Rodrigo Alejandro Goldberg Mierzejewski (born 9 August 1971) is a Chilean former professional footballer who played as a striker. He gained national notoriety in Israel for his talented play with Maccabi Tel Aviv and good use of the Hebrew language.[1] At international level, he made 13 appearances for the Chile national team scoring 4 goals.
 Goldberg in 2017 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Rodrigo Alejandro Goldberg Mierzejewski | ||
| Date of birth | 9 August 1971 | ||
| Place of birth | Santiago, Chile | ||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Universidad de Chile | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1989–1997 | Universidad de Chile | 67 | (11) |
| 1992–1993 | → Santiago Wanderers (loan) | 61 | (25) |
| 1997–2003 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 75 | (28) |
| 1998–1999 | → Universidad Católica (loan) | 19 | (5) |
| 2005–2006 | Santiago Morning | 37 | (6) |
| Total | 259 | (75) | |
| International career | |||
| 1995–2001 | Chile | 13 | (4) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Time in Israel
editGoldberg was an integral part of the Maccabi Tel Aviv squad that took back to back cup titles and a league championship thereafter.[2] He had a strained relationship with club captain Avi Nimni and verbally criticized him in the Israeli media before returning to Chile.[3]
Return to Chile
editAfter playing for four seasons in Israel, Goldberg returned to Chile to play for Santiago Morning. During a club match against Palestino, he was subjected to anti-Semitic abuse from the oppositions supporters because of his Polish and German Jewish background.[4] Goldberg is, however, a Catholic, as a result of the conversion of his grandparents.[5]
After football
editGoldberg graduated as an Industrial Civil Engineer at the San Sebastián University.[6]
Since 2006, he has worked as a football commentator and analyst in both radio and TV media such as Canal del Fútbol,[7] Fox Sports[8] and Radio Cooperativa. In addition to this, he worked for TVN during the 2011 Copa América.[7] Also, he has worked for print media such as Publimetro [es] and La Tercera.[9]
From 2019 to 2021, Goldberg worked as Sports Director of Universidad de Chile alongside his former fellow footballer Sergio Vargas.[10]
Honours
editUniversidad de Chile
Maccabi Tel Aviv
- Israel State Cup: 2001, 2002
- Israeli Premier League: 2002–03
References
edit- ^ Sagi, Miki (19 April 2006). רודריגו גולדברג: "קראו לי בצ'ילה יהודי זבל" (in Hebrew). Yedioth Ahronoth. Retrieved 21 May 2007.
- ^ Sagi, Miki (19 April 2006). "They called me Jewish garbage". Yedioth Ahronoth. Retrieved 21 May 2007.
- ^ Zenzifer, Nadav (10 March 2003). נמני: "גורמים במכבי הסיתו שחקנים נגדי" (in Hebrew). Iton Tel Aviv. Archived from the original on 23 February 2006. Retrieved 21 May 2007.
- ^ AFP (18 April 2006). "Insultos antisemitas en torneo chileno" (in Spanish). Univision.com. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 21 May 2007.
- ^ Eskenazi, Gerald (20 March 2012). "Chile's 'Jewish' soccer star". Retrieved 25 January 2014.
I'm not Jewish. The only Hebrew word I knew was 'shalom.' My grandparents were German and Polish Jews, and they converted because in this country, it was easier to be Catholic
- ^ Alegrete, Lucía (29 June 2018). "Rodrigo Goldberg "Invertir con plata es re fácil, pero cuando no la tienes es súper complejo"" (in Spanish). Revista Valora. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
- ^ a b "Rodrigo Goldberg" (in Spanish). Revista Qué Pasa. 18 August 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
- ^ "Rodrigo Goldberg asume conducción de noticiero de Fox" (in Spanish). La Tercera. 13 June 2014. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
- ^ Rodrigo Goldberg on LinkedIn
- ^ Parker, Matías (29 April 2021). "Sergio Vargas y Rodrigo Goldberg, los primeros cortados por los nuevos dueños de Azul Azul" (in Spanish). La Tercera. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
External links
edit- Profile and statistics of Rodrigo Goldberg on One.co.il (in Hebrew)
- Rodrigo Goldberg at BDFA (in Spanish)