Maxi Rodríguez

Maximiliano Rubén "Maxi" Rodríguez (born 2 January 1981 in Rosario, Santa Fe) is an Argentine footballer who currently plays for Atlético Madrid in the Spanish first division.

Nicknamed La Fiera, he is commonly used as a winger, but can also operate as an attacking midfielder.^[1] He arrived in Spain in his early 20's, and went on to spend the bulk of professional career there.

Club career

Rodríguez came through the youth set-up at Newell's Old Boys in the Argentine League, and played for the club for three seasons before moving to Spain (after leaving permanently abroad, he had already played six months on loan to Real Oviedo, then in the country's second division).

In 2002, he moved to La Liga with RCD Espanyol, his league debut coming on 2 September in a 0–2 loss against Real Madrid; he played 37 matches in every campaign with the Catalonians, and scored 15 times during his last season, including the club's 2000th Spanish league goal.

At the start of the 2005–06 season, Rodríguez moved to Atlético Madrid for a transfer fee of €7 million,^[2] where he continued to post consistent numbers. In his second year, he suffered, alongside teammate (and winger) Martin Petrov, a serious knee injury (ACL), which limited him to only 10 appearances.^[3]

On November 10, 2009, Rodríguez put four goals past UD Marbella in the Spanish Cup Round-of-32 second leg, in an eventual 6–0 home win (8–0 aggregate).

International career

Rodríguez won the 2001 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship with the Argentina under-20's; on home ground, he led the scoring charts with four in seven matches, scoring the first and last goals for the winners.

He made his full squad debut in a friendly match against Japan in 2003. After being part of the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup squad, Rodríguez was called for the 2006 FIFA World Cup by national boss José Pekerman. On 16 June, he scored twice in Argentina's 6–0 victory over Serbia and Montenegro in the group stage.

In the round of 16, Rodríguez scored the winning goal against Mexico in a 2–1 extra time victory. He controlled a cross-field pass from Juan Pablo Sorín with his chest before volleying into the top corner from outside the penalty area with his left foot, in the 98th minute.^[4] In an official online poll by FIFA, it was voted the best goal of the tournament.^[5]

After Argentina lost the quarter-final game against Germany on 30 June 2006, Rodríguez punched German player Bastian Schweinsteiger in the back. FIFA fined him CHF5,000 and suspended him from two matches in the Copa América 2007 for violent conduct.^[6] However, after a serious knee injury in a friendly with Spain in October 2006, he missed the continental competition, as national team manager Alfio Basile, whom initially intended to select the player, eventually rested him for precaution.^[7]

Rodríguez scored in Diego Maradona's first game in charge of Argentina, a 0–1 friendly win in Scotland.^[8]

International goals

As of 10 August 2009

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	17 August 2005	Ferenc Puskas Stadium, Budapest, Hungary	Hungary	1 – 0	2–1	Friendly
2.	30 May 2006	Stadio Arechi, Salerno, Italy	Angola	1 – 0	2–0	Friendly
3.	16 June 2006	WM Stadion Gelsenkirchen, Gelsenkirchen, Germany	Serbia and Montenegro	1 – 0	6–0	2006 FIFA World Cup
4.	16 June 2006	WM Stadion Gelsenkirchen, Gelsenkirchen, Germany	Serbia and Montenegro	3 – 0	6–0	2006 FIFA World Cup
5.	24 June 2006	Zentralstadion, Leipzig, Germany	Mexico	2 – 1	2–1 (a.e.t.)	2006 FIFA World Cup
6.	22 August 2007	Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway	Norway	1 – 2	1–2	Friendly
7.	4 June 2008	Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, USA	Mexico	3 – 0	4–1	Friendly
8.	19 November 2008	Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland	Scotland	1 – 0	1–0	Friendly
9.	28 March 2009	El Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Venezuela	3 – 0	4–0	2010 World Cup qualifying

Club statistics

Other ventures

In 2009, Rodríguez appeared in a music video for Coti, starring alongside Atlético teammate Diego Forlán.^[9]

References

External links

• Guardian statistics
• BDFutbol profile
• NationalFootballTeams data

v • d • e Argentina squad – 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup Runners-up 1 Franco • 2 Samuel • 3 Sorín • 4 Zanetti • 5 Cambiasso • 6 Heinze • 7 Tévez • 8 Riquelme • 9 Saviola • 10 Aimar • 11 Delgado • 12 Lux • 13 G.J. Rodríguez • 14 Milito • 15 Placente • 16 Coloccini • 17 Bernardi • 18 Santana • 19 Maxi Rodríguez • 20 Demichelis • 21 Figueroa • 22 Galletti • 23 Caballero • Coach: Pekerman

v • d • e Argentina squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup 1 Abbondanzieri • 2 Ayala • 3 Sorín • 4 Coloccini • 5 Cambiasso • 6 Heinze • 7 Saviola • 8 Mascherano • 9 Crespo • 10 Riquelme • 11 Tévez • 12 Franco • 13 Scaloni • 14 Palacio • 15 Milito • 16 Aimar • 17 Cufré • 18 Rodríguez • 19 Messi • 20 Cruz • 21 Burdisso • 22 González • 23 Ustari • Coach: Pekerman