Michael Steven Rodríguez Gutiérrez (born 30 December 1981) is a Costa Rican 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 ...

who most recently played for the

National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's soccer league. The NPSL is a semi-professional league, comprising some teams that have paid players and some that are entirely amateur. The league is officially affiliated to the Uni ...

club

Puerto Rico Bayamón Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places * El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines * Puerto Colombia, Colombia * Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela * Puerto Galera, O ...

Club career

Until recently, Rodríguez played club football for

Alajuelense Liga Deportiva Alajuelense (LDA, ), commonly known as Alajuelense and nicknamed La Liga (), is a Costa Rican multisport club based in the borough of El Llano, Alajuela, Alajuela province. Although they compete in a number of different sports, Ala ...

. In June 2008, he signed with the

Seattle Sounders Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...

of 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 ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. He currently has not played for the club, as he is awaiting his P1 Visa. On 24 June, Rodríguez made his debut for the Sounders in a match against

Hollywood United F.C. Hollywood United is an American amateur soccer team based in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1988, the team plays in Region IV of the United States Adult Soccer Association, a network of amateur leagues at the fifth tier of th ...

in the 2008 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. In January 2010 he joined Pérez Zeledón. In October 2012, Rodríguez moved abroad to play for Indian outfit

United Sikkim United Sikkim Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Gangtok, Sikkim. Founded in 2011, the club usually competed in the Sikkim Premier Division League. United Sikkim is the only club from Sikkim to have played in the I- ...

but he returned in June 2013 to play for Pérez Zeledón. In September 2014 he was denied a work permit by the United States to play for Puerto Rican side

after playing for them in the CONCACAF Champions League.

International career

Rodríguez played at the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship held in

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 ...

. He made his senior debut for Costa Rica in a February 2006

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

against

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 ...

and earned a total of 3 caps, scoring no goals. He also represented his country in 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 ...

, although he did not see any playing time during the tournament. His final international was a May 2006 World Cup warm-up match against

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

References

External links

* 1981 births Living people People from Alajuela (canton) Association football defenders Costa Rican footballers Costa Rica international footballers Olympic footballers of Costa Rica Footballers at the 2004 Summer Olympics 2006 FIFA World Cup players L.D. Alajuelense footballers A.D. Ramonense players Seattle Sounders (1994–2008) players Brujas FC players Municipal Pérez Zeledón footballers C.S. Herediano footballers United Sikkim F.C. players Liga FPD players Costa Rican expatriate footballers Expatriate soccer players in the United States Expatriate footballers in India USL First Division players Costa Rican expatriate sportspeople in India {{CostaRica-footy-bio-stub