FCBARCELONA.CAT

26.03.2009 12:47

Pepe Rodríguez, a great player from the past

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Pepe Rodríguez was a great goal scorer from Barça’s early history. At that time, the players were amateurs, the team was a group of friends and they lived football and other sports with passion.

Pepe Rodríguez, whose shirt can now be viewed in the Museum, was born in Vigo in 1889. He played in local teams in his home town and moved to Barcelona in 1910. He made his debut for Barça on 1st May 1910 and continued playing for the team until 16th November 1912. They were two and half very intensive years: 62 matches and 59 goals

Afterwards, he moved to Argentina and in 1922 he settled definitively in Chile. He always treasured his time with Barça and kept many souvenirs which now, nearly one hundred years later, are on display in this exhibition.

A great footballer

In the two and a half years Rodríguez played for Barça he became an outstanding forward and was also team captain on a number of occasions. Indeed, in his first game with Barça he won the prestigious Copa Pirineus, the first international trophy won by the Club. That was the victorious team that won the Championship of Catalonia in 1910 and 1911, the Championship of Spain in 1910 and 1912 and the Copa Pirineus from 1910 to 1913.

Football in a pure state

When Pepe Rodríguez played for Barça, football was just starting to get known. In July 1909, after winning the Valencia Exhibition Championship, the first large-scale public reception of the victorious team by the fans took place. In 1909 the Club also inaugurated the ground in Indústria Street, with its much admired grandstand. The players had a great personal relationship as can be seen by the postcards they sent each other.