Juan Pablo Rodriguez

Juan Pablo Rodriguez Guerrero is a professional football player from Mexico who plays as a midfielder. Rodriguez is a defensive minded player who is considered to be one of the most gifted footballers in the history of F.C. Atlas A.C., his first club. Rodriguez made his professional debut in 1997 and for the next six years, was part of F.C. Atlas A.C. where he played almost 190 games and scored 53 goals.

During this time, Rodriguez was named to the Mexican Under-20 side, playing 5 games for them in 1999 and scoring twice.

In 2000, Rodriguez made his international debut for the Mexican national team.

Known for his ability to take charge of situations, Rodriguez was named as the captain of F.C. Atlas A.C. in 2000, at the age of 21. Rodriguez grabbed the attention of many big clubs with his mature displays and excellent set-piece ability during the 1999 Copa Libertadores tournament.

In 2003, he finally moved from F.C. Atlas A.C. to join Tecos UAG. Between 2003 & 2006, Rodriguez played almost 110 games for the team, scoring 12 times. At the end of the 2006 season, Rodriguez moved to Chivas de Guadalajara and in the 2007 Clausura tournament, turned out for a new club, Santos Laguna.

Rodriguez has received criticism, from the media, that he cannot play under pressure. Despite struggling to play good football in a team that was struggling to stay up in the Primera Division, both Rodriguez and Santos Laguna survived at the top level.

At the international level, Rodriguez was considered to be one of the stars, of the 1998 batch of Mexican football, to bring about a sea of change in the Mexican national team. Along with Rafael Marquez, Rodriguez was vital to the team’s success at the 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup. He was also a part of the team at the 2005 Confederations Cup in Germany.