Rodrigo Palacio

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Palacio and the second or maternal family name is Alcalde.
Rodrigo Palacio

Palacio (right) and Ignazio Abate, February 2013
Personal information
Full name Rodrigo Sebastián Palacio Alcalde
Date of birth (1982-02-05) 5 February 1982
Place of birth Bahía Blanca, Argentina
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 12 in)
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current team
Internazionale
Number 8
Youth career
1990–2002 Bella Vista
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2003 Huracán de Tres Arroyos 53 (15)
2003–2004 Banfield 36 (9)
2005–2009 Boca Juniors 131 (54)
2009–2012 Genoa 90 (35)
2012– Internazionale 119 (38)
National team
2005–2014 Argentina 27 (3)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:26, 24 April 2016 (UTC).
† Appearances (goals)

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 13 July 2014

Rodrigo Sebastián Palacio Alcalde[1] (Spanish pronunciation: [roˈðɾiɣo paˈlasjo]; born 5 February 1982) is an Argentine footballer who plays for Internazionale in Serie A as a forward. He is the son of José Ramón Palacio, a historic player of Olimpo de Bahia Blanca during the 1980s.[2] Palacio holds a Spanish passport, allowing him to be counted as an EU player.[3] His nickname is "Don RodriGol".

Club career

Boca Juniors

In December 2007, Palacio participated in the 2007 FIFA Club World Cup. Palacio had played in Boca's 1–0 win against Tunisian club Étoile du Sahel on 12 December.[4] On 16 December, he would score an equalizer to make the score 1–1 against Milan, as the Italian side eventually won the game by a score of 4–2.[5] Palacio earned the Bronze Ball trophy in the tournament, being ranked as the third best player behind Milan players Clarence Seedorf and Kaká, respectively. Palacio's performance in the 2008 Copa Libertadores helped Boca avoid getting knocked out of the group stage by scoring twice against Mexico's Atlas in a 3–0 home victory and scoring the third goal in Boca's dramatic 4–3 win against Chile's Colo-Colo. On 7 May 2008, Palacio scored in a 2–1 second-leg win against Brazilian club Cruzeiro. Boca eventually reached the semi-finals, where they would lose to Fluminense.

Despite a minor injury that would see him sidelined for a small portion of the second half of the year, Palacio would then go on to win the Recopa Sudamericana against Arsenal de Sarandí, scoring one goal in the first-leg and another goal in the second-leg, and he later won the Torneo Apertura, after the title had to be fought out between the top three team's that were equal on points — Boca, San Lorenzo, and Tigre. The championship play-offs were all held at Racing Club de Avellaneda's stadium in a round-robin format and were held on 20 December 2008, Palacio would score in a 3–1 win against San Lorenzo to help claim the title.[6]

Genoa CFC

On 17 July 2009, Palacio signed a four-year contract with Genoa in Serie A for €1.4 million to replace Inter-bound Diego Milito and help out his fellow Argentine Hernán Crespo at forward. Alongside Crespo, Palacio had joined another Argentine, Luciano Figueroa, who had been on loan with him at Boca Juniors throughout 2008. During his first few months, Palacio would miss out on two matches after suffering a small ankle injury. On 5 November, Palacio scored his first goal with Genoa in a 3–2 victory over Lille in a Europa League match.[7]

Internazionale

On 22 May 2012, Genoa president Enrico Preziosi confirmed that Palacio would become an Inter player for the 2012–13 season.[8] On 7 June, he was officially sold to Inter for €10.5 million, signing a three-year contract paying the player €2.7 million per annum.

2012–13 season

Palacio celebrating with Ezequiel Schelotto.

Palacio debuted in a UEFA Europa League qualification match against Croatian side Hajduk Split.[9] Palacio scored his first Inter double in a friendly against CA Bizertin of Tunisia on 18 August. He then scored his first official goal for Inter on 23 August in the play-off round of Europa League qualifiers against Romania's FC Vaslui.[10] He scored again in the return leg in Milan on 30 August, making the final score 1–1 as Inter progressed.[11][12]

He scored his first goal in Serie A for Inter on 21 October in a 2–0 victory at the San Siro against Catania.[13] On 4 November, he scored the final goal in a 1–3 win against defending league champions Juventus[14] while on 8 November, he scored a brace in a Europa League match against FK Partizan (1–3) that advanced Inter into the competition's Round of 16 with two Group Stage matches to spare.[15] During a second round match in the Coppa Italia against Verona on 18 December, after the injury to goalkeeper Luca Castellazzi and after all three of the club's substitutions were exhausted, Palacio, wearing Vid Belec's jersey number 27, was put into the goal for the final 15 minutes of the match.[16] He did not concede a goal to the opposition in a 2–0 final win and even made a fine save in the 91st minute, stopping a diving header from the right side of goal by Verona midfielder Alessandro Carrozza.[17]

On 14 February 2013, in a match against Romanian side CFR Cluj in the first leg of the Europa League Round of 16, Palacio was substituted in seven minutes into the game after a season-ending injury to starter Diego Milito.[18] Palacio came on and finished the game with both goals scored in a 2–0 victory.[19] On 3 March, against Catania, Palacio was substituted in at the beginning of the second half at a time when the Nerazzurri were down 2–0.[20] Palacio went on to provide an assist for Ricky Álvarez's goal, then scored twice himself, leading Inter to a 2–3 comeback victory.[21] On 3 April, Palacio scored his second double of the league season against Sampdoria, raising his tally to 12 goals scored; in the same game, however, he strained his left hamstring, ultimately ending his season prematurely.[22][23]

2013–14 season

In the first fixture of the season, Palacio scored a brace against Cittadella in the third round of Coppa Italia. He also scored in the first league game, against Genoa on 25 August: his goal came in injury time, giving Inter a 2–0 win,[24] which was followed by another goal and an assist in a 3–0 win against Catania.[25] On 20 October, Palacio scored twice to give Inter a 3–3 draw against Torino at Stadio Olimpico,[26] and six days later scored in a 4–2 triumph against the newcomers Hellas Verona at San Siro.[27] On 3 November, Palacio continued his fine form, scoring a header and assisting in a 0–3 away win against Udinese at Stadio Friuli.[28] On 22 December, he scored a superb goal in the 86th minute with the back of his heel after an assist from Fredy Guarín, which proved to be decisive with Inter winning 1–0 against AC Milan.[29][30] That was his first competitive goal in Derby della Madonnina. Thanks to his goal, Inter ended 2013 with a win and in the 5th place with 31 points.

On 14 February 2014, Palacio scored his first goal of 2014 after some negative displays during the 2–1 away win against Fiorentina.[31] On 9 March, he scored the winning goal against Torino at San Siro, giving Nerazzurri three important points.[32] Five days later, Palacio signed a new two-and-a-half year contract with Inter, which will keep him at the club until 2016.[33][34] One day after he extended his contract, Palacio celebrated it in the best way possible by scoring the opening goal and assisting the winner of Jonathan in the 2–0 away win against Hellas Verona.[35] Palacio continued with his good appearances by scoring his 15th league goal in the 4–0 thrashing of Sampdoria at Stadio Luigi Ferraris.[36] He also assisted both goals of Icardi.[37]

On 10 May, in Javier Zanetti's last competitive match at the San Siro, in which Inter defeated Lazio 4–1 to secure a place in Europa League play-off for next season, Palacio scored a brace and in both occasions went to celebrate with Zanetti.[38] He was first assisted by Kovačić and later by Nagatomo. Palacio ended 2013–14 season with 39 appearances (37 in Serie A) and 19 goals (17 in Serie A), being the top goalscorer of the team.

2014–15 season

Palacio missed all of the pre-season phase due to his international duties with Argentina at the World Cup 2014. He was not called upon for the first official match of the season against Icelandic side Stjarnan in the first leg of the play-off round for the Europa League, after the coach Mazzarri decided to let him rest.[39] He did not even play in the returning leg as Inter comfortably secured qualification for the Group stage with an aggregate 9–0 score. After missing the opening league match of the season, Palacio made his first appearance of the season 14 September 2014, playing the last 14 minutes of the 7–0 thrashing of Sassuolo Calcio.[40][41]

2015–16 season

Palacio scored his first goal of the season on 15 December 2015 in a 3–0 thrashing of Cagliari at San Siro moving Inter on from the Coppa Italia's Round of 16.[42] On 8 January 2016, Palacio extended his contract with Inter for a further season, keeping him at the club until June 2017.[43]

International career

Palacio played his first match with the Argentina national team on 8 March in a friendly match against Mexico which ended in a 1–1 draw at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.[44] Later that month, exactly on 25 March, he played his first competitive match, a 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifier match, against Bolivia, which ended with a 2–1 away victory, with Palacio playing the last eight minutes of the match. He was selected by the coach José Pekerman for the following year's World Cup, and was given number 14. He made his debut in the tournament, entering in the field in the 64th minute and helping the team to win the first match of Group C against the Ivory Coast with the result 2–1.[45] He did not play any more matches until the end of the tournament, with Argentina finishing the tournament in the quarter-finals after losing 4–2 on penalties against Germany.[46]

Under the new coach Alfio Basile, Palacio was selected for the 2007 Copa América and given jersey number 7. He played his first match in this tournament in the team's last match in Group C against Paraguay, starting and playing 90 minutes in a 1–0 victory at Estadio Metropolitano de Fútbol de Lara.[47] Argentina finished the group as the winner, beating the United States, Colombia, and Paraguay. He made his second appearance, playing the last 12 minutes in a 3–0 win against Mexico, securing Argentina's place in the semi-finals of the tournament.[48] In the final, he was an unused substitute, and Argentina lost 3–0 to the rivals of Brazil.[49]

On 15 June 2008, more than three years after his debut with Argentina, Palacio scored his first goal for his country, an equalizer in the 93rd minute, in a 1–1 draw against Ecuador for the round 5 of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification.[50] He played only two matches in 2008, and didn't play any minute for the national team during 2009 and 2010, meaning that he was not included in the squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup by coach Diego Maradona, despite the fact that he moved to Europe, signing with Italian club Genoa.

After his good form with Genoa during the second part of 2010–11 season and first part of 2011–12, Palacio received his first call-up by the new coach Alejandro Sabella for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Venzeuela.[51] On 11 October 2011, he played his first match for the national team after three years absence, entering the field in the final 15 minutes of a 1–0 loss against Venezuela, with defender Fernando Amorebieta scoring the only goal of the match.[52]

Rodrigo Palacio lining up with Argentina against Uruguay.

After an impressive 2012–13 season with Italian giants Internazionale, Palacio became a regular member of the Argentinean national team under coach Alejandro Sabella. During the qualifiers for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, playing eight matches and helping Argentina finish the group in the first place with 32 points.[53] He scored his second goal for Argentina on 11 October 2013, scoring the third goal in the 3–1 victory against Peru in round 17 of the qualifiers.[54] During this year, he was an important player in Argentina's qualifiers, assisting several goals.

Palacio's good form continued even in 2014, scoring the third goal with the national team on 4 June 2014 in a 3–0 win against Trinidad and Tobago.[55] He scored after a corner kick taken by midfielder Ángel Di María.[56] Later in that match, he made a good run by dribbling the goalkeeper and assisted the third goal of the match scored by winger Ezequiel Lavezzi.[57][58] After playing another friendly match against Slovenia, the team traveled to Brazil to play in the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Palacio was included on the list of 23 players selected by coach Alejandro Sabella to play in the World Cup.[59]

On September 8 2014, at the age of 32, Palacio decided to retire from international football, saying that there are better players to take his spot on the national team.

Style of play

Palacio is a tactically intelligent, and technically gifted player, with an eye for goal.[60] A versatile forward, he is capable of playing in several offensive positions, and has been deployed as a striker, as a second striker, and as a winger.[60] In addition to his skills, he is also known for his defensive work-rate.[61][62]

Career statistics

Club

As of 24 April 2016[63][64][65][66]
Club Season League Cup[lower-alpha 1] Continental[lower-alpha 2] Other[lower-alpha 3] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Huracán 2002–03 Primera B Nacional 347347
2003–04 198198
Total 53155315
Banfield 2003–04 Argentine Primera División 19222214
2004–05 177177
Total 3615223811
Boca Juniors 2004–05 Argentine Primera División 1531472910
2005–06 321722203619
2006–07 3319114234626
2007–08 3110124215515
2008–09 20575222912
Total 1315446228618582
Genoa 2009–10 Serie A 3170061378
2010–11 27920299
2011–12 3219223421
Total 9035426110038
Internazionale 2012–13 Serie A 2612321083922
2013–14 3717223919
2014–15 35800644112
2015–16 21131242
Total 1193885161214355
Career total 429151127703786519201
  1. Including cup competitions, such as Coppa Italia
  2. Including continental competitions, such as Copa Libertadores, Copa Sudamericana and UEFA Europa League
  3. Including other competitions, such as Recopa Sudamericana and FIFA Club World Cup

International

Rodrigo Palacio at the 2014 FIFA World Cup Final against Germany.
As of 13 July 2014[67]
Argentina national team
YearAppsGoals
200520
200610
200730
200821
200900
201000
201110
201210
2013101
201471
Total273

Honours

Rodrigo Palacio playing for Inter.

Club

Boca Juniors[68]

Country

Individual

References

  1. 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil ™ - List of Players, FIFA.com, Retrieved 07/07/2014
  2. "El partido en el que los Palacio tendrán sensaciones encontradas" (in Spanish). Diario Perfil. 30 March 2008. Retrieved 27 December 2009.
  3. "Napoli: blitz per Rodrigo Palacio. Lazio e Barça stanno a guardare". TMW (in Italian). 24 June 2008. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
  4. Cardozo on cue for Boca. fifa.com (2007-12-12)
  5. Dominant Milan rule the world. fifa.com (2007-12-16)
  6. Primera Division. Afa.org.ar (11 April 2009). Retrieved on 2012-12-24.
  7. "Sculli seals late win for Genoa". UEFA.com. 5 November 2009. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  8. "Genoa president: Palacio will be an Inter player next season". Goal.com. 22 May 2012. Retrieved 2012-05-22.
  9. "UEFA Europa League 2012/13 - History - Hajduk Split-Internazionale – UEFA.com". UEFA.com. 2 August 2012. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  10. "Europa League Playoff 1st leg: FC Vaslui 0 - 2 Inter". ESPN FC. 23 August 2012. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  11. "Inter-Vaslui 2-2 HD - Sintesi - Highlights - All Goals - © Europa League". YouTube.com. 30 August 2012. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  12. "Inter-Vaslui 2-2: A San Siro è la serata dei brividi, 'Strama' passa ma con tanta, tanta fatica". Goal.com. 30 August 2012. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  13. "Inter 2-0 Catania: Cassano and Palacio maintain Nerazzurri's winning league run". Goal.com. 21 October 2012. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  14. "Juventus 1-3 Inter: Milito and Palacio end champions' unbeaten run". Goal.com. 3 November 2012. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  15. "Partizan 1-3 Inter: Palacio & Guarin send Italians through". Goal.com. 8 November 2012. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  16. "Inter 2-0 Verona: Cassano & Guarin ease Nerazzurri into Coppa quarter-finals". Goal.com. 18 December 2012. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  17. "Palacio explains ‘keeper exploits". Football-Italia.net. 19 December 2012. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  18. "Season over for Inter Milan's Diego Milito". Goal.com. 15 February 2013. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  19. "Inter 2-0 Cluj: Serious injury to Milito sours Nerazzurri triumph". Goal.com. 14 February 2012. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  20. "Catania vs. Internazionale - 3 March 2013". Soccerway. 3 March 2012. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  21. "Catania 2-3 Inter: Palacio inspires incredible Nerazzurri comeback". Goal.com. 3 March 2012. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  22. "Sampdoria 0-2 Inter: Palacio keeps Nerazzurri's top three hopes alive". Goal.com. 3 April 2012. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  23. "Inter faces Palacio injury blow". Goal.com. 4 April 2012. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  24. Soccerway.com, ed. (25 August 2013). "Inter 2-0 Genoa". Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  25. "Catania 0-3 Inter: Nerazzurri maintain perfect start". Yahoo.com. 1 September 2013. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  26. "TORINO-INTER 3-3, IL TABELLINO". inter.it. 20 October 2013. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  27. "Inter 4-2 Verona: Nerazzurri return to winning ways". Goal.com. 26 October 2013. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  28. "Result: Inter Milan go fourth with Udinese win". Sportsmole.co.uk. 3 November 2013. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  29. "Palacio wins Milan derby for Inter". ChinaDaily.com. 22 December 2013. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  30. "Palacio’s late goal sees Inter beat Milan 1-0". All Things Sports. 22 December 2013. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  31. "Fiorentina 1–2 Inter". inter.it. 14 February 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  32. "Inter 1-0 Torino: Palacio strike piles pressure on Fiorentina". Goal.com. 9 March 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  33. "L’INTER E PALACIO, INSIEME FINO AL 2016". Inter Milan (in Italian). 14 March 2014.
  34. "INTER AND PALACIO, TOGETHER UNTIL 2016". F.C. Internazionale Milano. 14 March 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  35. "Hellas Verona 0–2 Inter". inter.it. 15 March 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  36. "Sampdoria vs. Internazionale 0 – 4". Soccerway. 13 April 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  37. "Sampdoria 0-4 Inter: Icardi strikes twice to thrash former side". Goal.com. 13 April 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  38. "Inter 4-1 Lazio". inter.it. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  39. Ben Boucher (19 August 2014). "GdS: Probable XI for Inter against Stjarnan". Sempre Inter. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  40. "Inter Milan 7–0 Sassuolo". BBC Sport. 14 September 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  41. "Result: Inter Milan fire seven past Sassuolo". Sports Mole. 14 September 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  42. Ben Grounds For Mailonline (15 December 2015). "Inter Milan 3-0 Cagliari: Rodrigo Palacio breaks goal drought as Roberto Mancini's side reach Italian Cup quarter-finals". Daily Mail. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  43. "Palacio extends his contract to 2017". inter.it. 8 January 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  44. "Mexico vs. Argentina - 8 March 2005". Soccerway. 8 March 2005. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  45. "Argentina vs. Ivory Coast - 10 June 2006". Soccerway. 10 June 2006. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  46. "Germany 1–1 (4–2) Argentina". FIFA.com. 30 June 2006. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  47. "Argentina vs. Paraguay - 6 July 2007". Soccerway. 6 July 2007. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  48. "Mexico vs. Argentina - 12 July 2007". Soccerway. 12 July 2007. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  49. "Brazil vs. Argentina - 15 July 2007". Soccerway. 15 July 2007. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  50. "Argentina vs. Ecuador - 15 June 2008". Soccerway. 15 June 2008. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  51. "Lista de convocados para los partidos con Chile y Venezuela". AFA. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
  52. "Venezuela vs. Argentina - 11 October 2011". Soccerway. 11 October 2011. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  53. "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil–Preliminary Competition Format and Draw Procedures–South American Zone" (PDF). FIFA.com. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  54. "2014 FIFA World Cup qualification: Argentina 3–1 Peru". FIFA.com. 11 October 2013. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  55. "Argentina sink Trinidad". Vavel.com. 4 June 2014. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  56. "Argentina 3-0 Trinidad & Tobago: Comfortable win for Albiceleste". Goal.com. 4 June 2014. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  57. "Argentina vs. Trinidad and Tobago - 5 June 2014". Soccerway. 5 June 2014. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  58. "Argentina 3 Trinidad y Tobago 0 (Relato Mariano Closs) Amistoso Internacional 2014 Los goles". YouTube.com. 4 June 2014. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  59. "Argentina World Cup squad: Carlos Tevez and Erik Lamela miss out on 30-man provisional list". Mirror. 13 May 2014. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  60. 1 2 Fabrizio Romano (9 November 2012). "Arma letale Palacio: media di un gol ogni 103 minuti" [Lethal weapon Palacio: an average of a goal every 103 minutes] (in Italian). FC Inter News. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  61. Riccardo Fusato (13 October 2014). "Quanto è importante Palacio per l'Inter? Nei numeri la risposta" [How important is Palacio to Inter? The answer is in the numbers] (in Italian). FC Inter 1908. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  62. "Fantacalcio: perché sarà la giornata di Palacio, Quagliarella, Klose e Borriello" [Fantasy football: this is why it will be Palacio, Quagliarella, Klose, and Boriello's day] (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. 2 April 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  63. "Argentina - R. Palacio - Profile with news, career statistics and history". Soccerway. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  64. "Profile of Rodrigo Palacio at Scoresway". Scoresway. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  65. "Football : Rodrigo Palacio". Football DataBase. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  66. "Rodrigo Palacio Player Profile -- ESPN FC". ESPN FC. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  67. Rodrigo Palacio at National-Football-Teams.com
  68. "R. Palacio". Soccerway. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  69. "Boca y otro título para volver a quedar en lo más alto". Lanacion.ar. 27 August 2008. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  70. "Brazil vs Argentina Copa America 2007". Football-Lineups.com. 15 July 2007. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  71. "Germany 1 Argentina 0". BBC Sport. 13 July 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  72. "World Cup final 2014, Germany vs Argentina: as it happened". Daily Telegraph. 13 July 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  73. "South American Team of the Year". 16 January 2009. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  74. El Torneo Clausura ya dejó a siete técnicos sin trabajo
  75. "AC Milan do Europe proud". FIFA.com. 16 December 2007. Retrieved 7 December 2014.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rodrigo Palacio.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, May 03, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.