Francisco Javier "Maza" Rodríguez Pineda (; born 20 October 1981) is a Mexican former professional
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 ...
who played as a
centre-back.
Club career
Guadalajara
Francisco Javier Rodríguez was born in
Mazatlán
Mazatlán () is a city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. The city serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding '' municipio'', known as the Mazatlán Municipality. It is located at on the Pacific coast, across from the southernmost tip ...
,
Sinaloa,
which is the origin of his nickname "Maza" (short for Mazatlán). He began his professional career with
Guadalajara under Dutch manager
Hans Westerhof
Hans Westerhof (born 24 November 1948) is a Dutch football coach and currently supervisory board member at SC Heerenveen. Besides the Netherlands, he has coached in the United States and Mexico.
As a player, Westerhof played for BV Veendam and ...
, 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
Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. With a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census, Toluca is the fifth most populous city in Mexico. The city f ...
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
Philips Sport Vereniging (; en, Philips Sports Association ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional football department, w ...
, the second Mexican in the latter squad with
Carlos Salcido
Carlos Arnoldo Salcido Flores (; born 2 April 1980) is a Mexican former professional footballer. He started his career as a centre-back and played most of it as left-back, then converted to defensive midfielder and ended it as centre-back. He ...
. Rodríguez was predominantly during that debut season mostly on the bench, and proved an alternate centre backs for
Dirk Marcellis
Dirk Marcellis (born 13 April 1988) is a former Dutch footballer who played as a centre back. After a non-playing period at PSV Marcellis fought back at AZ and became one of its important players. After suffering from injuries, he signed with N ...
. He scored his first goal with the Dutch giants on 25 November 2008 with a 30-yard shot against
Heracles Almelo.
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
ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 fol ...
in January 2008. He won a starting spot in the center of defence for both the Eredevisie and the
Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...
.
VfB Stuttgart
On 14 July 2011, Rodríguez signed a three-year contract with
VfB Stuttgart
Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's football team is currently part of Germany's first division, the Bundesliga. VfB S ...
for an undisclosed fee. Rodríguez made his
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...
debut on 6 August 2011 in a 3–0 win against
Schalke 04
Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Schalke 04 (), Schalke 04 (), or abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional German football and multi-sports club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine ...
. He registered an assist in the 37th minute to
Cacau
Claudemir Jerônimo Barreto (born 27 March 1981), known as Cacau (, ), is a former professional footballer who played as a striker. Born in Brazil, he represented Germany at international level.
Cacau received German citizenship in February 20 ...
, 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
Club de Futbol Cruz Azul or simply Cruz Azul () is a professional football club based in Mexico City, Mexico. It competes in the Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Because "azul" means "blue" in Spanish, the club has traditionally ...
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
Club de Futbol Cruz Azul or simply Cruz Azul () is a professional football club based in Mexico City, Mexico. It competes in the Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Because "azul" means "blue" in Spanish, the club has traditionally ...
.
Lobos BUAP
After six seasons with
Cruz Azul
Club de Futbol Cruz Azul or simply Cruz Azul () is a professional football club based in Mexico City, Mexico. It competes in the Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Because "azul" means "blue" in Spanish, the club has traditionally ...
, Rodríguez was transferred to newly promoted
Lobos BUAP
Club de Fútbol Lobos de la Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla were a Mexican football club based in Puebla, Mexico. The club represented the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla. The club's history goes back to the early 193 ...
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
Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mal ...
and
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
.
Senior
Rodríguez made his debut with the
senior national team on 18 February 2004 in a
friendly against
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
in
Carson, California. He scored his first goal for Mexico on 8 July 2005 in a 1–2
CONCACAF Gold Cup
The CONCACAF Gold Cup ( es, Copa de Oro de la CONCACAF, french: Coupe D'or CONCACAF) is the main association football competition of the men's national football teams governed by CONCACAF, determining the continental champion of North Ameri ...
loss against
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
.
On 2 April 2006, he was called up by coach
Ricardo La Volpe
Ricardo Antonio La Volpe Guarchoni (; born 6 February 1952) is an Argentine former professional footballer and manager. He is a World Cup-winning goalkeeper who played for most of his career in Argentina and Mexico.
As a coach, La Volpe was in ...
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 th ...
. Rodríguez played in the match against
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
.
Rodríguez was a part of the Mexico squad in 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 ...
in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
. He was a starter in all of Mexico's group matches, and played the
Round of 16
A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...
match against
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
.
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
Clenbuterol is a sympathomimetic amine used by sufferers of breathing disorders as a decongestant and bronchodilator. People with chronic breathing disorders such as asthma use this as a bronchodilator to make breathing easier. It is most commonl ...
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
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA; french: Agence mondiale antidopage, AMA) is a foundation initiated by the International Olympic Committee based in Canada to promote, coordinate, and monitor the fight against drugs in sports. The agency's key ...
appealed to the
Court of Arbitration for Sport
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; french: Tribunal arbitral du sport, ''TAS'') is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland and its c ...
to request a ban. But on 12 October 2011, WADA withdrew this request after the full file was made available to them.
Rodríguez also participated at the
2014 FIFA World Cup.
Career statistics
Club
''Updated 26 May 2013''
International
International goals
Honours
Guadalajara
*
Primera División:
Apertura 2006
PSV
*
Johan Cruyff Shield:
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:
Clausura 2013
Mexico U23
*
CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Championship:
2004
Mexico
*
CONCACAF Gold Cup
The CONCACAF Gold Cup ( es, Copa de Oro de la CONCACAF, french: Coupe D'or CONCACAF) is the main association football competition of the men's national football teams governed by CONCACAF, determining the continental champion of North Ameri ...
:
2015
See also
*
List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps
In men's association football, a cap is traditionally awarded in international football to a player making an official match appearance for their national team. In total, over 600 players have played in 100 or more international matches. The re ...
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