Rodrigo Palacio facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal family name is Palacio and the second or maternal family name is Alcalde.

Quick facts for kids
Rodrigo Palacio

Palacio in 2017

Personal information

Full name

Rodrigo Sebastián Palacio Alcalde

Date of birth

5 February 1982 (age 43)

Place of birth

Bahía Blanca, Argentina

Height

1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)

Position(s)

Second striker

Youth career

1990–2002

Bella Vista

Senior career*

Years

Team

Apps

(Gls)

2002–2004

Huracán de Tres Arroyos

(15)

2004–2005

Banfield

(9)

2005–2009

Boca Juniors

131

(54)

2009–2012

Genoa

(35)

2012–2017

Inter Milan

140

(39)

2017–2021

Bologna

127

(19)

2021–2022

Brescia

(6)

Total

607

(177)

International career

2005–2014

Argentina

(3)

Medal record

FIFA World Cup

Representing Argentina
	2014 Brazil
Copa América
	2007 Venezuela

*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Rodrigo Palacio
No. 4 – Polisportiva Garegnano
Point guard
Personal information
Born	(1982-02-05) 5 February 1982 (age 43) Bahía Blanca, Argentina
Nationality	Argentine, Spanish
Listed height	1.76 m (5 ft 9.29 in)
Career information
Pro career	2022–present
League	Serie D
Career history
2022–present	Polisportiva Garegnano

Rodrigo Sebastián Palacio Alcalde (born 5 February 1982) is a former professional footballer from Argentina who played as a second striker. A second striker is a forward who plays just behind the main striker. He is also known for his unique rattail hairstyle.

His father, José Ramón Palacio, was also a famous football player in Argentina. Because he has family from Spain, Palacio holds a Spanish passport. This meant he could play in European leagues without being counted as a foreign player.

Palacio played for the Argentina national team in two FIFA World Cups and one Copa América. He helped his team finish as the runner-up in both the 2014 World Cup and the 2007 Copa América.

Club career
International career
- 2014 FIFA World Cup
Style of play
Career statistics
- Club
- International
Honours
See also

Club career

Starting in Argentina

Palacio started playing football at a young age. He joined the youth team of Bella Vista de Bahía Blanca when he was 12. At 20, he began his professional career with the club Huracán de Tres Arroyos in 2002.

After two years, he moved to Banfield, a team in Argentina's top football league. He played well, scoring 11 goals in 38 games.

Success with Boca Juniors

In 2005, Palacio joined Boca Juniors, one of the biggest clubs in Argentina. He quickly became a star player. He helped the team win many important trophies, including the 2007 Copa Libertadores, which is South America's biggest club competition.

He also won the Recopa Sudamericana three times and the Copa Sudamericana once. In the 2007 FIFA Club World Cup, Boca Juniors played against the Italian team Milan. Even though Boca lost, Palacio was named the third-best player of the tournament and won the Bronze Ball award.

Moving to Italy

Genoa

In July 2009, Palacio moved to Italy to play for Genoa. He played for the club for three seasons. He scored 38 goals in 100 games, showing he could be a top scorer in Italy's Serie A league.

Inter Milan

Palacio celebrating with Ezequiel Schelotto.

In 2012, Palacio joined another famous Italian club, Inter Milan. He became one of their most important players.

One of his most memorable moments was in a cup match in December 2012. The team's goalkeeper got injured, and they had no more substitutions. Palacio put on the goalkeeper's jersey and played in goal for the last 15 minutes. He even made a great save and didn't let in any goals!

During the 2013–14 season, he scored an amazing goal against rivals Milan with the back of his heel. It was the winning goal in a 1–0 victory. He finished that season as Inter's top scorer with 17 league goals. He played for Inter for five seasons before leaving in 2017.

Bologna

Palacio with Ignazio Abate in the Milan derby

In August 2017, Palacio signed with Bologna. He continued to play in Serie A even as he got older.

In May 2021, at the age of 39, Palacio scored a hat-trick (three goals in one game) against Fiorentina. This made him the oldest player ever to score a hat-trick in Serie A history. He broke a record that had stood for over 70 years.

Retirement and a New Sport

After one last season with the club Brescia, Palacio retired from professional football in 2022. After his football career, he decided to start playing basketball for a team in Italy.

International career

Rodrigo Palacio (number 18) lining up with Argentina against Uruguay.

Palacio played for the Argentina national team from 2005 to 2014. He was part of the team at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. He also helped Argentina reach the final of the 2007 Copa América.

His first goal for Argentina came in 2008 in a World Cup qualifying match against Ecuador.

2014 FIFA World Cup

Palacio was a key player for Argentina during the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. He helped the team reach the final against Germany.

In the final match, during extra time, he had a big chance to score but his shot went just wide of the goal. Argentina lost the final 1–0. After the match, many fans in Argentina talked about the missed chance, with a popular phrase being "Era por abajo, Palacio," which means "It was along the ground, Palacio."

After the World Cup, Palacio retired from playing for the national team.

Style of play

Palacio was known for being a smart and skilled forward. He was fast, creative, and good at scoring goals. He could play in different attacking positions, like a main striker or a winger. He was also known for working hard to help his team defend.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			National cup		Continental		Other		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Huracán	2002–03	Primera B Nacional	34	7	—		—		—		34	7
	2003–04	Primera B Nacional	19	8	—		—		—		19	8
	Total		53	15	—		—		—		53	15
Banfield	2003–04	Argentine Primera División	19	2	—		2	2	—		21	4
	2004–05	Argentine Primera División	17	7	—		—		—		17	7
	Total		36	9	—		2	2	—		38	11
Boca Juniors	2004–05	Argentine Primera División	15	3	—		7	2	—		22	5
	2005–06	Argentine Primera División	32	17	—		7	5	2	0	41	22
	2006–07	Argentine Primera División	33	19	—		12	6	2	3	47	28
	2007–08	Argentine Primera División	31	10	—		13	4	2	1	46	15
	2008–09	Argentine Primera División	20	5	—		7	5	2	2	29	12
	Total		131	54	—		46	22	8	6	185	82
Genoa	2009–10	Serie A	31	7	0	0	6	1	—		37	8
	2010–11	Serie A	27	9	2	0	—		—		29	9
	2011–12	Serie A	32	19	2	2	—		—		34	21
	Total		90	35	4	2	6	1	—		100	38
Inter Milan	2012–13	Serie A	26	12	3	2	10	8	—		39	22
	2013–14	Serie A	37	17	2	2	—		—		39	19
	2014–15	Serie A	35	8	0	0	6	4	—		41	12
	2015–16	Serie A	27	2	3	1	—		—		30	3
	2016–17	Serie A	15	0	2	1	3	1	—		20	2
	Total		140	39	10	6	19	13	—		169	58
Bologna	2017–18	Serie A	28	4	0	0	—		—		28	4
	2018–19	Serie A	28	3	3	0	—		—		31	3
	2019–20	Serie A	35	7	1	1	—		—		36	8
	2020–21	Serie A	36	5	1	0	—		—		37	5
	Total		127	19	5	1	—		—		132	20
Brescia	2021–22	Serie B	30	6	0	0	—		3	0	33	6
Career total			607	177	19	9	73	38	11	6	710	230

International

Rodrigo Palacio at the 2014 FIFA World Cup Final against Germany.

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Argentina	2005	2	0
	2006	1	0
	2007	3	0
	2008	2	1
	2009	0	0
	2010	0	0
	2011	1	0
	2012	1	0
	2013	10	1
	2014	7	1
Total		27	3

Scores and results list Argentina's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Palacio goal.

List of international goals scored by Rodrigo Palacio
No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	15 June 2008	Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Ecuador	1–1	1–1	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
2	11 October 2013	Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Peru	3–1	3–1	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
3	4 June 2014	Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Trinidad and Tobago	1–0	3–0	Friendly