Pedro (footballer, born July 1987)

For other people named Pedro Rodríguez, see Pedro Rodríguez.
This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Rodríguez and the second or maternal family name is Ledesma.
Pedro

Pedro playing for Chelsea in 2015
Personal information
Full name Pedro Eliezer Rodríguez Ledesma[1]
Date of birth (1987-07-28) 28 July 1987
Place of birth Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
Height 1.67 m (5 ft 5 1⁄2 in)[2]
Playing position Forward / Winger
Club information
Current team
 Chelsea
Number 17
Youth career
2003–2004 San Isidro
2004–2005 Barcelona
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2005–2007 Barcelona C 70 (10)
2007–2009 Barcelona B 55 (17)
2008–2015 Barcelona 204 (58)
2015– Chelsea 27 (7)
National team‡
2008 Spain U21 2 (0)
2010– Spain 55 (16)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:50, 2 May 2016 (UTC).
† Appearances (goals)

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 5 September 2015

Pedro Eliezer Rodríguez Ledesma (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈpeðɾo roˈðɾiɣeθ leˈðezma]; born 28 July 1987), commonly known as Pedro or Pedrito, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a forward or a winger for English club Chelsea and the Spain national team.

Pedro scored 99 goals in 321 appearances across all competitions for Barcelona from 2008 to 2015, winning 20 major honours including five La Liga titles and the UEFA Champions League three times. During the 2009–10 season, he became the first player in history to score in six different official club competitions in one season.[3]

Pedro represented Spain in two World Cups and Euro 2012, winning once in each tournament.

Club career

Early years

Born in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Pedro joined FC Barcelona's youth team at the age of 17, having arrived from local side CD San Isidro.[4]

Barcelona

Pedro was a key player for FC Barcelona B, as the team achieved promotion from Tercera División, making 37 appearances and scoring seven goals.[4] On 12 January 2008 he made his debut for the first team, playing one minute in a 4–0 home win against Real Murcia, but would only amass seven more in his first two seasons combined.

2008–09 season

Pedro was a part of the first team's 2008–09 pre-season, and showed early promise, scoring against Hibernian and the New York Red Bulls respectively.[5][6] On 13 August, he started in a 4–0 win against Wisła Kraków for the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League.[7] His first match on the group stage of that competition was on 16 September, when he replaced Thierry Henry in a 3–1 home win over Sporting Clube de Portugal.[8]

In Barcelona's treble-winning season in 2008–09 Pedro eventually totalled 14 matches, also appearing in La Liga against Getafe CF,[9] Valencia CF,[10] Real Valladolid[11] and CA Osasuna (0–1 home loss, with Barcelona already crowned champions),[12] totalling 365 minutes. In the campaign's Copa del Rey he played against Benidorm CF[13] and Atlético Madrid, on both occasions for Lionel Messi;[14] in the Champions League final, he played the last minute in the place of Andrés Iniesta.

2009–10 season

In 2009–10, manager Pep Guardiola confirmed that Pedro would be definitely promoted to Barcelona's first team, and he responded with a breakthrough year, during which he became the first player to score in six different club competitions during a single season and in the same year.[15] On 16 August, after assisting Xavi with the first goal, he scored his first competitive goal for the first team in the 67th minute, helping to ensure a 2–1 victory over Athletic Bilbao in San Mamés for the domestic Supercup.[16] Later that week he signed his professional contract, running until June 2014 with a buyout clause set at £60 million;[4] in the 2009 UEFA Super Cup against FC Shakhtar Donetsk, he came on as a substitute for Zlatan Ibrahimović in the 80th minute, and went on to net the only goal of the match in extra time.[17]

On 28 September Pedro scored his first goal in the Champions League, after replacing Iniesta at half-time in a 2–0 win against FC Dynamo Kyiv.[18] He continued his hot streak and netted his first in the league, against UD Almería, with a brilliant strike that sealed the 1–0 home triumph;[19] the following month he grabbed a brace in the first leg of the Spanish Cup round-of-32 match at Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa, for a 2–0 win[20] (he also scored in the second leg, a 5–0 home rout).[21]

More and more established in Barcelona's starting lineups, Pedro went on to score another brace in the league, in a 4–2 win against RCD Mallorca.[22] He would continue his scoring touch in the Champions League, netting one of two against Inter Milan.[23]

Pedro (left) and Xavi, during the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup.

On 16 December, Pedro scored a goal in the semi-final of the FIFA Club World Cup against Atlante FC, in 3–1 win. In doing so, he became the first player ever to score in six different club competitions in one season – the three domestic tournaments, the UEFA Champions League and Super Cup and the Club World Cup.[24] He was later named World Player of the Week by Goal.com after his performances against RCD Espanyol, Atlante and Estudiantes de La Plata of Argentina, respectively.[25]

In an emotional return to his hometown team of CD Tenerife, on 10 January 2010, Pedro came on as a 76th-minute substitute, later helping to Ezequiel Luna's own goal in a 5–0 win – out of respect, he chose not to celebrate.[26] On 10 April he netted the second goal in a 2–0 win against Real Madrid, in his first appearance in El Clásico.[27]

On 14 April, in a league match against Deportivo de La Coruña, opposing goalkeeper Daniel Aranzubia attempted to clear the ball from the top of the 16-yard box, and instead kicked the ball right to Pedro, who shot at goal from 40 yards with his left foot and scored, giving Barça a 2–0 lead in an eventual 3–0 win.[28] He also found the net in a 3–1 defeat in the first leg of Champions League semi-finals, against Inter at the San Siro.[29]

In the last three league matches, Pedro scored for Barcelona, with the Catalans eventually renewing their league supremacy: against Tenerife again (4–1 win),[30] the 3–2 winner at Sevilla FC[31] and against Valladolid (4–0).[32] He completed the 2009–10 season with 53 appearances in all competitions and 23 goals, and, on 9 June, signed a new five-year deal with Barcelona.[33]

2010–11 season

Pedro began the 2010–11 campaign firmly established in Barcelona's starting XI. On 29 November 2010, he scored the second goal in a 5–0 home win against Real Madrid, with Barça climbing to the first position in the league.[34] The following month he netted twice at Espanyol in the local derby, in a 5–1 success.[35]

On 20 April 2011, Pedro scored against Real Madrid in the second half of the season's Spanish Cup final, but his goal was disallowed for offside, in an eventual 0–1 extra time loss.[36] On 3 May, against the same opponent, in the Champions League semifinals second leg, he found Iker Casillas' net in a 1–1 home draw (3–1 aggregate win),[37] for his 21st official goal of the campaign; in the Champions League final, he opened the score against Manchester United, in an eventual 3–1 win.[38]

2011–12 season

On 5 July 2011 Pedro extended his contract by one year, until 2016.[39] His buyout clause was raised from €90m to €150m. After the purchase of Alexis Sánchez and the emergence of youth players like Isaac Cuenca and Cristian Tello, he featured less during 2011–12, also being afflicted with some injuries;[40] he did finish the season with 13 official goals, scoring a brace in the campaign's domestic cup final, a 3–0 win against Athletic Bilbao.[41]

2013–14 season

On 21 September 2013, Pedro scored a hat-trick in a 4–0 success at Rayo Vallecano.[42][43] On 22 December, in another away fixture, he added another three – all in the first half and only nine minutes – to help Barcelona come from behind 0–2 and eventually win 5–2 over Getafe.[44]

2014–15 season

Pedro defending against Deportivo in January 2015

On 16 December 2014, Pedro scored another hat-trick, this time in second leg of Round of 32 in Copa del Rey against Huesca, with Barcelona who recorded a 8–1 victory at Camp Nou.[45]

On 4 June 2015, Barcelona official website announced Pedro has renewed contract until 30 June 2019. His buyout clause will remain at €150 million.[46]

On 6 June 2015, Pedro appeared as an added-time substitute for Barça in the 2015 UEFA Champions League Final, as the club won its fifth European Cup by beating Juventus at Berlin's Olympiastadion.[47] This made Barcelona the first club in history to win the treble of domestic league, domestic cup and European Cup twice.[48] Pedro, Lionel Messi, Andrés Iniesta, Xavi, Gerard Piqué, Sergio Busquets and Dani Alves are the only players to have been a part of both treble-winning teams.[48]

2015–16 season

As an extra-time substitute, Pedro scored the winning goal as Barcelona won the 2015 UEFA Super Cup 5–4 against Sevilla in Tbilisi; it was his second winner in a Super Cup, and came in the 115th minute like its predecessor.[49]

Chelsea

Pedro playing for Chelsea in 2015.

On 20 August 2015, after interest from Manchester United, Pedro joined Premier League champions Chelsea on a four-year contract for £19 million (€26.6M), potentially rising to £21.4 million (€30M) depending on performances.[50][51][52] Three days after signing, he made his debut away to West Bromwich Albion, scoring the first goal of a 3–2 win, Chelsea's first victory of their season, and provided an assist for the second goal, scored by his international teammate Diego Costa.[53] On 19 December, Pedro scored the second goal in a 3–1 win against Sunderland, his first at Stamford Bridge.[54] On 13 February, Pedro scored a brace in a 5–1 victory over Newcastle United.[55]

International career

Pedro playing for Spain in 2013.

On 20 May 2010, Pedro was included by Vicente del Bosque in Spain's 23-man squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.[56] Nine days later, he made his debut in a 3–2 friendly win against Saudi Arabia, replacing David Silva for the final 30 minutes in Innsbruck, Austria.[57] On 8 June, in the last exhibition game prior to the finals in South Africa, with Poland, Pedro scored his first international goal, and also assisted Fernando Torres in a 6–0 victory at Murcia's Estadio Nueva Condomina.[58]

In the final stages, he appeared in five matches (three as a late substitute): on 7 July, in the semi-final against Germany, he started in place of Torres, who had been performing poorly in earlier matches. In the 82nd minute, with Spain leading 1–0, he attempted to score a goal himself rather than set up an unmarked Torres, although he performed well in the game.[59] Despite this error, he was selected to start in the final, with the national team winning 1–0 against the Netherlands; at the hour-mark, he was replaced by Jesús Navas.

Pedro was part of the Spanish squad which successfully defended their continental crown at UEFA Euro 2012, coming on as a substitute in each of their knockout round matches, including the final where he replaced Silva in the 59th minute of an eventual 4–0 win over Italy.[60]

Pedro scored the first hat-trick of his professional career on 12 October 2012, netting after a Jordi Alba strike in an eventual 4–0 away win over Belarus for the 2014 World Cup qualifiers.[61]

Career statistics

Club

As of 2 May 2016[62][63]
Club League Season La Liga Copa del Rey Europe Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Barcelona La Liga 2007–08 200000–20
2008–09 60305[lower-alpha 1]0–140
2009–10 34124310[lower-alpha 2]54[lower-alpha 3]35223
2010–11 33137412[lower-alpha 1]51[lower-alpha 4]05322
2011–12 2955410[lower-alpha 5]44[lower-alpha 6]04813
2012–13 2875110[lower-alpha 1]12[lower-alpha 4]14510
2013–14 3715837[lower-alpha 1]12[lower-alpha 4]05419
2014–15 356659[lower-alpha 1]0–5011
2015–16 00001[lower-alpha 7]12031
Total 204583820641715432199
Club League Season Premier League Cup Europe Other Total
Chelsea Premier League 2015–16 2775160–388
Total 277516000388
Career totals 2316543217017154359107
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 All appearances in UEFA Champions League
  2. ↑ Nine appearances and 4 goals in UEFA Champions League, one appearance and one goal in UEFA Super Cup
  3. ↑ Two appearances and one goal in Supercopa de España, two appearances and two goals in FIFA Club World Cup
  4. 1 2 3 Appearances in Supercopa de España
  5. ↑ Nine appearances and 4 goals in UEFA Champions League, one appearance in UEFA Super Cup
  6. ↑ Two appearances in Supercopa de España, two appearances in FIFA Club World Cup
  7. ↑ One appearance and one goal in UEFA Super Cup

International

As of match played 28 March 2016[64]
National team Year Apps Goals
Spain 2010 11 1
2011 4 1
2012 8 7
2013 14 4
2014 11 3
2015 7 0
2016 1 0
Total 56 16

Honours

[65]

Club

Barcelona
Barcelona B

International

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010: List of players" (PDF). FIFA. 4 June 2010. p. 29. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
  2. ↑ "Pedro Chelsea Profile". ChelseaFC. 28 August 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  3. ↑ "Barcelona's Pedro scores in 6th competition". USA Today. 16 December 2009. Retrieved 8 March 2011.
  4. 1 2 3 "Pedro Rodríguez Ledesma". FC Barcelona. 27 February 2010. Retrieved 27 February 2010.
  5. ↑ "First test overcome in style (0–6)". FC Barcelona. 24 June 2008. Retrieved 27 February 2010.
  6. ↑ "Another high score before the preliminary (2–6)". FC Barcelona. 7 August 2008. Retrieved 27 February 2010.
  7. ↑ "A step towards the group stage (4–0)". FC Barcelona. 13 August 2008. Retrieved 27 February 2010.
  8. ↑ "Good football brings fair result (3–1)". FC Barcelona. 16 September 2008. Retrieved 27 February 2010.
  9. ↑ "Persistence brings a point (1–1)". FC Barcelona. 23 November 2008. Retrieved 27 February 2010.
  10. ↑ "Henry majestic in Barça goal-fest (4–0)". FC Barcelona. 12 April 2009. Retrieved 27 February 2010.
  11. ↑ "Eto’o goal secures three crucial points (0–1)". FC Barcelona. 4 May 2009. Retrieved 27 February 2010.
  12. ↑ "Celebration in defeat (0–1)". FC Barcelona. 23 May 2009. Retrieved 27 February 2010.
  13. ↑ "Pitfall avoided (1–0)". FC Barcelona. 12 November 2008. Retrieved 27 February 2010.
  14. ↑ "Messi the King (1–3)". FC Barcelona. 6 January 2009. Retrieved 27 February 2010.
  15. ↑ "Six of the best for Pedro". FC Barcelona. 16 December 2009. Retrieved 16 March 2010.
  16. ↑ "Athletic Bilbao vs Barcelona". Goal.com. 16 August 2009. Retrieved 27 February 2010.
  17. ↑ "Pedro pounces to add to Barça glory". UEFA.com. 28 August 2009. Retrieved 27 February 2010.
  18. ↑ "Barcelona vs Dynamo". Goal.com. 29 September 2009. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
  19. ↑ "Pedro cracker earns the points (1–0)". FC Barcelona. 3 October 2009. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
  20. ↑ "Pedro turns tie in Barça's favour (0–2)". FC Barcelona. 28 October 2009. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
  21. ↑ "Second half goal flurry (5–0)". FC Barcelona. 10 November 2009. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
  22. ↑ "Four goals to stay top (4–2)". FC Barcelona. 7 November 2009. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
  23. ↑ "Barcelona vs Inter Milan". Goal.com. 24 November 2009. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
  24. ↑ Pedro makes history; ESPN Soccernet, 15 December 2009
  25. ↑ "World Player of the Week: Pedro Rodriguez – Barcelona". Goal.com. 21 December 2009. Retrieved 21 December 2009.
  26. ↑ "Messi inspires five star Barça (0–5)". FC Barcelona. 10 January 2010. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
  27. ↑ "Messi does it again – this time setting up Barcelona for 2–0 win at Real Madrid". Sports Features. 10 April 2010. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
  28. ↑ "Pedro stunner helps Barça beat Depor (3–0)". FC Barcelona. 14 April 2010. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
  29. ↑ "Impressive Inter leave Barça on the ropes". UEFA.com. 5 May 2010. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
  30. ↑ "Winning in the rain (4–1)". FC Barcelona. 4 May 2010. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
  31. ↑ "Massive step towards title (2–3)". FC Barcelona. 8 May 2010. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
  32. ↑ "Dominant Barça regain league title (4–0)". FC Barcelona. 16 May 2010. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  33. ↑ "Pedro extends stay until 2015". FC Barcelona. 9 June 2010. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  34. ↑ "Exquisite Barca crush Real". ESPN Soccernet. 29 November 2010. Retrieved 29 November 2010.
  35. ↑ "Pedro se doctora en el derby" [Pedro gets PhD in derby] (in Spanish). Sport. 19 December 2010. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
  36. ↑ "Ronaldo heads Real to victory". ESPN Soccernet. 20 April 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  37. ↑ "Barcelona keep Madrid at bay to reach final". UEFA.com. 3 May 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  38. ↑ "Barça crowned as Messi and Villa see off United". UEFA.com. 28 May 2011. Retrieved 29 May 2011.
  39. ↑ Pedro to stay at Barça until 2016; FC Barcelona, 5 July 2011
  40. ↑ "Pedro, de dos a tres semanas de baja" [Pedro, two to three weeks out] (in Spanish). ABC. 26 October 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
  41. ↑ "Barca say goodbye in style". ESPN Soccernet. 25 May 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
  42. ↑ "Rayo Vallecano 0–4 Barcelona: Pedro hat-trick seals Blaugrana win". Goal.com. 21 September 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
  43. ↑ "Hat-trick hero Pedro eyes Barcelona starts". Goal.com. 21 September 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
  44. ↑ "Líder sin defensa" [Leader with no defense] (in Spanish). Marca. 22 December 2013. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  45. ↑ "Barcelona 8-1 Huesca (agg 12-1): Pedro nets first-half hat-trick as Catalan giants cruise through to Copa del Rey last 16". Daily Mail. 16 December 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
  46. ↑ "Pedro renews contract until 30 June 2019". fc Barcelona.com. 4 June 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  47. ↑ "Barcelona see off Juventus to claim fifth title". UEFA. 6 June 2015.
  48. 1 2 "Barça make history with second treble!". FC Barcelona. 6 June 2015.
  49. ↑ "Barcelona 5-4 Sevilla". BBC Sport. 11 August 2015. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  50. ↑ "Agreement for the transfer of Pedro Rodríguez to Chelsea". FC Barcelona. 20 August 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  51. ↑ "Pedro signs for Chelsea". ChelseaFC.com. 20 August 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  52. ↑ "Pedro: Chelsea sign Spain forward from Barcelona". BBC Sport. 20 August 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  53. ↑ Magowan, Alistair (23 August 2015). "West Brom 2-3 Chelsea". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
  54. ↑ "Match report: Chelsea 3 Sunderland 1". Chelsea F.C. Official Site. 19 December 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  55. ↑ http://www.espnfc.us/barclays-premier-league/match/422408/chelsea-newcastle-united/report
  56. ↑ "Spain omit Marcos Senna from 2010 World Cup squad". BBC Sport. 20 May 2010. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
  57. ↑ Macdonald, Paul (29 May 2010). "Spain 3-2 Saudi Arabia: Injury-Time Llorente Winner Saves La Roja's Blushes". Goal.com. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  58. ↑ "Spain 6 Poland 0: match report". The Daily Telegraph. 8 June 2010. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  59. ↑ "World Cup 2010: Pedro Enjoying the high life". Peace FM Online. 11 July 2010. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
  60. ↑ McNulty, Phil (1 July 2012). "Spain 4–0 Italy". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  61. ↑ "Plaudits take back seat for Spain striker Pedro". UEFA.com. 13 October 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  62. ↑ Official site statistics
  63. ↑ "Pedro". Soccerway. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
  64. ↑ Pedro at National-Football-Teams.com
  65. ↑ "Pedro's profile". FCBarcelona.com. 26 January 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  66. ↑ "Ganadores de las cuatro ediciones de premios de la LFP (In Spanish)". abc.es. 2012-11-13. Retrieved 2015-08-05.

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