José Rodríguez (footballer, born 1889)

José Rodríguez Vázquez (20 August 1889 - 1972), also known as Pepe Rodríguez, was a Spanish footballer who played as a forward for FC Barcelona.[1] In his first season at Barcelona (1909–10), Pepe won all the titles at stake: The Catalan championship, Copa del Rey and Pyrenees Cup, and he was fundamental in Barça's triumphs as he netted the winning goal in both cup finals. Pepe scored in both cup finals in 1912 as well.

José Rodríguez
Personal information
Full name José Rodríguez Vázquez
Date of birth (1889-08-20)20 August 1889
Place of birth Vigo, Galicia, Spain
Date of death 1972 (age 83)
Place of death Melipilla, Chile
Position(s) Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1907–1908 Vigo FC
1908–1910 Fortuna de Vigo
1910–1913 FC Barcelona 63 (67)
International career
1910–1912 Catalonia +2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

In 1912, he was part of the first-ever team fielded by the Catalan national team in an international match recognized by FIFA.

Club career

Born in Vigo, he began his career in 1907 at his hometown club Vigo FC, and in his first (and only) season with them he played a pivotal role in the club's greatest achievement, reaching the 1908 Copa del Rey Final, where they were beaten 1-2 by Madrid FC.[2] He then joined club rivals Fortuna de Vigo, with whom he played for two seasons. In Fortuna he stood out for his goal-scoring instinct, which earned him a move to FC Barcelona in 1910, making his debut on 1 May 1910, in the final of the 1910 Pyrenees Cup, despite having just landed and barely having time to meet his teammates, something that was not enough to stop him from scoring the winning goal in a 2–1 win over Real Sociedad.[3]

He was a member of the legendary Barcelona team of the early 1910s that also included the likes of Francisco Bru, Alfredo Massana, Enrique Peris, Carles Comamala and Charles Wallace, and together with them, he helped the club win a further two Pyrenees Cup titles in 1911 and 1912, netting once in the latter as Barça beat Stade Bordelais 5–3.[4] He also won two Copa del Rey titles in 1910 and 1912, in which Rodríguez contributed decisively, netting the winning goal in the last minute of the 1910 final as Barcelona defeated Español de Madrid 3–2, and also scoring once in the 1912 final in a 2–0 win over Sociedad Gimnástica.[5] This means he scored at least one goal in four different finals for Barcelona, two Pyrenees Cup finals (1910 and 1912) and likewise with the Copa del Rey (1910 and 1912).

He played for Barcelona until 1912, scoring 59 goals in 62 games and winning two Catalan Championships (1910 and 1911), two Pyrenees Cups (1910 and 1911) and two Copa del Rey (1910 and 1912).[6] He later moved to Argentina, and in 1922, he settled permanently in Chile, where he died on 1972.

International career

Like many other FC Barcelona players of that time, he played for the Catalan national team during the early 1910s, however, due to the little statistical rigor that the newspapers had at that time, the exact amount of caps he earned is unknown. On 20 February 1912, Rodríguez went down in history as one of the eleven footballers who played in the first international game recognized by FIFA of the Catalonia national team in a friendly against France, that ended in a 0–7 loss.[7]

Honours

Club
Vigo FC

Barcelona

References
  1. "José Rodríguez Vázquez - Footballer". www.bdfutbol.com. Archived from the original on 27 June 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  2. "Spain - Cup 1908". RSSSF. 3 March 2000. Archived from the original on 23 August 2018. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  3. "Challenge International du Sud de la France ("Coupe des Pyrenées - Copa Pirineos")#First edition (1910)". RSSSF. 4 May 2017. Archived from the original on 2 October 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  4. "Third edition (1912)". RSSSF. 4 May 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  5. "Spain - Cup 1912". RSSSF. 13 January 2000. Archived from the original on 23 August 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  6. "Pepe Rodríguez, un jugador d'època" [Pepe Rodríguez, a vintage player]. arxiu.fcbarcelona.cat (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  7. "Catalonia 0-7 France". hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com (in Spanish). Hemeroteca. 22 February 1912. Archived from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
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