Adelardo Rodríguez
Adelardo Rodríguez (Badajoz, September 26, 1939), is a Spanish former soccer player who played as a midfielder and who developed a long career at Atlético de Madrid, a club in which he is the second player that has played the most games in its entire history with 553.
He was international fourteen times with the Spanish team, with which he participated in two World Cups (Chile 1962 and England 1966).
Biography
His beginning in football took place in grassroots teams in his homeland, such as Ferrocarril, Betis Club Extremeño de Badajoz and CR Extremadura de Badajoz. Even at a young age he would debut in the Second Division with Club Deportivo Badajoz,
In June 1959, Atlético de Madrid played a friendly tournament in Badajoz, and a few days later, Adelardo signed for the red and white club at the request of coach Ferdinand Daučík.
His debut in the First Division took place on September 13 of that year, in the match between his team and the Unión Deportiva Las Palmas in the Canary Islands capital on the first day of the 1959/60 League. Atlético won 0-3 and Adelardo was the author, eleven minutes into the game, of the first goal for the rojiblancos.
He remained at Atlético for seventeen seasons, in which he played a total of 553 official matches (401 in the League) in which he scored 113 goals (73 in the League). He is the second player who has worn the most matches. Atlético de Madrid shirt throughout history.
With the red and white team he won three League titles and five Cup titles. He also won a European Cup Winners' Cup (1962), the first international title won by Atlético de Madrid, and an Intercontinental Cup, in 1975.
After his retirement, Atlético de Madrid paid him a tribute match, played at the Vicente Calderón Stadium on September 1, 1976, a match that ended with the visiting team, the Mexican National Team, winning by one goal to zero.
After retiring from football he wanted to remain linked to sport, playing in Inter Futsal with which he managed to win the first official tournament organized by the Royal Spanish Football Federation in this sport. He also presided over the Badajoz Sports Club, his hometown team.
National team
Adelardo was international a total of 14 times with the Spanish soccer team.
His debut took place on June 6, 1962, in the World Cup in Chile, when he was fielded by the coach, Pablo Hernández Coronado, in the match that Spain played against Brazil, where they were defeated by 2 goals to 1. Adelardo He was the author of the only Spanish goal.
He was part of the squad for the qualifying matches for the final phase of the 1964 European Championship in Spain, which the Spanish National Team ended up winning, although Adelardo did not play in any match. He did do it in his second World Cup, in England 1966.
In addition to his debut, Adelardo scored another goal for the national team, in the friendly match against Scotland in Madrid in June 1963.
During the eight years in which he was international, four coaches had his services: Pablo Hernández Coronado, José Villalonga, Domingo Balmanya and Ladislao Kubala.
The list of matches played by Adelardo with Spain is as follows:
Clubs
Club | Year |
---|---|
![]() | 1956-1957 |
![]() | 1957-1959 |
![]() | 1959-1976 |
Titles
National Championships
- 3 Leagues: 1965/66, 1969/70 and 1972/73 (Atlético de Madrid).
- 5 Cups: 1960, 1961, 1965, 1972 and 1976 (Atlético de Madrid).
International Cups
- 1 Intercontinental Cup: 1974 (Atlético de Madrid).
- 1 Recopa de Europa: 1962 (Atlético de Madrid)