Ricardo Rodríguez (footballer)

Ricardo Iván Rodríguez Araya (; born 25 August 1992) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a left back for Dutch club PSV on loan from Serie A club Milan and the Switzerland national team. He has been described as an accomplished defender and is noted for his strong heading ability, and ability to deliver pinpoint crosses. Rodríguez is also noted for his speciality in set piece situations and for penalty-taking abilities.

Born to a Spanish father and a Chilean mother of Basque descent, Rodríguez began his  professional career at  local club FC Zürich in 2010, having spent eight years in the youth setup. After breaking through into the first team at Zürich, Rodríguez was sold to VfL Wolfsburg in January 2012 for £7.5 million. He played 184 games across all competitions for Wolfsburg, scoring 22 goals and winning the DFB-Pokal and DFL-Supercup in 2015. In 2017, he signed for A.C. Milan.

Rodríguez has earned caps at every level of the Swiss national team setup, winning the FIFA U17 World Cup in 2009. A full international for Switzerland since 2011, Rodríguez has earned over 60 caps for the country. He was part of the Swiss team at the 2012 Olympics, the 2014 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2016 and the 2018 FIFA World Cup. In 2014, he was voted Swiss Footballer of the Year.

Club career

FC Zürich
Rodríguez began playing football at the highly regarded youth club FC Schwamendingen in 2001 before joining  the youth setup of FC Zürich as an 11-year-old in 2002. He was promoted to the senior squad in 2009 at age 16, making the bench for Zürich's 2–3 defeat to NK Maribor in the first leg of their third qualifying round Champions League tie on 29 July 2009.

He made his Zürich debut as a 17-year-old in the 25th round of the Swiss Super League on 21 March 2010, replacing the injured Hannu Tihinen in the first half of the 2–0  win over Bellinzona. His full debut came in the Zürich Derby against Grasshoppers on 5 April, playing the entire 3–2 win for the hosts.

He made only his second start in the first match of the Swiss Super League season on 20 July 2010, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–3 defeat to rivals FC Basel. On 28 April 2011, he scored his first professional goal for the club, opening the scoring for the hosts as they ran out 3–0 winners over Neuchâtel Xamax at the Letzigrund.

Rodríguez made his European debut in the first-leg of their third qualifying round tie against Standard Liège on 27 July 2011. He played the entire match and provided the cross for fellow Zürich youth team graduate Admir Mehmedi as the Swiss secured a 1–1 draw at the Stade Maurice Dufrasne in Belgium. In the second leg, Rodríguez missed from an open goal from close range but Zürich won 1–0 to earn a spot in the play-off round against Bayern Munich. He played the entirety of both play-off matches against Bayern, but the Swiss side fell 0–3 on aggregate and dropped into the Europa League.

On 26 October 2011, Rodríguez scored his second goal for the club, netting his side's second from the penalty spot, in a 2–0 win over FC Thun. The club's final Super League match before the winter break on 10 December 2011, turned out to be Rodríguez's last in a Zürich shirt, playing the entire 1–1 draw with FC Sion. On 11 January 2012, Zürich officials announced that the club had accepted a bid for Rodríguez by German side Wolfsburg and that he was on the verge of completing the transfer, subject to a medical. Despite being sold midway through the season, Rodríguez was voted as the Fans' Player of the Season on 4 June 2012, ahead of Oliver Buff and Pedro Henrique.

VfL Wolfsburg

Early career
VfL Wolfsburg purchased Rodríguez as a 19-year-old on 13 January 2012 for £7.5 million with the player signing a four-and-a-half-year deal. He quickly asserted himself into the first-team lineup, making his Bundesliga debut the next day against 1. FC Köln, a 1–0 victory for the Wolves. Rodríguez went on to play every game of the season from that point on without being substituted, becoming a favorite on the left of the defense for manager Felix Magath.

Through the first ten league games of the following campaign, Rodríguez was once again an ever-present in the squad, featuring in all the outings, starting eight. But Magath was sacked after a poor run of form in the league and when Lorenz-Günther Köstner was installed as interim manager, the more experienced Marcel Schäfer was preferred at left back. Once Dieter Hecking was appointed manager though, Rodríguez won his place back in the first team.

2013–14 season
On 9 November 2013, he scored his first goal for Wolfsburg, from a direct free kick in a home Bundesliga match against Borussia Dortmund. The match ended in a 2–1 win for Wolfsburg, although they were losing at half-time. His second goal for Wolfsburg came from the penalty spot against Hamburg on 29 November, earning his side a 1–1 draw. He opened the scoring in their Bundesliga match on 14 December, curling the ball past keeper Sven Ulreich, as Wolfsburg won 3–1.

He finished the 2013–14 season with five league goals, in addition to nine assists. He failed to make it into the Bundesliga Team of the Season, but was included in a list of the Best Defenders for the 2013–14 campaign. Rodríguez's nine assists also meant that he created more goals than any other full-back in Europe. His impressive displays during the season included 2.3 key passes per game, the same number as Andrea Pirlo, the two-time reigning Serie A Footballer of the Year, and 2.6 successful dribbles per game, more than Cristiano Ronaldo, the reigning Ballon d'Or winner.

2014–15 season

He scored his first ever goal in European football for Wolfsburg on 18 September 2014, netting directly from a free-kick after having previously scored an own-goal in a 4–1 defeat to English side Everton. Three days later, Rodriguez scored twice more for Wolfsburg, once from the penalty spot and a volley from a Kevin De Bruyne corner, as Wolfsburg defeated Bayer Leverkusen 4–1. He scored his third league goal of the season against Werder Bremen on 27 September, converting a De Bruyne cross to put Wolfsburg up 1–0 in an eventual 2–1 victory.

In October 2014, Rodríguez was ruled out for a number of weeks with a troubled patella tendon and thigh. On 31 October, his agent, Roger Wittman, confirmed that Rodríguez and Wolfsburg had opened contract talks to extend his current deal beyond 2016. Rodríguez scored twice in Wolfsburg's 3–0 win away to Lille on 11 December, a result which advanced his side into the Europa League knockout stage instead of their opponents. In January 2015, he signed a new contract up to June 2019. He scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot on 7 April, as Wolfsburg defeated SC Freiburg to reach the semi-finals of the DFB-Pokal, also making a goalline clearance later on. In the final on 30 May, he played the full 90 minutes as Wolfsburg won their first cup, defeating Borussia Dortmund 3–1.

2015–16 season
Rodríguez played the full 90 minutes of Wolfsburg's victory over Bayern Munich in the 2015 DFL-Supercup on 1 August, scoring their first attempt in the penalty shootout after a 1–1 draw.

On 28 August 2015, he managed to score his first goal of the season against from the spot. He also assisted Tim Klose's goal later in that match as Wolfsburg beat Schalke 3–0. He scored another penalty in a 2–1 loss against Borussia Dortmund on 5 December.

On 6 April 2016, as Wolfsburg hosted Real Madrid in the first leg of the quarter-finals of the season's Champions League, Rodríguez scored a penalty to open a surprise 2–0 victory. By sending Keylor Navas the wrong way, he was the first player to score against Real's goalkeeper in the tournament for 738 minutes.

2016–17 season
On 20 August 2016, Rodríguez played his first game of the season in a 2–1 win over FSV Frankfurt in DFB-Pokal. He also played Wolfsburg's opening ‌Bundesliga match of the season, in which he scored a freekick in a 2–0 win over Augsburg.

In January 2017, Rodríguez was a target for Inter Milan and agreed to a move, but the Italian club refused to pay a fee high enough to trigger his release clause of £18.5 million.

A.C. Milan
On 8 June 2017, it was announced that Rodríguez joined Italian Serie A club A.C. Milan on a four-year deal. The fee was reported as €15 million plus €2 million in bonuses. He chose the number 68 shirt, after the year his mother was born.

He played his first official match for Milan and managed to score his first goal, a free kick, to win the first leg of Milan's Europa League qualification match against CS U Craiova on 27 July. He also played in the second leg the following week and assisted Patrick Cutrone's goal from the set piece as Milan beat their opponent 2–0. Rodríguez made his Serie A debut in a 3–0 home victory against Crotone on 21 August, and his first league goal came from a penalty kick in a 2–0 win against SPAL at the San Siro on 20 September. On 15 October in the Derby della Madonnina, he gave away a late penalty from which Mauro Icardi completed his hat-trick to win the game 3–2 for Inter. Since then, whilst being a regular for Milan, he has not reached the heights that were expected of him, with Milan failing repeatedly to reach the Champions League. Most recently they failed in 2019 when Atalanta qualified for the first time at their expense.

Loan to PSV
On 30 January 2020, he was loaned to Dutch club PSV until the end of the 2019–20 season.

International career

In 2009, he was part of the Swiss U17 team who won the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup. His first goal of the tournament came in Switzerland's second group game against Japan on 27 October 2009, netting the winning goal as the match ended 4–3. He opened the scoring for the Swiss in the 35th minute against Germany in the Round of 16 as Switzerland eventually won 4–3 in added extra time. In the semi-finals against Colombia, he scored Switzerland's final goal of their 4–0 win to reach their first final of a FIFA competition since a 3–0 loss to Uruguay in the 1924 Olympics. He played the entire final against Nigeria on 15 November, helping Switzerland to a 1–0 victory to become just the third European nation to lift the trophy.

Rodríguez made his debut for Switzerland in a Euro 2012 qualifying match against Wales on 7 October 2011, replacing Xherdan Shaqiri in the second half of the 0–2 loss. In his full debt four days later, Rodríguez played the entire match as the Swiss defeated Montenegro 2–0 to end their qualification campaign on a high, despite missing out on a playoff spot to the Balkan side. In a friendly match against the Netherlands on 11 November, he played the entire match as the Swiss kept a clean sheet in Amsterdam.

He played all three matches for Switzerland at the 2012 Olympics, in which they were eliminated in the group stage.

Rodríguez featured in nine of ten World Cup qualifying matches for the Swiss, totaling 810 minutes, as they qualified for the World Cup with a game to spare, thanks to a 2–1 win over Albania on 11 October 2013. On 13 May 2014, Rodríguez was named in Switzerland's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. In their opening group game against Ecuador on 15 June, he took the corner which was headed by Admir Mehmedi for the equaliser, as well as crossing for Haris Seferović to score the winner in a 2–1 victory. During the tournament finals in Brazil, he averaged 5 tackles and 2.5 interceptions per game, earning plaudits for his strong tackling as well as his ability to read the game.

At UEFA Euro 2016 in France, Rodríguez played every minute as Switzerland reached the last 16. They were eliminated on penalties by Poland in Saint-Étienne, although Rodríguez scored his attempt.

On 8 October 2016, he scored his first international goal on his 43rd cap, putting the Swiss into the lead in a 3–2 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying win over Hungary at the Groupama Arena. He netted another penalty on 3 September 2017 to conclude a 3–0 away win over Latvia. The Swiss finished second in their group behind Portugal, qualifying for the play-offs where they faced Northern Ireland. Rodríguez scored the only goal of the tie in the first leg at Windsor Park in Belfast, when a penalty was controversially awarded against Corry Evans. In the second leg in Basel, he made a goalline clearance from a Jonny Evans header to ensure the Swiss victory.

He was included in the Switzerland national football team 23 man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Playing style

Due to his wide range of skills, Rodríguez is known for being equally adept at defending as he is going forward. Although usually a left-back, his size and physique have also seen him be deployed as a centre-back on occasion. Experts consider him as an accomplished defender and note his strong heading ability, as well his personality. He is also considered a continual attacking threat, and has been noted by analysts for his exceptional stamina and pace, which allow for his constant, buccaneering runs up the wing; he has also drawn praise from pundits for rarely conceding careless fouls. Conversely, he has been criticised for giving too much room to opposition attackers, taking up poor positioning and lacking in defensive discipline, while other analysts have criticised his concentration.

Possessing good technique and distribution, he has become known for his pinpoint crossing and accurate left foot, which have earned him comparisons with Everton and England left back Leighton Baines. He is also noted for his speciality in dead ball situations, such as corner kicks, direct free kicks, and indirect free kicks, as well as for his excellent penalty taking abilities, emerging as Wolfsburg's first-choice penalty taker during the 2013–14 season. In 2014, his manager Dieter Hecking praised Rodríguez as "the best left-back in the Bundesliga".

Personal life 
Rodríguez was born in Zürich to a Spanish father and a Chilean mother. His mother, Marcela Araya, died of cancer in 2015. Rodriguez had the number 68, the year of her birth, tattooed on his back. Rodriguez was born with a diaphragmatic hernia, meaning that his stomach, spleen, liver and intestine had migrated into the chest. Rodriguez was given a 50% chance of survival and was monitored every six months for the first three years of his life.  He is the younger brother of KFC Uerdingen 05 midfielder Roberto Rodríguez and the older brother of midfielder Francisco Rodríguez, who plays for FC Luzern.

Career statistics

Club

1 Includes Swiss Cup, DFB Pokal and DFL-Supercup matches. 
2 Includes UEFA Europa League and UEFA Champions League matches.

International

International goals
Scores and results list Switzerland's goal tally first.

Honours

Club
VfL Wolfsburg
DFB-Pokal: 2014–15
DFL-Supercup: 2015

International
Switzerland
FIFA U-17 World Cup: 2009

Individual
FC Zürich Fans' Player of the Season: 2011–12
Swiss Footballer of the Year: 2014

References

External links

Profile at VfL Wolfsburg 
Profile at FC Zürich 
FIFA Profile
UEFA Profile
Bundesliga Profile
Sky Sports Profile

Category:1992 births
Category:Living people
Category:Swiss people of Basque descent
Category:Swiss people of Spanish descent
Category:Swiss people of Chilean descent
Category:Swiss people of Galician descent
Category:Sportspeople from Zürich
Category:Swiss footballers
Category:Association football defenders
Category:FC Zürich players
Category:VfL Wolfsburg players
Category:A.C. Milan players
Category:PSV Eindhoven players
Category:Swiss Super League players
Category:Bundesliga players
Category:Serie A players
Category:Switzerland youth international footballers
Category:Olympic footballers of Switzerland
Category:Switzerland international footballers
Category:Footballers at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Category:2014 FIFA World Cup players
Category:UEFA Euro 2016 players
Category:2018 FIFA World Cup players
Category:Swiss expatriate footballers
Category:Swiss expatriate sportspeople in Germany
Category:Swiss expatriate sportspeople in Italy
Category:Expatriate footballers in Germany
Category:Expatriate footballers in Italy
Category:Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands