Career

He coached the Costa Rican national team to its first World Cup participation in 1990. Club

Born in barrio Don Bosco, San José, Rodríguez was a local star playing for Deportivo Saprissa back in the 1950s and 1960s. He was part of the Saprissa team that went on a world tour in 1959, becoming the first Latin American team to do such a trip.

He also played for Municipal of Guatemala between 1961 and 1964, where he became player-manager.

He retired as a player with Saprissa in 1966 after breaking his ankle. International

In addition to his club career, Rodríguez made 43 playing appearances for the Costa Rica national football team, scoring 7 goals.

Managerial

As a coach, Rodríguez managed his former playing club Saprissa during different stints in the 1970s and early 1980s. Most significantly, he led unfashionable Puntarenas to the 1986 league title.

In 1988, he coached Costa Rica"s national squad, guiding the team to its first World Cup qualification.

Despite such success, he did not coach the team during the 1990 World Cup finals, as Bora Milutinovic was assigned that duty by the Costa Rican Football Federation. Later, Rodríguez coached Municipal, Aurora and Xelajú in Guatemala, winning the national league title with each team as well.

Achievements

• In the 1950s, he was part of the team known as Chaparritos de Oro, which against all odds won a silver medal at the Pan-American Games held in Buenos Aires. He represented his country in 14 Fédération internationale de football association World Cup qualification matches. He won four national championships coaching Saprissa in the 1970s, to add to the several championships that he had won previously with the team as a player. As of August 2013, he had coached 683 matches and won 6 Costa Rican league games.