Rodrigo de La Fuente Morgado

Rodrigo de la Fuente stared his basketball career as a youth team player at Estudiantes and played at the Ramiro de Maetzu club until 1992-93.

A later he moved to Fuenlabrada so he could play in the first division.

After his time at Fuenlabrada he decided to try his luck in the United States, where he would remain for four years. After two years at San Jacinto Junior College, De la Fuente changed universities and headed for the west coast where he played for prestigious college outfit Washington State.

In the middle of the 1997-98 season, FC Barcelona expressed its interest in including De la Fuente in the team coached by Joan Montes. The player didn't think twice about the offer of joining the Catalan giants. In his first season he was declared ACB rookie of the year. Montes was perfectly aware of the potential of this guard-forward who he had managed previously in the Spanish national youth team. Rodrigo has moved on to becoming one of the key components of the team, to the point of being named captain.

Having played at every international level for Spain, Rodrigo de la Fuente made his full international debut on May 18, 1997, scoring five points against Italy. He took part in the European Championships in Paris'99 and Sweden'03, where he picked up two silver medals. He also appeared at the Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 Olympic Games and the Greece'98 World Championship. As an individual, he was named best defensive player in the ACB League in the 2003-04 season.

CHARACTERISTICS

An academically and enviably skilful player, Rodrigo de la Fuente is extremely fit, something he always exploits to cause problems for absolutely any attacking rival. He is considered one of the best centres in Europe, and is the kind of player that is usually chosen to man-mark the opposing star forward.

Another of his particular characteristics is his ability with rebounds. His height of two metres, but most importantly his intelligent positioning and knack for reading the game make him an expert weapon for dealing with both defensive and offensive rebounds. He is exceedingly dedicated, and almost always hangs behind after training to work on particular aspects of his game.

HONOURS

FC Barcelona
2006-07 Spanish Cup
2004-05 Catalan League
2004-05 ACB Supercup
2003-04 ACB League
2002-03 ACB League
2002-03 Euroleague
2002-03 Spanish Cup
2000-01 ACB League
2000-01 Spanish Cup
1998-99 ACB League
1998-99 Korac Cup

Spanish National Team
2003-04 Silver Medal at Euro Sweeden
1998-99 Silver Medal at Euro France
1995-96 Silver Medal at Euro Istanbul
1994-95 Bronze at World Championships Athens
1993-94 Bronze Medal at Euro 94 Israel