Rodrigo Faria (born 24 February 1977, in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

) is a former Brazilian

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 striker.

Early career

Faria began his youth career in Brazil with the

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; English: ''Flamengo Rowing Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea, best known for their professional football ...

and Vasco da Gama systems. He later came to the United States to attend Concordia College in 1999, where he scored 24 goals in 19 games. During college, he also played for the

Westchester Flames Westchester Flames is an American soccer team based in New Rochelle, New York, United States. Founded in 1999, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid. The team plays its home games at City Park Stadium, ...

in the Premier Development League. He was scouted by the MetroStars and subsequently drafted 13th overall in the

2001 MLS SuperDraft The 2001 Major League Soccer SuperDraft was held on February 5, 2001, at the Signature Grand in Davie, Florida. Player selection Any player whose name is marked with an * was contracted under the Project-40 Generation Adidas is a joint ventur ...

Professional career

In his first season with the MetroStars, Faria tied the then MLS rookie single-season record by scoring eight goals on the way to being named the MLS Rookie of the Year. In an expanded role in 2002, he upped his total to twelve goals and also tallied five assists to lead the club in scoring. The club acquired a new head coach

Bob Bradley Robert Frank Bradley (born March 3, 1958) is an American soccer coach who is the head coach and sporting director of Toronto FC. A native of New Jersey and graduate of Princeton University, Bradley coached in the American college game and Maj ...

from the Chicago Fire the following season and Faria was shipped to Chicago as compensation. Rodrigo split the 2003 MLS season between the Fire and the San Jose Earthquakes, without scoring a regular season goal. He scored the overtime game-winner for the Earthquakes in a dramatic comeback against the

Los Angeles Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began pla ...

in the

MLS Cup The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conferen ...

semifinals. San Jose went on to win the Cup with Faria playing a minor role. Shortly after the 2003 season, Faria returned to Brazil to tend to his family's business interests after the death of his father. Though he expressed interest in continuing his playing career, he retired from the game due to a lack of Brazilian clubs willing to pay the required fees to purchase his unfulfilled contract with MLS.

Honors

Club

;San Jose Earthquakes *

: 2003

Individual

* MLS Rookie of the Year: 2001

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Faria, Rodrigo 1977 births Living people Brazilian men's footballers Brazilian expatriate men's footballers New York Red Bulls players Chicago Fire FC players San Jose Earthquakes players Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Westchester Flames players USL League Two players Major League Soccer players Concordia College (New York) alumni New York Red Bulls draft picks Men's association football forwards Footballers from Rio de Janeiro (city)