Rodney Wallace (footballer)

Youth and college

Wallace's family moved to the United States when he was nine. He grew up in Rockville, Maryland, attended The Bullis School, and played college soccer at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Professional

Wallace was drafted in the first round (6th overall) of the 2009 MLS SuperDraft by D.C. United on January 15, 2009. He made his professional debut on 22 March 2009, in DC's first game of the 2009 MLS season against Los Angeles Galaxy, and scored his first career professional goal on 26 April 2009, in a 3-2 win over New York Red Bulls. As both a defender and midfielder, Wallace played 39 regular-season games and made 36 starts over his two years with D.C. United, compiling three goals and five assists.

On November 24, 2010, D.C. United traded Wallace and a fourth-round pick in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft to Portland Timbers in exchange for Dax McCarty and allocation money.

Wallace re-signed with Portland on December 6, 2012. In summer 2014, Wallace was sent on loan to USL Pro club Arizona United to regain match fitness after returning from injury.

Wallace returned to the Portland Timbers at the beginning of the 2015 season. He served as a regular starter all of the regular season. In the 2015 Audi MLS Cup playoffs, Wallace played a vital role in the team's success, scoring a goal against Sporting Kansas City in the knockout rounds. They went on to win that game in a penalty shootout 7-6 in what was the longest penalty shootout in MLS Cup playoffs history. The Timbers would go on to win the Western Conference Championship against FC Dallas and enter their first ever MLS Cup Final. Wallace came up big in the final, scoring what would go on to be the game winner in the 7th minute. The final score was 2-1.

Wallace signed with Portuguese Primeira Liga side F.C. Arouca in January 2016.

Two months later, on March 30, 2016, Sport Recife signed Wallace on a two-year contract, expiring at the end of the 2017 season. According to some Brazilian sources, the transfer fee between Sport Recife and Arouca was 200,000 euros. Wallace went on to make 24 appearances for Sport Recife, scoring 4 goals in the 2016 season.

Following rumors in the beginning of January 2017 that Wallace had no intentions of returning to Brazil, Wallace failed to report to the first day of preseason on January 9, 2017. Sport Recife subsequently set a deadline of January 13, 2017, for Wallace to return or present a plausible reason for non-attendance. On January 16, 2017, Wallace responded asking to be released. While Wallace and Sport Recife remained at an impasse for nearly a month, rumors began to swirl of a possible return to his former club, Portland Timbers. Wallace and Sport Recife finally reached resolution when he returned to Brazil and re-paid the club's 200,000 euro transfer fee on February 1, 2017. Sport Recife released Wallace from his contract the next day on February 2, 2017. Following his release, rumors have continued to persist of a possible return to the Timbers.

New York City FC

Wallace signed with New York City FC on February 15, 2017. He scored his first goal for the club on 12 March, in a 4–0 win over DC United.

International

During his first season in Portland, Wallace established himself as a starter at left midfield for the expansion club. His efforts earned him a call to represent Costa Rica in September. He made his international debut on September 2, 2011 at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California, and scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory over the United States. As of December 2014, Wallace has earned a total of 17 caps, scoring 3 goals. He represented his country in 3 FIFA World Cup qualification matches.

International goals

Personal

Wallace holds a U.S. green card which qualifies him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes.

University of Maryland

Club

Individual