John Paul Rodrigues (born December 29, 1983) is a retired Guyanese soccer defender.

J. P. Rodrigues
Personal information
Full name John Paul Rodrigues
Date of birth (1983-12-29) 29 December 1983 (age 40)
Place of birth Lutz, Florida, United States
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Position(s) Defender
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2005 Belmont Bruins 52 (3)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2005 Nashville Metros 33 (4)
2006–2009 Miami FC 61 (1)
2007–2008 Orlando Sharks (indoor) 25 (11)
2008–2013 Milwaukee Wave (indoor) 106 (31)
2010 Miami FC 27 (1)
2010D.C. United (loan) 1 (0)
2011–2012 Tampa Bay Rowdies[1] 50 (0)
2013–2014 Rochester Lancers (indoor) 8 (1)
2014 Tampa Bay Rowdies 19 (0)
International career
2006–2014 Guyana 23 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of January 26, 2015
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of September 25, 2012

Career

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College and amateur

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Rodrigues played college soccer at Belmont University, where he was named 1st team All Conference in 2004 & 2005. He was also named Atlantic Sun Conference defender of the year in 2005 and named to the Atlantic Sun 2000’s All Decade Team. During his college years he also played with the Nashville Metros in the USL Premier Development League. In 2015 JP Rodrigues was the first Men’s soccer player to be inducted into the Belmont University Athletic Hall Of Fame. He has since been joined by his former teammate and Belmont standout Jay Michael Ayres. They are currently the only 2 Men’s soccer athletes with this honor.

Professional

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Rodrigues was the first pick of Miami FC in the 2006 USL Draft, and played for the Blues during their first three seasons in the USL First Division before leaving the club at the end of 2009.

On February 18, 2010, Miami FC announced the re-signing of Rodrigues to a new contract for the 2010 season.[2][3] On October 7, 2010, Rodrigues was signed on a short-term loan by Major League Soccer club D.C. United.[4]

Rodrigues signed with FC Tampa Bay of the North American Soccer League on January 13, 2011. He received a two-year contract with a club option for 2013,[5] although the 2013 option was declined on November 20, 2012.[6]

Indoor soccer

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Rodrigues also has extensive experience of professional indoor soccer, having played in the second MISL for the Orlando Sharks and the third MISL for the Milwaukee Wave. He was voted to the 2007-2008 MISL All Rookie team while with the Sharks[7] After the conclusion of the 2010 USSF Division 2 Professional League season, Rodrigues re-joined Milwaukee Wave for the 2010-11 MISL season. During a Twitter Q&A session on July 31, 2014, Rodrigues announced he had permanently retired from indoor soccer.[8]

International

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Rodrigues made his debut for the Guyana national football team in 2006, and has since amassed 23 caps for the team. He also participated in qualifying matches for the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups. He was a part of the squad that qualified for the final round of the Digicel Caribbean Cup. A Caribbean tournament in which the top 4 teams qualify for the Gold Cup held in the United States. Most recently Rodrigues was a part of the squad that made the World Cup qualifying group stage in which Guyana drew Mexico, Costa Rica and El Salvador.

References

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  1. ^ Formerly known as FC Tampa Bay through 2011.
  2. ^ "First Ever Player, JP Rodrigues re-joins the Blues". NASL.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
  3. ^ "Miami FC Re-Signs Former First Pick JP Rodrigues". Archived from the original on 2017-04-12. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
  4. ^ "Thursday notes: Rodrigues onhand at RFK". Alex Caulfield, dcunited.com. Archived from the original on 2011-06-15. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
  5. ^ "FC Tampa Bay". Archived from the original on 2011-01-16. Retrieved 2011-03-01.
  6. ^ http://nasl.com/index.php?id=3&newsid=3527%7COffseason Roster Moves Underway
  7. ^ JP Rodrigues Named to All Rookie Team
  8. ^ Tampa Bay Rowdies [@TampaBayRowdies] (31 July 2014). ".@zohiggs Absolutely not. I have completely retired from indoor soccer" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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