Rodrigo Faria (born 24 February 1977, in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

) is a former Brazilian

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a striker.

Early career

Faria began his youth career in Brazil with the

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; ), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian multi sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea. It was founded and named after the Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro, Flamengo n ...

and

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama ( , ; – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and nobleman who was the Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India, first European to reach India by sea. Da Gama's first voyage (1497–1499) was the first to link ...

systems. He later came to the United States to attend Concordia College in 1999, where he scored 24 goals in 19 games. During college, he also played for the

Westchester Flames Westchester Flames is an American soccer team based in New Rochelle, New York, United States. Founded in 1999, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid. The team plays its home games at City Park Stadium ...

in the

Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

. He was scouted by the MetroStars and subsequently drafted 13th overall in the

2001 MLS SuperDraft The 2001 Major League Soccer MLS SuperDraft, SuperDraft was held on February 5, 2001, at the Signature Grand in Davie, Florida. Player selection ;Key Round 1 Round 1 trades Round 2 Round 2 trades Round 3 Round 3 t ...

Professional career

In his first season with the MetroStars, Faria tied the then MLS rookie single-season record by scoring eight goals on the way to being named the

MLS Rookie of the Year The MLS Young Player of the Year Award (known as the Rookie of the Year Award from 1996 to 2019) is an annual award given to the top player in Major League Soccer under the age of 22. The award was initially awarded to a rookie, or a player who ...

. In an expanded role in 2002, he upped his total to twelve goals and also tallied five assists to lead the club in scoring. The club acquired a new head coach

Bob Bradley Robert Frank Bradley (born March 3, 1958) is an American association football, soccer coach, who most recently managed Norwegian football team Stabæk Fotball, Stabæk fron 2023 - 2024. A native of New Jersey and graduate of Princeton Universi ...

from the Chicago Fire the following season and Faria was shipped to Chicago as compensation. Rodrigo split the 2003 MLS season between the Fire and the

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional association football, soccer club based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Origin ...

, without scoring a regular season goal. He scored the overtime game-winner for the Earthquakes in a dramatic comeback against the

Los Angeles Galaxy The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Gal ...

in the

MLS Cup MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Playoffs. The game is held in November or December and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Confere ...

semifinals. San Jose went on to win the Cup with Faria playing a minor role. Shortly after the 2003 season, Faria returned to Brazil to tend to his family's business interests after the death of his father. Though he expressed interest in continuing his playing career, he retired from the game due to a lack of Brazilian clubs willing to pay the required fees to purchase his unfulfilled contract with MLS.

Honors

Club

;San Jose Earthquakes *

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

Individual

: 2001

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Faria, Rodrigo 1977 births Living people Brazilian men's footballers Brazilian expatriate men's footballers New York Red Bulls players Chicago Fire FC players San Jose Earthquakes players Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Westchester Flames players USL League Two players Major League Soccer players Concordia College (New York) alumni New York Red Bulls draft picks Men's association football forwards Footballers from Rio de Janeiro (city)