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

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

n 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 lea ...

who most recently played for the

National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's association football, soccer league. The league is officially affiliated to the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) and has automatic qualification for the U.S. Open Cup. ...

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, Philippines *Puerto Colombia, Colombia *Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela *Puerto Galera, Oriental Mi ...

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, Al ...

. In June 2008, he signed with the Seattle Sounders of the

USL First Division The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. 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. 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 Association football, football club based in Gangtok, Sikkim. Incorporated in 2011, the club usually competed in the Sikkim Premier Division League. United Sikkim is the only club from Sikki ...

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 The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, ...

International career

Rodríguez played at the

2001 FIFA World Youth Championship The 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship took place in Argentina between 17 June and 8 July 2001. The 2001 championship was the 13th contested. The tournament took part in six cities, Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Mendoza, Rosario, Salta, and Mar del ...

held in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. He was also named in the Costa Rican squad that competed in the football tournament at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Rodríguez made his senior debut for

in a February 2006

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

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

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 was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to FIFA World Cup hosts ...

, 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 is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

References

External links

* 1981 births Living people People from Alajuela (canton) Footballers from Alajuela Province Men's association football defenders Costa Rican men's footballers 21st-century Costa Rican sportsmen Costa Rica men's international footballers Olympic footballers for Costa Rica Footballers at the 2004 Summer Olympics 2006 FIFA World Cup players Liga Deportiva Alajuelense footballers A.D. Ramonense players Seattle Sounders (1994–2008) players Brujas F.C. players A.D. Municipal Pérez Zeledón footballers C.S. Herediano footballers United Sikkim FC players Liga FPD players Costa Rican expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Expatriate men's footballers in India USL First Division players Costa Rican expatriate sportspeople in India CONCACAF Champions Cup–winning players {{CostaRica-footy-bio-stub