Raúl Rodríguez Navarro (; born 22 September 1987) 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 ...

. He played 92 matches for

Espanyol Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as Espanyol, is a professional sports club based in Barcelona, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish football league s ...

, and subsequently competed in the United States, China and Kuwait.

Club career

Espanyol

Born in

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 ...

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 no ...

, Rodríguez made his professional debut with

UDA Gramenet Unión Deportiva Atlético Gramenet Milán is a Spanish football team based in Santa Coloma de Gramenet, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Founded in 1945 it currently plays in ''Segona Catalana – Group 4'', holding home games at '' Mu ...

, going on to play three full

Segunda División B Segunda División B ( en, Second Division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish Fo ...

seasons with the team. In summer 2010 he signed for neighbouring

RCD Espanyol Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as Espanyol, is a professional sports club based in Barcelona, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish football league sy ...

, being initially assigned to their reserves. After Víctor Ruiz was sold in the 2011 January

transfer window A transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other playing staff into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA. "Transfer ...

, and

Juan Forlín Juan Daniel Forlín (born 10 January 1988) is an Argentine former professional footballer. Mainly a central defender, he could also play as a defensive midfielder. He started out at Boca Juniors, then spent four years in La Liga with Espanyol, a ...

suffered a serious injury, Rodríguez was propelled to the first team by manager

Mauricio Pochettino Mauricio Roberto Pochettino Trossero (; born 2 March 1972) is an Argentine professional football manager and former player. He was most recently the head coach of Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain. Pochettino played as a central defender and be ...

. On 27 November 2010 he made his

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' ...

debut, coming on as a substitute for

Dani Osvaldo Pablo Daniel "Dani" Osvaldo (; born 12 January 1986) is a former professional footballer who played as a forward. Born and raised in Argentina, Osvaldo represented the Italy national team internationally. Osvaldo began his career at Huracán ...

in the last minute of a 3–2 away win against

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in ...

, and finished his first professional season with ten appearances, including eight starts. Rodríguez was definitely promoted to the main squad on 1 August 2011. He renewed his contract with the club in June 2012, running until 2015. On 8 January 2015, having been completely ostracised by new coach

Sergio Sergio may refer to: * Sergio (given name), for people with the given name Sergio * Sergio (carbonado), the largest rough diamond ever found * ''Sergio'' (album), a 1994 album by Sergio Blass * ''Sergio'' (2009 film), a documentary film * ''Ser ...

, Rodríguez cut ties with the ''Pericos'' as his link was due to expire on 30 June.

Abroad

On 9 January 2015, Houston Dynamo of

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Cana ...

announced they had signed Rodríguez. He made his debut for his new team on 8 March, being replaced in injury time of a 1–0 home win over the

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as on ...

. His first goal came on 26 April, in a 4–4 draw against

Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and the team clubhouse an ...

. After leaving the United States, Rodríguez played for

China League One The Chinese Football Association China League (), also known as China League One or Chinese Jia League (中甲联赛), is the second level of professional football in China. Above League One is the Chinese Super League. Prior to the formation of ...

pair

Shanghai Shenxin F.C. Shanghai Shenxin Football Club () was a professional football club that participated in China's football league system between 2003 and 2019 under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team was based in Jinshan District, Shangh ...

and

Meizhou Meixian Techand F.C. Guangdong South China Tiger Football Club () or simply Guangdong South China Tiger () was a professional Chinese football club that last participated in China League One. The team was based in Meixian District, Meizhou, Guangdong and their ...

before signing for Al-Arabi SC of the

Kuwaiti Premier League The Kuwait Premier League (), known as STC Premier League due to sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Kuwait football pyramid system. Formed in 1961, Al-Arabi, Qadsia and Kuwait both hold the best record in the competition, having won ...

in 2019. He was signed for all three clubs by compatriot manager

Juan Ignacio Martínez Juan Ignacio Martínez Jiménez (; born 23 June 1964), is a Spanish football coach and former player, who played as a left back, and is a current head coach. Playing career Martínez was born in Alicante. After playing youth football for both ...

International career

Rodríguez was never

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...

by Spain at any level. He played one match for the Catalonia representative side on 30 December 2011, a goalless draw with

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

at his club ground the

Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys (, formerly known as the Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc and Estadio de Montjuic) is a stadium in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Originally built in 1927 for the 1929 International Exposition in the city (and Barcelona ...

, as a half-time substitute for

Gerard Piqué Gerard Piqué Bernabeu (, ; born 2 February 1987) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He is considered one of the best defenders of his generation. Initially a highly promising student at La Masia, Piq ...

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Raul 1987 births Living people Spanish men's footballers Footballers from Barcelona Men's association football central defenders La Liga players Segunda División B players Tercera División players UE Vilassar de Mar players UDA Gramenet footballers RCD Espanyol B footballers RCD Espanyol footballers Major League Soccer players Houston Dynamo FC players China League One players Shanghai Shenxin F.C. players Guangdong South China Tiger F.C. players Kuwait Premier League players Al-Arabi SC (Kuwait) players Catalonia men's international footballers Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Expatriate men's footballers in China Expatriate men's footballers in Kuwait Spanish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Spanish expatriate sportspeople in China Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Kuwait