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JUAN ANTONIO RODRÍGUEZ VILLAMUELA
Date of Birth: 1 April 1982
City of Birth: Málaga, Andalucía
Nationality: Spain
Contract: 2006 - 2011
Transfer: Free transfer (2006)
Previous Clubs: Málaga CF (2003-2006), Málaga B (2000-2003), Málaga Juvenil (1999-2000)
Buy-out Clause: ?
Height: 185 cm
Weight: 80 kg
Position: Midfielder (centre/right)
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 JUAN RODRÍGUEZ is such a player any team needs. He doesn’t have the technical skills of De Guzmán, the speed of Lafita nor the experience of Sergio. But this midfielder is strong, versatile, is great in the aerial game, always gives a fight and has reasonable goal scoring abilities. No wonder then that both Caparrós and Lotina highly appreciate his contributions and his two years at the club already have earned him almost sixty Liga matches. Not bad for a player who only is twenty-six years old and arrived for free.
Málaga-born Juan Rodríguez, nicknamed JR, played in the youth system of his local football club Málaga CF when he made his debut in Primera on 28 September 2003 as a substitute at Espanyol aged twenty-one. Chances were few during that campaign when the Andalucians finished tenth, something they would repeat one year later. One month later he played his second match of the season as a starter at Bilbao, but was taken off at half-time. Málaga wasted their 0-1 lead near the end of that match to lose. During that second season at Málaga, who were always mid-table surrounding the century-change, he exploded in the second part. Juan Rodríguez had started five matches and had been brought seven times when he scored a late winner for troubled-Málaga against Atlético de Madrid (1-0), to compensate for a penalty-kick he missed. Six weeks later his goal statistics indicated five Liga goals when his goal, this time an early one, earned his side three points against Bilbao (1-0). Juan Rodríguez also had scored the goal at Numancia (0-1), the first of the Andalucian against Espanyol (a 3-2 win) and scored Málaga’s fifth when they completely demolished Osasuna in Pamplona (a 1-6 win). Four of those goals he had scored in four consecutive matches and now Málaga, and Juan Rodríguez, were ‘hot’. The team, which early January had been four points away from safety, now were ten points above the danger zone. Fortunately his record was broken in the next game, when Málaga lost 1-0… against Deportivo in Riazor. Several injuries spoiled the remaining part of this season2004/2005, in which 23-year old Juan Rodríguez suddenly had become a vital player during the second chapter.
 Several bigger Spanish teams now were looking at Juan Rodríguez and knew that his contract was going to expire in June 2006. At the end of that calendar year, in November, rumours appeared about the interest of Deportivo in the player. But that season Juan Rodríguez couldn’t save his team from relegation. His only goal didn’t prevent his team losing at Getafe (a 3-2 loss) and he missed just one match as a starter of the first fifteen. Málaga were still eleventh at the end of November, but were the bottom-team after a home loss against Mallorca mid-February. Juan Rodríguez now learned the tough side of football: he was taken off the team for several weeks. During the previous season he already had been given seven yellow cards, and in the 2005/2006 campaign got another twelve including two double ones against Real Sociedad and… Deportivo. It was the frustration of a player, with Munitis as victim, who saw his deeply-troubled team taking a shocking lead at Riazor, but still leaving empty-handed (a 2-1 loss). Maybe he wanted to avoid giving the impression that had agreed with going to Deportivo that summer, because rumours one month earlier indicated that a five-year contract was waiting with a €600.000 salary per season. But the player was related to Atlético de Madrid, Betis Sevilla and Villarreal too. When the season was over, in May, Juan Rodríguez broke his silence about the topic and said that “I spoke with my agent and a deal seems done. But if God wants it, I’ll be a player of Deportivo soon. I’m waiting for their announcement so I can tell it here in Málaga as well. All has been arranged and it only needs to become official. There is an agreement and we only need to sign it”. But out of respect to his former team, he wanted the deal only to be known after 30 June. When asked about the attraction of Deportivo, he mentioned that “the club is building a young team surrounded by experienced players. The coach (Caparrós) has a real desire to win and I’m excited about joining that project”. Asked about the decreased status of Deportivo, he said: “In Spain and Europe it’s a respected club with a good reputation. And they were in the race for an UEFA Cup ticket until the end this year”.
Juan Rodríguez hadn’t made name with brilliant plays or unique skills, but he possesses amazing effectiveness when passing the ball. Besides, his long-distance shots are dangerous although his best ability remains to steal balls in midfield. He was influenced by great coaches like Juande Ramos, who gave him his debut, while Gregorio Manzano made him important. In the end it was Antonio Tapia, who knew him from the Málaga youth system, who made a starter of him. At the end of May he announced his decision to leave Málaga but didn’t want to confirm his move to Deportivo. The midfielder expressed his admiration for coach Antonio Tapia, while his agent said that there were five offers on the table. It still took seven more weeks when on 13 July 2006 he was presented in La Coruña. Player presentations were like daily bread that summer, because no less than seventeen players arrived. The midfielder looked forward to the season and said: “It's always important to improve what you have achieved before. In our case, that would be very good since it would mean that we would achieve a place that would guarantee seeing European football in Riazor again. Being among the best six teams is the goal everybody in the club, players, management, coaching staff share and work for". The new Deportivo player confirmed that, despite having had various offers from other Spanish Primera clubs, his preferred option always had been Deportivo. "There were other clubs interested, but from the first moment it was Deportivo's offer that was most convincing. We saw that it was interesting and didn't hesitate a second".
 In the pre-season, Juan Rodríguez started next to Sergio during the 1-0 win against Benfica and played next to De Guzmán when the team lost with the same numbers against Sporting Lisbon. He scored his first goal for the team against Nacional de Montevideo (3-0) during the 2006 Teresa Herrera edition in a unique line-up in front of Coloccini and Sergio in midfield (replacing the injured Valerón). He also scored Deportivo’s third in the final against AC Milan, playing at the same spot. There was renewed excitement in La Coruña after seasons with disappointing results (2004/2005 with Irureta) and disappointing football (2005/2006 with Caparrós). But enthusiasm and results compensate a lot, and that was Deportivo in the first months of the season 2006/2007. After the Teresa Herrera tournament, Juan Rodríguez said that being a playmaker was comfortable to him and added that having good partners in midfield makes the job more easy. “And I’ve always liked to play in the rival’s area. But I think that every player should try to score goals, so that the team won’t depend on individual players”. Juan Rodríguez kept impressing. His goal against Betanzos might not have been that special, but he simply continued scoring goals when the Primera División started. It was 27 August 2006 when playmaker Juan Rodríguez scored Deportivo’s first goal against Zaragoza (a 3-2 win) and caused Juanfran being sent-off with twenty minutes remaining. ‘JR’ was one of the best players on the pitch that night, but he considered the team spirit to be more important: “It was a difficult match for us because they scored an early goal. But we showed good spirit and never surrendered”.
As long as a team is winning, there are hardly complaints. But Caparrós was obsessed with preventing opponents from scoring goals. In the next match, at Mallorca, no less than eight players (including Aouate) mainly had defensive tasks. The offensive line-up consisted of Arizmendi and Riki at the wings with Juan Rodríguez being the striker. He explained that he felt “comfortable” in that position but added that he simply plays where the coach puts him. But sports paper As called the match “a crime to football”. Apparently, Caparrós was influenced by the critics as against Villarreal his team returned to the 4-4-1-1 system with Juan Rodríguez playing behind Riki. The result kept Deportivo at an UEFA Cup spot such early in the season. But Juan Rodríguez was being realistic: “We won’t always score that many goals in every game nor all matches will be like the one at Mallorca”. The festivities continued though. Juan Rodríguez played all first seven matches of the season from finish to start and the team shared fourth spot with Real Madrid after a late victory against Atlético de Madrid (1-0). It was almost a repetition of the late victory against Real Sociedad three weeks before (2-0). In the mean time, the team played a disastrous match at Levante (0-2 loss) and were extremely luck to take a point from Irureta’s Betis Sevilla (1-1). Juan Rodríguez played all those matches as a play maker but was in midfield during the 1-0 Copa win against Racing de Santander.
 The atmosphere, and JR’s opportunities, suddenly changed. Against Getafe, FC Barcelona and Gimnástic the team took just two points and Juan Rodríguez was used as a substitute in those three matches. Coloccini and Sergio were Caparrós’ defensive midfielders and upfront he tried with Verdú. Still Juan Rodríguez was needed to score Deportivo’s goal against FC Barcelona (1-1) after a missed penalty of Estoyanoff. It was goal number 1700 of Deportivo in the Primera División, after the previous marks were reached by Makaay (twice) and Bebeto. Juan Rodríguez admitted that “the squad has changed a lot since then and we don’t have famous players anymore, but we as a team have a lot of hopes”. He didn’t want to give importance to his role as a substitute in the Barcelona match: “This is a very large squad and everybody needs opportunities to play. This time I had to rest, but that doesn’t prevent me from working even harder”. Juan Rodríguez, again, was a defensive midfielder in the Copa against Racing de Santander (next to De Guzmán) and took his responsibilities during the decisive penalty shoot-out. But not even Juan Rodríguez could help the team during his five starting positions in the Liga against Osasuna, Racing, Valencia, Bilbao and Sevilla. The team were shockingly innocent in the offensive game and only playmaker Juan Rodríguez could score a goal for Deportivo while the opponents scored fourteen goals. The team had been playing from average to poor, had fallen down quickly in the table and now were only four points away from relegation. It had its consequences for Juan Rodríguez too as he wasn’t to be seen again in the starting line-up until mid-March 2007. In the mean time, he had to do with six entries as Deportivo climbed to eleventh spot in mid-February. For the first time Juan Rodríguez expressed his personal unhappiness about position in the press. He started the Copa match at Mallorca and was sent-off after yellow cards. In the Copa home match against Segunda División team Valladolid, Deportivo only started to win after JR was substituted by Verdú. Juan Rodríguez also started the away match, and had become a player for the less important matches.
But two poor Liga results against Betis Sevilla (0-1 loss) and Atlético de Madrid (2-0 loss) gave Juan Rodríguez a permanent return to the starting line-up. Caparrós turned back to the power of Juan Rodríguez, who was one of Deportivo’s players with most fouls and who received seven yellow cards in the Liga that season. The cause was that Coloccini had become the right defender of Deportivo which had left a place in midfield. That one, or the one as playmaker, became Juan Rodríguez’ spot for ten matches of the twelve remaining (he had to miss one because of suspension). The team finally distanced itself from the relegation spots and gained renewed hope for something more after a late win was secured against Getafe (1-0). But that was basically it for that season. At the end of the season the gap with sixth spot had widened from seven points to thirteen points and the games of Deportivo were simply poor. The personal statistics of Juan Rodríguez were simply depressing as the team took just seven points from the ten matches he started after mid-March. The midfielder himself looked backed to the season with satisfaction: “Signing at Deportivo was a big move for me because it’s one of Spain’s biggest teams. I hoped to play a lot of matches and I did, and I didn’t mind if I was a starter or a substitute. Also, injuries have respected me. I’m happy and will improve next year”. Indeed, Juan Rodríguez played a lot: he was Deportivo’s seventh player concerning Liga minutes and he only missed seven matches in total. But he was inconsistent, as the whole team had been. This also could have been influenced by the fact that he never found stability: Caparrós put him on and off the pitch and if he played, it was either as defensive midfielder, right winger or play maker. He finished the season as Deportivo’s player with most fouls committed behind his name.
 It’s no shame that Juan Rodríguez didn’t shine in the team of 2006/2007 as, first of all, he’s not the type to do so and, second, nobody did. But the mental aspect is one of his virtues and he only was thinking on next season with Lotina. He called the Basque coach “an experienced coach who knows about the job and he bring high hopes. I’m sure that he will do all to obtain positive results”. Juan Rodríguez indicated that he would be satisfied if he would reach the same numbers as during the season before and confirmed that the ability to play other different positions was his advantage. When asked about the squad getting younger and younger, he said: “We had more experience last season, but the youngsters of last year now are more experienced. Let’s hope that we can improve our Liga position. It has been a tough year for everybody and not being relegated was an important achievement”. Asked about his personal situation, Juan Rodríguez mentioned that “the city, the atmosphere and the people have enchanted me. I really feel at home in La Coruña”. Juan Rodríguez had confidence in Lotina, and it was the same the other way round. When he arrived he quickly said that he would use Juan Rodríguez as alternative for De Guzmán in midfield. “And he’s a player with tremendous conditions. If we find the right spot for him, he can become a starting player. He’s interesting and his multi-functional skills are important to any club. He can also do well upfront”.
Juan Rodríguez, now with a short hair-cut, started next to Sergio in the friendly against Paços de Ferreira and, replaced De Guzmán during the first match of the 2007 Teresa Herrera tournament against Atalanta Bergamo and started the final against Madrid as sole defensive midfielder with Verdú close to him. He was getting consistency and expressed his satisfaction: “I’ve always played in midfield and feel fine there, no matter if my partner is Julián (De Guzmán) or Sergio. Besides, we won our trophy and that’s especially nice because it was against Atalanta and Real Madrid. This gives us a moral boost”. Lotina mentioned that he was satisfied with De Guzmán and Juan Rodríguez for the defensive spots and Catalans Verdú and Sergio with some more freedom. Unlike the year before, Juan Rodríguez didn’t start the season against Almería (a 0-3 loss), but he did so during eighth of the following nine matches. However, Deportivo were sixteenth after that and suffering from ineffectiveness. Juan Rodríguez was somewhat irregular: he was lost at Valladolid (next to Sergio), did much better against Betis (again, next to Sergio) and said about the Getafe match (0-0): “They enjoyed more opportunities, because we never knew how to get into the game. Sometimes, if you can’t handle a pretty style, one has to use different means. The most important thing today is that we kept a clean sheet for the second consecutive time and we created some opportunities to score. But if we want to make something of this point, we have to beat Recreativo next”.
 That match against Recreativo, a hopeless 0-2 loss, would mark changes. Sergio and Juan Rodríguez couldn’t handle Recre’s midfield and the Andalucians finished the first part with the score 0-1 and 54% of possession, in Riazor. Juan Rodríguez saw it different though: “we moved the ball well, but it’s true that we struggled to create opportunities. Despite the defeat, we looked good and played better than at Getafe. Recreativo were very effective upfront and took advantage of their chances. We simply should congratulate them”. But Lotina didn’t agree, and made several chances for the match at Espanyol. Filipe, Adrián López, De Guzmán and Xisco all started and Juan Rodríguez wasn’t even used. Deportivo played exceptionally well, but lost 1-0. Now it was Lafita who was sacrificed and Juan Rodríguez was facing a similar scenario as the year before: in the team, out of the team, and now back as right midfielder at Sevilla (a 0-1 win). Lotina wanted to have possession and strength in midfield, and preferred strong Juan Rodríguez above Pablo Álvarez. Juan Rodríguez and Manuel Pablo did their job perfectly and silenced Sevilla’s Adriano. Lotina once more praised him for his abilities: a capacity to score goals, a good long-distance shot, length and strength. The ex-Málaga player repeated his position at right win against Valencia (a 2-4 loss), and provided Xisco with the goal which brought the Galicians back into the match. The loss against one of Deportivo’s arch-rivals was painful, but Juan Rodríguez wanted to look at the bright side: “This home defeat can’t be compared to the ones against Almería or Recreativo. Our attitude was totally different today. We started to lose quickly, but we never gave up and tried to score goals. We committed mistakes, but I’m not blaming anyone in particular. Here we all win and lose together, everybody makes mistakes. They simply used their opportunities well while we hit the woodwork twice and saw a goal being disallowed”.
The team, with Juan Rodríguez at the right wing for a third consecutive match, played a heroic match at Real Madrid but, again, ended empty-handed (a 3-1 loss). The score was still 1-1 when Juan Rodríguez was replaced by Bodipo, and twenty minutes before Juan Rodríguez almost had given his team a new lead. Juan Rodríguez made it four starting place in a row during the mid-week match in Riazor against Mallorca (a 1-1 draw), and this time did so next to De Guzmán in midfield because Sergio was suspended. Cristián took the right wing spot, but not even against ten-men Mallorca were the Galicians able to win. With half an hour remaining, Lotina took off Juan Rodríguez and brought Taborda to force the winner. Now the ex-Málaga was going to face his most difficult weeks of the season. At Murcia (a 0-2 win), Sergio and De Guzmán occupied midfield with Cristián repeating his spot at right wing, and Juan Rodríguez replaced Verdú with eleven minutes remaining. The win distanced Deportivo at four points of the danger zone, and Lotina repeated these three players during the frustrating defeat against Racing de Santander (0-1). The team had now played seven very good matches in a row, but earned only seven points from them. At Bilbao (a 2-2 draw), Juan Rodríguez was a starter again at the right wing. But only after he was replaced by Riki did the team bounce back from two goals down. After that match, Juan Rodríguez lost his starting places for five matches in a row (including Osasuna, Barcelona, Zaragoza and Atlético) and only came on at Levante. Those weeks, Juan Rodríguez had become a player who was mainly used in Copa matches as he started the double ones against Espanyol next to Sergio in midfield.
 Deportivo were outplayed against Atlético in Riazor (a 0-3 loss), with Juan Rodríguez having no minutes, and the Galicians were now two points below safety. It was time to react, and Lotina counted on Juan Rodríguez again. He started the next six matches against Villarreal (with excellent pressing of Sergio and Juan Rodríguez), Almería (with Juan Rodríguez in front of De Guzmán and Sergio), Valladolid (next to Antonio Tomás in midfield), Betis Sevilla (Juan Rodríguez playing at the right wing, missing a penalty and saving against Betis’ best opportunity), Getafe (repeating his spot at right wing) and Recreativo (his third consecutive match at right wing). The team improved considerably during those matches and overcame its horrible Liga position, but at the end of the day the defeat at Recreativo put the team back at two points of safety. Meanwhile, the only signing of Deportivo that winter (Wilhelmsson) was supposed to occupy Deportivo’s right wing. That was the main reason why Juan Rodríguez was out of the starting team in the next six matches (Espanyol, Sevilla, Valencia, Real Madrid, Mallorca and Murcia) when the team claimed thirteen points and now were four above the danger zone. Lotina had finally found a winning formula with De Guzmán, Sergio and Wilhelmsson and Antonio Tomás enjoyed minutes too. Juan Rodríguez had three entries those weeks (he replaced Lafita twice and Antonio Tomás once). A physical test revealed that Juan Rodríguez had the best scores together with power players like Manuel Pablo, De Guzmán and Barragán. He was out of the team though although he knew what was at stake: “If the coach decides to use another player, I will be there supporting my colleagues. We’re in a difficult situation and the team must prevail. We must be united, because the benefit will be to all of us”.
Juan Rodríguez would have three starting places and three entries during the final eight matches of the season. At Racing de Santander (a 1-3 win) it was the big mystery who would replace the injured Wilhelmsson. Riki and Juan Rodríguez were favourites, but Lotina also mentioned Verdú and Valerón. In the end it was Juan Rodríguez taking Deportivo’s right wing next to Sergio and De Guzmán in midfield. Deportivo played a superb match against a team which would qualify for UEFA Cup football that season, and scored all three goals within the pace of forty-two minutes. It surprised no one that in-form Wilhelmsson, who was crucial in Deportivo’s resurrection, reclaimed his spot against Bilbao (a 3-0 win) and Osasuna (a 0-1 win) and Juan Rodríguez entered during both matches. Juan Rodríguez once more was asked about his role at Deportivo, which had become exactly the same as the year before. “With Caparrós I played as striker, playmaker, right winger, defensive midfield and even as a central defender… I always say: everybody wants to play at his natural position. But if the coach puts you somewhere, you should adapt and that’s it”. Juan Rodríguez entry during the Bilbao match was a ‘reward’ to the player by Lotina (Deportivo were three goals up), although the Riazor crowd had been shouting for Valerón. The ex-Málaga player will be best remembered that season for his match against FC Barcelona in Riazor (a 2-0 win). Juan Rodríguez played the full match next to De Guzmán in midfield and scored Deportivo’s first goal, which was his first of the season and only his second goal in one-and-a-half season. It was a personal relief to him: “I knew that it would come although I wasn’t obsessed with it. I am a defensive midfielder and it isn’t my obligation to decide matches or to score twelve goals per season. But it was nice to do so against Barcelona because I also scored against them last year”. When asked about the emotional way Juan Rodríguez celebrated that goal with the supporters, he said: “I took several punches from the crowd during my celebration, but it was worth it. I was fortunate to have my parents in the stadium. They both work and can’t come too often, so I dedicated it to them. After it we went out to enjoy dinner”. He was forgiven that he missed an unique opportunity to score another goal, while the Galicians confirmed their assault on a UEFA Cup spot. Sixth-placed Sevilla now only were three points away and the results between them were clearly in Deportivo’s advantage. That wasn’t to be, although Deportivo claimed Spain’s Intertoto spot and still qualified for UEFA Cup football that pre-season. Juan Rodríguez entered the final phase of the Zaragoza match and saw his team losing in the dying seconds. He didn’t appear during the 1-0 win against Levante, which basically secured the Intertoto spot, but started the lost match at Atlético de Madrid. In that match, Lotina’s conservative line-up fielded all Sergio, De Guzmán, Wilhelmsson and Juan Rodríguez with Xisco in front of them. Lotina commented before the match that “the last two times that Juan Rodríguez started we won twice and since then I think that I’ve been unfair to him”. Lotina succeeded in completely silencing Atlético offensive part and Deportivo controlled the match, but the lack of presence upfront couldn’t be compensated. De Guzmán, Sergio and Wilhelmsson formed the usual line-up in the final home match of the season against Villarreal (a 0-2 loss) and Juan Rodríguez didn’t get minutes.
 There’s no doubt that Juan Rodríguez will be part of Deportivo’s squad for the season 2008/2009. He’s still only 26-years old but, with his 115 matches and 11 goals in Primera, is already considered a veteran in the young Deportivo squad. Juan Rodríguez is a perfect example of player who can unite a team and who always gives a fight. He’s one of Deportivo’s ‘bad guys’ on the pitch, but still (relatively) a soft one with nine yellow cards in two full seasons and forming part of the team which claimed the Fair Play trophy for the season 2007/2008. It would be interesting to see if Juan Rodríguez can reach a higher level next year and finally gets a more stable position in the team. During the past two seasons he always was among the eleven players with most Liga minutes: he was seventh in the season 2006/2007 under Caparrós and eleventh in the season 2007/208 under Lotina. His matches played (55 in total) are more or less equally divided over the two seasons, but the difference is that with Caparrós he almost played half more minutes compared to his season with Lotina. This has much to do with the fact that if Caparrós used him as a starter, he almost always finished the match. Under Lotina he started eighteen times but only finished ten of them. It might be a logical conclusion that Juan Rodríguez was given less cards with Lotina (two) than Caparrós (seven) considering his minutes, but also because the team of Lotina had a radical different approach to the game. He claimed less headlines by scoring one goal with Lotina, while with Caparrós he scored four.
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