Playing position Years Team Weight 76 kg Salary 850,000 EUR (2012) | Number 2 Height 1.78 m Career start 2002 | |
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Full name Gonzalo Javier Rodríguez Prado Date of birth (1984-04-10) 10 April 1984 (age 32) Place of birth Buenos Aires, Argentina Current team ACF Fiorentina (#2 / Defender) Similar Borja Valero, Nenad Tomović, Josip Iličić, Davide Astori, Milan Badelj | ||
Gonzalo Javier Rodríguez Prado ([ɡonˈsalo roˈðɾiɣes]; born 10 April 1984), sometimes known as simply Gonzalo, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a central defender for Italian club Fiorentina.
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After starting out at San Lorenzo, Rodríguez spent most of his career with Villarreal, appearing in 253 official games over the course of eight La Liga seasons and scoring nine goals.
Early years
Born in Buenos Aires, Rodríguez started playing with San Lorenzo de Almagro. He made his Primera División debut on 26 July 2002 at age 18 against Rosario Central.
At age 20, Rodríguez had already represented Argentina at international level, previously having appeared at the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship with the under-20 team.
Villarreal
In July 2004, Rodríguez joined Spain's Villarreal, being an undisputed starter in his first two seasons and renewing his link for a further five years. However, after the surprise elimination from the UEFA Intertoto Cup at the hands of Maribor, in which he was sent off, and a mere month into the league season, he suffered a serious injury, tearing the cruciate ligament in his right knee. After returning to activity in April 2007, he suffered the same injury two months later.
Rodríguez returned to good form in the 2008–09 campaign, often partnering Uruguayan Diego Godín and appearing in 48 La Liga games in two seasons combined, with Villarreal always qualifying to the UEFA Europa League, finishing fifth and seventh respectively. On 7 April 2011, in the Europa League's quarter-finals against Twente, he broke his fibula after a tough challenge by Marc Janko, being rushed to hospital in an ambulance and lost for the remainder of the season.
Fiorentina
In early August 2012, following Villarreal's relegation from La Liga, Rodríguez joined Italian Serie A club Fiorentina, alongside teammate Borja Valero. Rodríguez scored six Serie A goals from 35 appearances in his first year, helping to a final fourth place and the subsequent qualification to the Europa League.
In 2015–16, Rodríguez was named new team captain by new manager Paulo Sousa.