Joao Rodriguez
From TheChels.info - The Chelsea Football Club Wiki
| Joao Rodriguez | |
| |
| Full Name | Joao Leandro Rodriguez Gonzalez |
| Date of Birth | 19 May 1996 |
| Place of Birth | Colombia |
| Position | Forward |
| Chelsea career | 2012 - 2019 |
| Debut | n/a |
| Games (goals) | n/a |
| Other clubs | Quindio Quindio (loan) Uniautónoma (loan) SC Bastia (loan) Vitória Setúbal (loan) Sint-Truiden (loan) Santa Fe (loan) Cortuluá (loan) Tampico Madero (loan) Tenerife (loan) |
Joao Rodriguez (born 19th May 1996 in Colombia) is a forward who was formerly a part of Chelsea's academy.
Contents |
Pre-Chelsea career
The son of former Colombian top-flight striker Willy Rodriguez, Joao caught the eye as a prolific striker in the junior ranks of national Colombian football. His performances at the 2011 South American Under-15 Championships caught the eye of scouts worldwide, including those of Chelsea.
Chelsea career
Joao spent two months on trial as an Under-16 and impressed enough to sign a pre-contract agreement for a five-year professional contract beginning on his seventeenth birthday. A prolific pre-season with Adrian Viveash's youth team saw him gain some attention, but with no work permit to play in England, he returned to his former club Quindio to play for the 2012-13 season.
After spending some time training in England he joined Uniautónoma in the Colombian top flight, playing on loan under his father. He scored his first senior goal against Medellin and made half a dozen appearances before his father was sacked, and he made no further appearances thereafter.
In August 2014 he joined French club SC Bastia, managed by Claude Makelele, on loan for the season. Things started promisingly but Bastia's form slipped and Makelele was sacked, leading to the club's new manager casting Joao aside. In January he joined Portuguese side Vitória Setúbal along with Ulises Dávila but didn't make a single appearance for the club.
He joined Belgium club Sint-Truiden for the 2015-16 season along with Victorien Angban and Cristian Cuevas but struggled for playing time before going down with a long-term ankle injury. He returned to Colombia in 2016-17 but failed to convince at either Santa Fe or Cortuluá, and his career appeared to be going nowhere before he joined Tampico Madero in 2017. There, in the Mexican Second Division, he found form and goals, scoring eight times in their unlikely - and ultimately unsuccessful - challenge for promotion.
That earned him a move to Tenerife in 2018-19, where he scored one goal in an injury-hit first half of the season. He was released by Chelsea on January 31st 2019.
International
Joao has represented Colombia at Under-15, Under-17 and Under-20 levels, playing and scoring at the 2014 Toulon Tournament and the 2015 FIFA Under-20 World Cup.
Career statistics
Youth Team Football
| Season | Total | |
|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | |
Senior Club Football
| Season | Club | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| 2013-14 | Uniautónoma (loan) | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| 2014-15 | Bastia (loan) | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 2014-15 | Vitória Setúbal (loan) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015-16 | Sint-Truiden (loan) | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| 2016-17 | Santa Fé (loan) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2016-17 | Cortuluá (loan) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 2017-18 | Tampico Madero (loan) | 21 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 8 |
| 2018-19 | Tenerife (loan) | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 |
| Total | 51 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 65 | 10 | |
(Statistics accurate as of the end of Joao's Chelsea career)
Career honours
None
