Rodrigo Palacio (photo below) is an Argentinean professional footballer who plays as a striker in the Italian club Bologna. The growth of a football player is 175 centimeters, weight - 66 kg. Known for its speed, dribbling and scoring flair.
From 2005 to 2014 he was a player of the national team of Argentina, for which he played 27 matches and was marked by 3 goals scored. He represented his team at two FIFA world championships and at the Copa America tournament. He is the owner of silver medals at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and at Coma America 2007 in Venezuela. Football player Rodrigo Palacio has dual citizenship - Argentinean and Spanish. Due to such circumstances, he can rightfully be considered a European player.
Biography: getting to know football, early career
Palacio was born on February 5, 1982 in the city of Bahia Blanca, Argentina. He started playing football at the Bella Vista youth club in 1990. His professional career began at the Argentine club Atlético Huracán in 2002. Here he spent only one season, in which he played in 53 matches and scored 15 goals.
In the 2003/2004 season, he played for Banfield, in which he took part in 36 games and hit the opponent’s goal 9 times.
Career at Argentinean Boca Juniors
In 2004, Rodrigo Palacio signed a five-year contract with Boca Juniors. Here, the Argentine striker played until 2009 and achieved considerable success. As part of the Genoese, he became the three-time champion of Argentina and the owner of such cups as Recopa Sul-Americana (3 times), Copa Sul-Americana (2005) and Copa Libertadores (2007.) In the 2005/06 season, he shared first place in a list of Argentina championship goal-makers with Mauro Zarate (12 goals each). In total, he played 131 matches for this club and scored 54 goals.
Career at Genoa
In July 2009, Rodrigo Palacio, whose goal statistics for the match at that time was one of the best in Argentina, signed an agreement with the Italian Genoa CFC. Serie A made his debut on August 23 in a triumphant match against the Roma club (victory 3–2). On November 5 of the same year, Palacio scored his first goal for the club in the UEFA Cup match against the French Lille.
In February 2011, in the 26th round of Serie A, Genoa fought against Roma. During the match, the “red-blue” lost with a crushing score of 0: 3, but at a certain point in time the game turned upside down and benefited the hosts. The match ended with the score 4: 3 in favor of the “griffins”, while Rodrigo Palacio scored a double.
Over the three seasons, he played 90 matches with the Griffins and scored 35 goals. For the same period of time I received the only red card.
Career at the Italian International
On May 22, 2012, Genoa’s President Enrico Preziosi confirmed that Argentine Rodrigo Palacio would join Inter Milan. On June 7, an official transfer took place, the amount of which amounted to 10.5 million euros. The contract was signed for three years, it prescribed the amount of the player's annual salary of 2.7 million euros.
He will make his black and blue debut in the UEFA Champion League match against Croatian club Hajduk Split. He scored the first goal in the new team on August 18 in a preseason friendly match against Athlétique Bizertin (Tunisia).
As part of the "snake" he played in the period from 2012 to 2017. During this period of time he played in 167 matches and scored 47 goals.
On December 18, 2012, in a cup match against Hellas Verona, Palacio came to the goal instead of goalkeeper Vid Belek who received the red card. The Argentine striker defended the goal for 15 minutes and kept his goal “dry”. It is worth noting that the striker fended off several serious shots on target. The match ended in favor of the “black and blue” with a score of 2: 0.
On August 17, 2017, the 35-year-old Argentine striker Rodrigo Palacio signed a contract with Bologna for a period of one season. By October 2017, he played for the club 6 official matches and was marked by two goals scored in Serie A.
Style of play and features of a football player
Palacio is a very technical and gifted player. It has a powerful accurate blow and scoring flair. The Argentinean is considered a universal striker, because he is able to play in several positions of the attack line. During performances for Inter, the player often performed the role of “under the striker” or winger. In addition to his skills, it can be noted that he has good defensive skills: due to his speed he manages to go back and win the ball from the opponent.
Team appearances
In March 2005, he played the first match for the national team against Mexico. On the same month, March 25, took part in the principle match of the qualifying stage of the 2006 World Cup against Bolivia (spent 8 minutes on the field). In the following years, he was often called up to the national team, for which he played at major international tournaments.