Rodrigo Andrés Ríos Rodríguez (born 25 January 1977) is a Chilean former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

now serving as assistant coach for

Austin FC Austin FC is an American professional soccer club based in Austin, Texas. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 2018, the club began play in the 2021 season. Their home stadium is Q ...

Club career

Ríos was born in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

, Chile. In 1987, he joined the Universidad Católica youth system. In February 1996, he entered his first game with the Catolica first team in the

Primera División de Chile Primera may refer to * Nissan Primera, a car * Primera Air, a former airline * Primera división (disambiguation), multiple top division football leagues * Primera, Texas, a town in Cameron County, Texas * Alí Primera, Venezuelan musician, compos ...

. In 2001, he moved to

Everton de Viña del Mar Everton de Viña del Mar is a Football in Chile, Chilean football club based in the city of Viña del Mar. The club was founded 24 June 1909 after a group of British Chilean, Anglo-Chilean teenagers formed a football club and named it after th ...

before moving to

Palestino The term ''Palestino'' is the Spanish word for "Palestinian". The word "''Palestino''" is used in Cuba as a disparaging nickname for illegal migrants within the country. The nickname is used as a rhetorical device, that compares illegal migrants ...

in 2002. From 2003 to 2004, he played for

Unión Española Club Unión Española S.A.D.P. is a professional football club based in the Independencia neighborhood, commune of Santiago, Chile currently participating in the Primera División de Chile. History Foundation, Amateur Era and First seasons ...

. In 2005, he moved to the United States where he signed with the

Atlanta Silverbacks The Atlanta Silverbacks FC were an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1998 as Atlanta Ruckus, the club played in many leagues over the years before folding after the 2015 season. The team played its home game ...

in the

USL First Division The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second ...

. He was a 2005 and 2006 second team All Star. The Silverbacks withdrew from the league following the 2008 season.

International career

In 1996, Ríos earned eight

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

with the Chilean U-20 national team. In 2000, he played six games, scoring one goal, with the U-23 team during qualification for the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

. However, he was not selected for the final roster.

Coaching career

The Silverbacks club re-emerged in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

for the 2011 season. In preparation, the Silverbacks hired Ríos as Director of Soccer on December 18, 2010. In 2012, Rios started coaching Youth Soccer at Norcross Soccer Academy, he was awarded Girls Academy "Coach of the year" for the state of Georgia in 2013. He currently is USSF 'A' License Coach. In June 2016, he joined Atlanta United as an Academy Coach. Since 2021, he has performed as the assistant coach for

in the

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

References

External links

Atlanta Silverbacks Player Profile

Meet the Players

Rodrigo Rios , Austin FC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rios, Rodrigo 1977 births Living people Footballers from Santiago, Chile Chilean men's footballers Chilean expatriate men's footballers Chile men's under-20 international footballers Club Deportivo Universidad Católica footballers Everton de Viña del Mar footballers Club Deportivo Palestino footballers Unión Española footballers Atlanta Silverbacks FC players Tercera División de Chile players Chilean Primera División players USL First Division players Men's association football midfielders Chilean football managers Chilean expatriate football managers Atlanta United FC non-playing staff Austin FC non-playing staff Chilean expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Expatriate soccer coaches in the United States