John Paul Rodrigues (born December 29, 1983) is a retired Guyanese soccer defender.

Career

College and amateur

Rodrigues played

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United Kingd ...

Belmont University Belmont University is a private Christian university in Nashville, Tennessee. Descended from Belmont Women's College, founded in 1890 by schoolteachers Ida Hood and Susan Heron, the institution was incorporated in 1951 as Belmont College. It be ...

, where he was named 1st team All Conference in 2004 & 2005. He was also named Atlantic Sun Conference defender of the year in 2005 and named to the Atlantic Sun 2000’s All Decade Team. During his college years he also played with the

Nashville Metros The Nashville Metros were an American soccer team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1989, the team most recently played in the Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the South A ...

in the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syste ...

. In 2015 JP Rodrigues was the first Men’s soccer player to be inducted into the Belmont University Athletic Hall Of Fame. He has since been joined by his former teammate and Belmont standout Jay Michael Ayres. They are currently the only 2 Men’s soccer athletes with this honor.

Professional

Rodrigues was the first pick of

Miami FC The Miami FC is an American professional soccer team based in Miami, Florida that competes in the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The club began play in the North American Soccer League (NASL) in the 2016 se ...

in the 2006 USL Draft, and played for the Blues during their first three seasons in the

USL First Division The USL First Division (usually referred to as USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States and Canada from 2005 to 2010. During its existence, it formed the second tier of soccer in the United States soccer league system b ...

before leaving the club at the end of 2009. On February 18, 2010, Miami FC announced the re-signing of Rodrigues to a new contract for the 2010 season. On October 7, 2010, Rodrigues was signed on a short-term loan by

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

club

D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

. Rodrigues signed with

FC Tampa Bay The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Champions ...

of the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

on January 13, 2011. He received a two-year contract with a club option for 2013, although the 2013 option was declined on November 20, 2012.

Indoor soccer

Rodrigues also has extensive experience of professional indoor soccer, having played in the second MISL for the

Orlando Sharks The Orlando Sharks were a professional American indoor soccer team based in Orlando, Florida, United States. Founded in 2007, by Buena Vista Corporation the Chairman Mr. Sham Maharaj acquired the franchise early 2006. the first game was played ...

and the third MISL for the

Milwaukee Wave The Milwaukee Wave is an American professional indoor soccer team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded in 1984, they have been the oldest continuously operating professional soccer team in the United States and are seven-time league champions, m ...

. He was voted to the 2007-2008 MISL All Rookie team while with the Sharks After the conclusion of the 2010

USSF Division 2 Professional League The USSF Division 2 Professional League (D2 Pro League) was a temporary professional soccer league created by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) for the 2010 season. The twelve-team league was formed as a compromise between the feuding Un ...

season, Rodrigues re-joined

for the 2010-11

MISL The Misls (derived from an Arabic word wikt:مثل#Etymology_3, مِثْل meaning 'equal') were the twelve sovereign states of the Sikh Confederacy, which rose during the 18th century in the Punjab region in the northern part of the Indian ...

season. During a Twitter Q&A session on July 31, 2014, Rodrigues announced he had permanently retired from indoor soccer.

International

Rodrigues made his debut for the

Guyana national football team The Guyana national football team, nicknamed the ''Golden Jaguars'', represents Guyana in international football and is controlled by the Guyana Football Federation. It is one of three South American nations to be a member of the Caribbean Foot ...

in 2006, and has since amassed 23 caps for the team. He also participated in qualifying matches for the

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

and

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 ...

s. He was a part of the squad that qualified for the final round of the Digicel Caribbean Cup. A Caribbean tournament in which the top 4 teams qualify for the Gold Cup held in the United States. Most recently Rodrigues was a part of the squad that made the World Cup qualifying group stage in which Guyana drew Mexico, Costa Rica and El Salvador.

References

External links

*
Miami FC profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodrigues, J. P. 1983 births Living people Association football defenders Belmont Bruins men's soccer players Miami FC (2006) players Nashville Metros players D.C. United players Tampa Bay Rowdies players Guyanese footballers Guyana international footballers USL League Two players USL First Division players USSF Division 2 Professional League players Major League Soccer players North American Soccer League players Milwaukee Wave players Major Indoor Soccer League (2008–2014) players Soccer players from Tampa, Florida People from Lutz, Florida