the Eerste Divisie title during the 2004–05 season, gaining promotion to th ...

. Prior to the start of the 2009–10 season, Rodríguez was given the number four jersey, previously worn by Manuel da Costa, who had transferred to Fiorentina in January 2008. He won a starting spot in the center of defence for both the Eredevisie and the Europa League.

VfB Stuttgart

On 14 July 2011, Rodríguez signed a three-year contract with VfB Stuttgart for an undisclosed fee. Rodríguez made his Bundesliga debut on 6 August 2011 in a 3–0 win against Schalke 04. He registered an assist in the 37th minute to Cacau, which gave Stuttgart a 2–0 lead in their 3–0 victory.

América

On 2 January 2013, Rodríguez was transferred to América. When América defeated Cruz Azul in the Clausura 2013 final, he became the first player in history to win a league championship with both América and Chivas, archrivals in Mexico's biggest rivalry, El Súper Clásico. He had previously won the league title with Chivas in the Apertura 2006.

Cruz Azul

On 4 June 2014, Rodríguez was transferred to Cruz Azul.

Lobos BUAP

After six seasons with Cruz Azul, Rodríguez was transferred to newly promoted Lobos BUAP for the Apertura 2017.

International career

Youth

Rodríguez was part of the Mexico

2004 Olympic The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

under-23 team. They were eliminated in the group stage, having finished third in Group A, below group winners Mali and South Korea.

Senior

Rodríguez made his debut with the senior national team on 18 February 2004 in a

friendly Friendly may refer to: Places * Friendly, West Yorkshire, a settlement in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England * Friendly, Maryland, an unincorporated community in the United States * Friendly, Eugene, Oregon, a neighborhood in the United States * ...

against Chile in

Carson, California Carson is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the South Bay region of Los Angeles, located south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately away from Los Angeles International Airport. Incorporated on February 20, 1968, ...

. He scored his first goal for Mexico on 8 July 2005 in a 1–2 CONCACAF Gold Cup loss against South Africa. On 2 April 2006, he was called up by coach Ricardo La Volpe for the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...

. Rodríguez played in the match against Portugal. Rodríguez was a part of the Mexico squad in the

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in South Africa. He was a starter in all of Mexico's group matches, and played the Round of 16 match against Argentina. During the

2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 11th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup competition, and the 21st CONCACAF regional championship overall in CONCACAF's 50 years of existence. The United States was the host nation. The competition started on June ...

, Rodríguez, and four other members of the Mexico national team, tested positive for the banned substance of Clenbuterol and were withdrawn from the tournament squad. However, all players were exonerated as FIFA determined that the accused had ingested the banned substance via contaminated meat that had been served during a pre-tournament training camp. However, World Anti-Doping Agency appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to request a ban. But on 12 October 2011, WADA withdrew this request after the full file was made available to them. Brazil_and_Mexico_match_at_the_FIFA_World_Cup_2014-06-17_(23)

Brazil_and_Mexico_match_at_the_FIFA_World_Cup_2014-06-17_(23)

Rodríguez also participated at the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

Career statistics

Club

''Updated 26 May 2013''

International

International goals

Honours

Guadalajara *

Primera División Primera may refer to * Nissan Primera, a car * Primera Air, a former airline * Primera división (disambiguation), multiple top division football leagues * Primera, Texas, a town in Cameron County, Texas * Alí Primera, Venezuelan musician, compos ...

: Apertura 2006 PSV *

Johan Cruyff Shield The Johan Cruyff Shield (, ) is a football trophy in the Netherlands named after Dutch footballer Johan Cruyff, also often referred to as the Dutch Super Cup. The winner is decided in one match only, played by the winner of the national footbal ...

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; ...

América *

Liga MX The Liga MX, officially known as the Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional football division in Mexico, holding 2 tournaments per year. The league is considered the strongest in North America, and among the strongest in a ...

: Clausura 2013 Mexico U23 * CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Championship:

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

Mexico * CONCACAF Gold Cup:

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Francisco Javier 1981 births Living people Sportspeople from Mazatlán Footballers from Sinaloa Mexican expatriate footballers Mexican footballers Association football defenders Mexico international footballers Footballers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers of Mexico 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2006 FIFA World Cup players 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2007 Copa América players 2010 FIFA World Cup players 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2014 FIFA World Cup players 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup players CONCACAF Gold Cup-winning players Liga MX players C.D. Guadalajara footballers Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands Eredivisie players PSV Eindhoven players Mexican expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands VfB Stuttgart players Club América footballers Expatriate footballers in Germany Bundesliga players Mexican expatriate sportspeople in Germany FIFA Century Club