Francisco Javier Rodríguez Pinedo (Spanish pronunciation:[fɾanˈsiskoxaˈβjeɾroˈðɾiɣes]; born 20 October 1981), commonly known by the nickname Maza is a Mexican former professional footballer who played as a centre-back.[3]
Club career
Guadalajara
Rodríguez was born in Mazatlán, Sinaloa,[4] which is the origin of his nickname "Maza" (short for Mazatlán). He began his professional career with Guadalajara under Dutch manager Hans Westerhof,[5] debuting for the club in the Apertura 2002 tournament.
In the Apertura 2006, Rodríguez had a pivotal role in Guadalajara's championship run, winning the final second-leg match 2–1 (3–2 on aggregate) against Toluca on 10 December. The win gave Chivas their eleventh league championship, a record which stood until América matched it in 2013.
PSV Eindhoven
On 9 May 2008, it was announced that he was transferred for US$1.8 million to Dutch club PSV Eindhoven, the second Mexican in the latter squad with Carlos Salcido. Rodríguez was predominantly during that debut season mostly on the bench, and proved an alternate centre backs for Dirk Marcellis. He scored his first goal with the Dutch giants on 25 November 2008 with a 30-yard shot against Heracles Almelo.
Prior to the start of the 2009–10 season, Rodríguez was given the number four jersey, previously worn by Manuel da Costa, who had transferred to Fiorentina in January 2008. He won a starting spot in the center of defence for both the Eredevisie and the Europa League.
VfB Stuttgart
On 14 July 2011, Rodríguez signed a three-year contract with VfB Stuttgart for an undisclosed fee.[6][7] Rodríguez made his Bundesliga debut on 6 August 2011 in a 3–0 win against Schalke 04. He registered an assist in the 37th minute to Cacau, which gave Stuttgart a 2–0 lead in their 3–0 victory.[8]
Rodríguez was part of the Mexico 2004 Olympicunder-23 team. They were eliminated in the group stage, having finished third in Group A, below group winners Mali and South Korea.
During the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Rodríguez, and four other members of the Mexico national team, tested positive for the banned substance of Clenbuterol and were withdrawn from the tournament squad.[11] However, all players were exonerated as FIFA determined that the accused had ingested the banned substance via contaminated meat that had been served during a pre-tournament training camp.[12] However, World Anti-Doping Agency appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to request a ban.[13] But on 12 October 2011, WADA withdrew this request after the full file was made available to them.[14]