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
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. 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.

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 ...
See also
*
List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps
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