Rodolfo Pizarro

Rodolfo Gilbert Pizarro Thomas (born 15 February 1994) is a Mexican professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami and the Mexico national team.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Pizarro and the second or maternal family name is Thomas.
Rodolfo Pizarro
Personal information
Full name Rodolfo Gilbert Pizarro Thomas [1]
Date of birth (1994-02-15) February 15, 1994[1]
Place of birth Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Inter Miami
Number 10
Youth career
2009–2011 Orinegros Ciudad Madero
2011–2013 Pachuca
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2016 Pachuca 134 (8)
2017–2018 Guadalajara 45 (13)
2018–2020 Monterrey 51 (8)
2020– Inter Miami 19 (4)
National team‡
2014 Mexico U21 3 (0)
2015–2016 Mexico U23 8 (1)
2014– Mexico 29 (5)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 30 December 2020 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 17 November 2020

Pizarro broke into the senior Pachuca team in 2012, remaining there until he was sold to Guadalajara in 2016, playing for a year and a half, helping the team to claim their twelfth league title after an 11 year drought as well as winning the Clausura 2017 Copa MX and the 2018 CONCACAF Champions League before transferring to Monterrey and helping them win the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League and the Liga MX after a near-decade drought.

He has participated for the U-21, the U-23, and the senior levels of Mexico's national team. He has represented Mexico at the 2016 Summer Olympics, the 2017 and 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Club career

Pachuca

Pizarro started his youth career with Orinegros Ciudad Madero, and joined the Pachuca Youth System in 2011.[2] Pizarro made his debut with the senior team on 14 September 2012 coming in on as a substitute in the 71st minute in a 3–2 win over Morelia.[3] At the time of his debut, he played as a right-back.[4]

On 19 February 2013, during a Copa MX group stage match against Dorados de Sinaloa, he would score his first goal in a 5–2 loss.[3]

Pizarro, along with fellow youth system teammates Hirving Lozano and Érick Gutiérrez, proved to be vital in Pachuca's winning of the Clausura 2016 championship.[5][6]

Guadalajara

In December 2016, Pachuca announced Pizarro was transferred to Guadalajara for a reported $15 million, in a deal that saw Víctor Guzmán go the other way, permanently joining Pachuca.[7][8] On 7 January 2017, Pizarro made his debut against Club Universidad Nacional, playing the whole match in which Guadalajara won 2–1.[9] A week later, Pizarro scored his first goal for Guadalajara against Monterrey from a long range shot, the game ended 2–2.[10]

In April, Guadalajara won the Clausura Copa MX final against Morelia.[11][12] The following month, Pizarro would prove to be vital during the Clausura championship, managing to score in the first leg of the final against Tigres UANL as Guadalajara would go on to win the title, finishing an eleven-year-long drought of league titles.[13][14][15] As a result, Guadalajara won their first Double since the 1969–70 season.[16]

In the first leg of the 2018 CONCACAF Champions League Finals against Major League Soccer team Toronto FC, Pizarro scored the first goal of the match within the second minute, in an eventual 2–1 victory,[17] also being named Man of the Match.[18] As Guadalajara went on to win the finals following a penalty shoot-out victory of 4–2,[19][20] Pizarro won the Best Young Player award[21] and was listed on the Best XI of the tournament.[22]

Monterrey

On 4 June 2018, after much media speculation, Guadalajara sporting director Francisco Gabriel de Anda officially announced that Pizarro was being transferred to fellow league club Monterrey,[23] for a reported $16 million, making him the costliest interleague transfer in Liga MX history.[24] Rejoining former Pachuca manager Diego Alonso, Pizarro would make his debut with Monterrey on 21 July 2018 in a 1–0 victory against his youth club, Pachuca.[25] On November 5, he would score his first goal with the team in a 2–0 win over Veracruz.[26]

He was an integral part of the team as he helped Monterrey win the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League Finals title against crosstown rivals Tigres UANL, their fourth title.[27] This made Pizarro alongside teammate Angel Zaldívar the first players to win the tournament in back–to–back years with two different teams.[28] Following the end of his first season with Monterrey, he was listed in the Best XI of the Clausura.[29]

Following an impressive campaign with Mexico over the summer, Sky Sport Italia linked Pizarro with A.C. Milan.[30] On 14 December, following Monterrey's 3–2 quarter-final victory over Al Sadd at the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup, he was named Man of the Match.[31] At the end of the month, he would win the Apertura championship against América, with Pizzaro being handed a starting berth in both legs of the final.[32]

Inter Miami

On 14 February 2020, Pizarro left Monterrey for Major League Soccer expansion side Inter Miami, following a protracted dispute between the clubs about the activation of his release clause, rejoining head coach Diego Alonso for a third time, his coach at both Pachuca and Monterrey.[33] The following day, despite not officially being announced as a signing for the club, Pizarro scored the first goal for Miami in a 2–1 preseason friendly loss to Philadelphia Union.[34] That same day, Monterrey filed a complaint with FIFA against Pizarro and Inter Miami for improper contact between the player and Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham while Pizarro was still under contract with Monterrey. FIFA's investigation was still on-going when news of the complaint broke on 4 March.[35]

On 17 February, Pizarro's move to Miami was made official, labeled as the club's second Designated Player.[36] Pizarro played in the team's league debut on 1 March, in a 0–1 loss to Los Angeles FC.[37] The following week, he scored the team's first league goal in a 1–2 loss against D.C. United.[38] Towards the end of his first season, he alongside teammate Lewis Morgan, was nominated for the Landon Donovan MVP Award.[39]

International career

Mexico U-21

Pizarro was included by Raúl Gutiérrez to participate in the 2014 Toulon Tournament.[40][41] Mexico would fail to qualify to the next round after placing third in the group stage.[42]

Mexico U-23

On 18 September 2015, Rodolfo Pizarro was selected by coach Raúl Gutiérrez to play in the CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship.[43] Mexico went on to win the tournament and qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics as Pizarro was named to the tournament's Best XI.[44]

On 7 July 2016, Pizarro was named in Mexico's 18-man squad that would participate in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.[45] In Mexico's first group stage match against Germany, he scored Mexico's second goal to make the game 2–1 but was eventually tied 2–2.[46] In Mexico's second group stage match against Fiji, Pizarro along with teammate Oribe Peralta, would pick up injuries.[47] They were subsequently replaced by Carlos Fierro and Raúl López Gómez.[48]

Mexico national team

On 29 January 2014, Pizarro made his debut for the senior squad in a friendly game against South Korea, playing all 90 minutes.[49] On 10 February 2016, Pizarro scored his first goal for Mexico in the 87th minute of the friendly match against Senegal, with the match finishing 2–0.[50][51]

On 28 June 2017, Pizarro was called up to participate in the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup.[52] In the quarter-final match against Honduras, he scored the only goal of the match at the 4th minute, winning 1–0.[53]

He was controversially[54][55] left out of the 23–man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.[56]

With the arrival of Gerardo Martino as Mexico's new coach, Pizarro has been given precedence.[57][58] In March 2019, Pizarro declared that it was a motivating gesture that Martino treated the domestic league players with the same importance and opportunity as those based in Europe.[59] He was included in Mexico's preliminary list for the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup[60] and was eventually in the final list.[61] Prior to the start of the Gold Cup, he picked up a minor injury and did not appear in the tournament until the final group stage match against Martinique,[62][63] coming on as a half-time substitute and contributing an assist to Raúl Jiménez for Mexico's second goal in a 3–2 victory.[64][65] In the final against the United States, during the first half he would bend his left elbow in an apparent injury but managed to play in the second half as well, managing to contribute in Mexico's build up play for the winning goal as they won the tournament.[66]

Style of play

Pizarro is a player with vast experience playing in various positions. He started off in Pachuca as a right-back,[4] and eventually shifted into a highly versatile and multifaceted midfielder, playing as a defensive midfielder, central midfielder, and eventually settling as winger and attacking midfielder.[67][68][69][70][71][72][73] During his time at Guadalajara, manager Matías Almeyda opted at times to use him as a "goal poacher."[74]

He has been described as "A classy operator of the ball, Pizarro can pick a pass, unlock tightest of defenses and has the guile to operate as a number 10. The Mexican star can spark creativity from midfield and add [fluency in the] build-up play in the final third. He is tenacious and hard-working, whilst also possessing the ball retention skills and the intelligence to get into promising goalscoring positions. Not only that, but the Tampico-born star also has a hammer of a right foot that is capable of delivering rockets from long distances. He has the ability to hold the ball in tightest of situations and his wonderful technique allows him to run comfortably with it."[75] Various outlets have described him as a difference maker in critical moments.[66][74] He also plays as an inverted winger, having the tendency to move to the inside of the pitch as the full-backs move upward so he can thrive.[58][76]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 30 December 2020[77][78]
Club Season League Cup Continental International Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Pachuca 2012–13 Liga MX 16091——251
2013–14 39030——420
2014–15 352—40—392
2015–16 3765[lower-alpha 1]1——427
2016–17 70———70
Total 134817240—15510
Guadalajara 2016–17 Liga MX16621——187
2017–18 2973081—408
Total 45135181—5815
Monterrey 2018–19 Liga MX3062[lower-alpha 2]081—407
2019–20 21200003[lower-alpha 3]0242
Total 518208130649
Inter Miami 2020 MLS 19[lower-alpha 4]400——194
Career total 249332432023029638
  1. Includes the 2016 Campeón de Campeones
  2. Includes the 2018 Supercopa MX
  3. Appearances in the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup
  4. Includes three appearances and one goal in the MLS is Back Tournament group stage

    International
    As of 17 November 2020[79]
    Mexico
    YearAppsGoals
    201440
    201500
    201621
    201762
    201830
    2019102
    202040
    Total295

    International goals
    Scores and results list Mexico's goal tally first.[78]
    GoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
    1.10 February 2016Marlins Park, Miami, United States Senegal2–02–0Friendly
    2.1 July 2017CenturyLink Field, Seattle, United States Paraguay1–02–1
    3.20 July 2017University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, United States Honduras1–01–02017 CONCACAF Gold Cup
    4.5 June 2019Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, United States Venezuela2–13–1Friendly
    5.15 October 2019Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico Panama3–13–12019–20 CONCACAF Nations League A

    Honours

    Club

    Pachuca

    Guadalajara

    Monterrey

    International

    Mexico Youth

    Mexico

    Individual

    References
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