Celio Roberto Rodríguez da Silva (born September 20, 1969 in

Paranaíba Paranaíba is the easternmost Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the States of Brazil, Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul. Its population was 42,276 (2020) and its area is 5,402.778 km2. Geography Climate References

Mu ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

) is a retired Brazilian and naturalized Salvadoran

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player.

Club career

Rodríguez was born ''Célio Rodrigues'' in Brasil and played for several local teams in his early years before making the move to Mexican side

Puebla Puebla, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Puebla, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its capital is Puebla City. Part of east-centr ...

. In 1992, he moved to El Salvador’s First Division League and launched a lengthy career with

Luis Ángel Firpo Luis Ángel Firpo (October 11, 1894 – August 7, 1960) was an Argentine boxer. Born in Junín, Argentina, he was nicknamed ''The Wild Bull of the Pampas''. He was the first Latin American in history to challenge for the world heavyweight titl ...

with whom he would win 5 league titles and stay for 10 years, except for a season on loan to El Roble. In 1997, he was joint top goalscorer of the

Primera División de Fútbol de El Salvador The Primera División de Fútbol Profesional de El Salvador (First Division of Professional Football of El Salvador), more commonly known as La Liga Mayor or La Primera, also known as Liga Pepsi for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional ...

. He officially retired in 2001 although he still played a few games in 2002.

International career

A naturalized Salvadoran citizen, Rodríguez made his debut for

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

in an August 2000

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

against

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

, but he failed to impress and got injured.Celio, en la lista de bajas
- El Diario de Hoy The match in the end proved to be his only international game.

Retirement

Rodríguez retired in 2001 to become vicar of the church of

Usulután Usulután () is the fifth largest city in El Salvador, and capital of the Usulután Department in the south-east of El Salvador. As of 2006, it is estimated to have population of 71,636 people. Usulután rests in a rich agricultural valley and ...

, after he had studied theology during his football career.

Personal life

He is married to Karla Marina Sigüenza and they have one daughter together. His daughter's name is Camila Rodriguez.

Honours

Luis Ángel Firpo *

: 1995, 1996, 1997, Apertura 1998, Clausura 2000

References

External links

Celio Rodríguez: entre el fútbol y Dios
- El Diario de Hoy

El Diario de Hoy {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Celio 1969 births Living people People from Mato Grosso do Sul Brazilian emigrants to El Salvador Naturalized citizens of El Salvador Men's association football forwards Salvadoran men's footballers El Salvador men's international footballers CR Vasco da Gama players Club Puebla players C.D. Luis Ángel Firpo footballers