Full name Mario Rodriguez Varela Role Argentine footballer Position Forward Name Mario Rodriguez Career end 1971 | 1954–1957 Chacarita Juniors Career start 1957 Playing position Died May 10, 2015 | |
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Date of birth (1937-10-20)20 October 1937 Place of birth Buenos Aires, Argentina Date of death 10 May 2015(2015-05-10) (aged 77) | ||
Mario Rodríguez Varela (20 October 1937 – 10 May 2015), was an Argentine professional footballer. Nicknamed Mariulo, he was the topscorer of the 1964 Copa Libertadores with 6 goals.
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Club career
He was born in Palermo, Buenos Aires and grew in Barrio Norte; he played at youth level for Chacarita Juniors. He then made his professional debut in 1957, playing in the Argentine second level; during the 1960 season he debuted in Primera División Argentina for Chacarita Juniors: thanks to his goalscoring skills, good physical strength and he managed to become one of the best forwards of the Argentine league. In 1963 he and Raúl Savoy moved to Independiente: Rodríguez was one of the protagonists of the two wins in the 1964 and 1965 editions of the Copa Libertadores, scoring many goals. He then left Independiente for Vélez Sarsfield, but he struggled to obtain opportunities to play, and eventually decide to leave Argentina for Chile. He then signed for Colo-Colo, where he played 2 seasons, scoring a total of 28 goals in 52 games. He then moved back to Argentina in 1971.
International career
Rodríguez played 10 international games for Argentina between 1962 and 1963. His first game was Argentina-Uruguay played on 13 March 1962. He scored 5 of his 6 goals during the 1963 South American Championship, and scored the sixth one on 16 April 1963 against Brazil.