Diego Rodríguez Fernández (born 20 April 1960), known simply as Diego, is a Spanish retired professional footballer who played as a central defender.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Diego Rodríguez Fernández | ||
| Date of birth | 20 April 1960 | ||
| Place of birth | La Orotava, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1970–1977 | Vera | ||
| 1977–1978 | Tenerife | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1978–1982 | Tenerife | 113 | (2) |
| 1982–1988 | Betis | 198 | (4) |
| 1988–1996 | Sevilla | 252 | (7) |
| 1996–1998 | Albacete | 46 | (2) |
| 1998–2002 | Dos Hermanas | 110 | (3) |
| Total | 719 | (18) | |
| International career | |||
| 1980–1981 | Spain U20 | 2 | (0) |
| 1980–1984 | Spain U21 | 13 | (0) |
| 1982–1987 | Spain U23 | 7 | (0) |
| 1984 | Spain amateur | 1 | (0) |
| 1988 | Spain | 1 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2002 | Ciudad Murcia (assistant) | ||
| 2002 | Ciudad Murcia | ||
| 2008–2009 | Sevilla C | ||
| 2009–2010 | Sevilla B | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
In a professional career that spanned more than two decades, he played for both Seville clubs, Betis and Sevilla, appearing in a total of 450 La Liga matches.[1]
Club career
editDiego was born in La Orotava, Tenerife. Having started professionally at local CD Tenerife he signed with Real Betis for the 1982–83 season, going on to play nearly 250 official matches and score four La Liga goals.[2]
After six years, Diego joined Andalusia neighbours Sevilla FC, being an undisputed starter – as well as team captain, which he also was at Betis – almost until his final campaign, 1995–96. His lowest output with the club consisted of 24 games in 1994–95, starting in all his appearances as the side qualified for the UEFA Cup as fifth.[3][2]
Diego retired professionally in June 1998 at the age of 38, after competing in the Segunda División with Albacete Balompié, but still played well into his 40s with another side in his region of adoption, amateurs Dos Hermanas CF.[4] In early 2002, immediately after quitting football, he began his coaching career, acting as assistant to Alfonso Guzmán at Segunda División B's Ciudad de Murcia but replacing him for the final ten matches of the season.
In 2008, Diego returned to Sevilla, starting with the C team and upgrading the following year to the reserves.[5] His first game in charge of the latter was a 8–0 away loss against Hércules CF for the second tier,[6] and in mid-February 2010 he was dismissed.[7]
International career
editDiego earned one cap for the Spain national team, appearing in the second half of a 2–1 friendly loss with Czechoslovakia on 24 February 1988, in Málaga.[8] He was subsequently picked for the squad that appeared at that year's UEFA European Championship.[2]
See also
edit- List of La Liga players (400+ appearances)
- List of Real Betis players (+100 appearances)
References
edit- ^ "Congratulations! Juan Carlos Valeron played his 400th La Liga game". Sport. 2 March 2016. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
- ^ a b c "Diego Rodríguez: El incombustible (1988)" [Diego Rodríguez: The tireless one (1988)]. El Diario (in Spanish). 28 April 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
- ^ "Diego Rodríguez. De Villano a Héroe" [Diego Rodríguez. From Villain to Hero] (in Spanish). Sevillismo en Vena. 12 October 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
- ^ Solís, Juan Antonio (13 March 2021). "Jesús Navas-Joaquín: Viaje al corazón de los derbis" [Jesús Navas-Joaquín: Trip to the heart of derbies]. Diario de Sevilla (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 January 2022.
- ^ Campos, Tomás (30 March 2009). "Diego Rodríguez, nuevo entrenador del Sevilla Atlético" [Diego Rodríguez, new Sevilla Atlético coach]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 April 2013.
- ^ "El Hércules manda un mensaje en forma de goleada" [Hércules send message with goals galore]. Marca (in Spanish). 5 April 2009. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
- ^ Parejo, Jaime (16 February 2010). "Diego Rodríguez, destituido como técnico del Sevilla Atlético" [Diego Rodríguez, dismissed as Sevilla Atlético manager]. ABC (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 January 2022.
- ^ Díez Serrat, Javier (25 February 1988). "Ensayo fatal y derrota inquietante" [Fatal rehearsal and troubling defeat] (PDF). Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 May 2015.
External links
edit- Diego Rodríguez at BDFutbol
- Diego Rodríguez manager profile at BDFutbol
- Diego Rodríguez at National-Football-Teams.com