Sergio Rodríguez García (born 17 August 1984), commonly known as Rodri, is a Spanish 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

central defender 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

Born in

Mataró Mataró () is the capital and largest town of the ''comarca'' of the Maresme, in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia Autonomous Community, Spain. It is located on the Costa del Maresme, to the south of Costa Brava, between Cabrera de Mar and ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...

, Rodri was a product of

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Found ...

's youth system. He played only two

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

games with the first team over the course of two seasons, his first being on 11 December 2004 in a 2–1 away win against

Albacete Balompié Albacete Balompié is a Spanish football team based in Albacete, in the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha. Founded on 2 August 1940, it currently plays in Segunda División, the second tier of Spanish football, holding home matches ...

(three minutes played), and ''Barça'' were eventually crowned back-to-back champions in his second year, although he was mainly registered with the B-side. During the summer of 2006, Rodri was purchased by Galicia's

Deportivo de La Coruña Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña (), commonly known as Deportivo La Coruña (), Deportivo or simply Dépor, is a professional football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia, Spain. They currently play in the Primera División RFEF – ...

, making just six competitive appearances for the main squad in two seasons. In January 2007, he was loaned to

second division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

club

UD Almería Unión Deportiva Almería, S.A.D. () is a Spanish professional football club based in Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded on 26 July 1989 and known as ''Almería Club de Fútbol'' until 2001, when it was renamed ''Unión D ...

, playing the entire 2007–08 campaign with Polideportivo Ejido, also in that tier and in

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The t ...

. Rodri was again loaned by ''Depor'' in September 2008, joining Portuguese Primeira Liga team

C.S. Marítimo Club Sport Marítimo MH M, commonly known as Marítimo ( locally ), is a Portuguese sports club founded in Funchal, Madeira, in 1910. Marítimo is best known for its football team playing in Portugal's top-flight competition, the Primeira Lig ...

. However, not having been used during his brief spell, he returned to

A Coruña A Coruña (; es, La Coruña ; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. A Coruña is the most populated city in Galicia and the second most populated municipality in the autonomous community and s ...

, moving in January 2009 to another Spanish division two side,

UD Salamanca Unión Deportiva Salamanca, S.A.D. () was a historical Spanish football team based in Salamanca, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Founded on 9 February 1923 and nicknamed ''Los Charros'', the club played in white shirts and blac ...

. In late July 2009, Rodri was released by Deportivo and stayed in the second tier, signing a 1+1 contract with Hércules CF. In his first year he experienced his best season as a professional, scoring four goals in 38 matches as the

Alicante Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...

club returned to the top flight after a 13-year absence. Rodri appeared in 13 games for Hércules in

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

, mainly due to injury or suspension to habitual starters Abraham Paz and

Noé Pamarot Noé Elias Pamarot (born 14 April 1979) is a French former professional footballer who played as a central defender. Before moving to Spain, Pamarot played for Portsmouth in the Premier League. He is a right-footed defender who is also known for ...

. In March 2011, he moved to

FC Spartak Moscow FC Spartak Moscow (russian: Футбольный клуб «Спартак» Москва, Futbolʹnyy klub «Spartak» Moskva, ) is a Russian professional football club based in Moscow. Having won 12 Soviet championships (second only to Dyn ...

in Russia for

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...

400,000, signing a one-year deal. After his contract ended, Rodri left Spartak. On 31 August 2012, he returned to his homeland and joined

Rayo Vallecano Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, S.A.D. (), often abbreviated to Rayo (Spanish for "thunderbolt"), is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid, in the neighbourhood of Vallecas. Rayo was founded on 29 May 1924, and currently compete in La Li ...

. After two years in the Belgian First Division B with K.A.S. Eupen, he resumed his career in the Spanish lower leagues.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodri 1984 births Living people People from Mataró Footballers from the Province of Barcelona Spanish men's footballers Men's association football defenders La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players FC Barcelona C players FC Barcelona Atlètic players FC Barcelona players Deportivo de La Coruña players UD Almería players Polideportivo Ejido footballers UD Salamanca players Hércules CF players Rayo Vallecano players CF Badalona Futur players CE L'Hospitalet players C.S. Marítimo players Russian Premier League players FC Spartak Moscow players Challenger Pro League players K.A.S. Eupen players Spain men's youth international footballers Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Russia Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Russia Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Belgium