Jay Enrique Rodriguez (born 29 July 1989) is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Southampton.
Early life
Rodríguez, of Spanish descent,[2] was born in Burnley, Lancashire, the son of Enrique (Kiko) and Carol Rodríguez (née Threlfall). He attended Heasandford Primary School and Barden High School[2] in the town. His father trialled for Deportivo de La Coruña before spending some time at Burnley in 1983.
Club career
Burnley
He won himself a contract and was promoted to the senior squad at the end of the 2006–07 season
after progressing through the youth ranks at the club and completing
his two-year apprenticeship. He was the only player to be signed by
Burnley manager Steve Cotterill from the seven youth players available at the time.[3]
He made his first team debut for the Clarets in the Championship on 29 December 2007, when he came on as a late substitute for Stephen Jordan in the 1–0 defeat to Bristol City at Turf Moor.[4] Rodriguez finished the 2007–08 season on loan at Scottish First Division side Stirling Albion after signing in January 2008. Jay continued to train with the Clarets whilst reporting for Stirling on match days.[5] He made his debut for Albion a day later in the 3–0 defeat against Celtic in the fourth round tie of the Scottish Cup at Celtic Park. He came on as a second half substitute for David McKenna.[6] He made his first start a week after against Livingston,
but after the match he then faced a six week absence through fatigue
and lack of fitness. His first game back on 1 March saw him come off the
bench to score a consolation in the last minute and his first
professional goal away at Morton which ended in a 2–1 defeat.[7] He stayed with Stirling until the end of the campaign and also scored goals against Livingston and St. Johnstone, but these goals weren't enough to keep Albion up and they were relegated after finishing bottom of the table.[8][9]
Rodriguez was expected to again move on loan to Scotland for the 2008–09 season but manager Owen Coyle
rejected talk of the striker leaving the club after media speculation.
He was given his first appearance of the season on 23 September 2008,
when he scored his first goal for Burnley in the League Cup third round against Fulham, coming on as a late substitute securing a win in the 88th minute.[10] He started featuring regularly in the first team as a substitute and followed this up with goals against Queens Park Rangers in the FA Cup, and scored a dramatic goal against Tottenham Hostpur in the League Cup
semi-final, equalising the tie on aggregate making it 4–4 late on, and
although Burnley went on to win the game 3–2 on the night, the tie
finished 6–4 to Spurs on aggregate after late goals in extra time from Jermain Defoe and Roman Pavlyuchenko.[11] His first league goal for Burnley came on 11 March 2009 in a 4–2 victory over Crystal Palace at Turf Moor.[12] He then scored a stunning goal three days later in an emphatic 5–0 home victory over Nottingham Forest, which later on won him the accolade of Burnley goal of the season.[13][14] His first start for the Clarets came a month later on 11 April 2009 in the Championship game against Queens Park Rangers in a 1–0 win.[15] Rodriguez was also played a part in Burnley's play off campaign which saw them promoted to the Premier League after victories over Reading, and a 1–0 Championship Play off final win over Sheffield United at Wembley. He featured in this game as a substitute replacing Steven Thompson.[16]
His other two professional goals for Burnley came against Crystal
Palace in a 4–2 Burnley win and a goal of the season contender against
Nottingham Forest days later in a 5–0 Burnley win. Following the club's
promotion to the Premier League
in 2009, Rodriguez injured an ankle while playing for the reserves and
found it difficult to break into the first team. On 1 February 2010, he
completed a one-month loan move to Barnsley.[17] He scored on his debut for Barnsley against Preston North End.[18]
Rodriguez enjoyed a successful 2010–11 season by becoming Burnley's
top goal scorer with 14 league goals, and 15 in all competitions.
On 9 August 2011, Rodriguez scored four goals in the League Cup first round against Burton Albion.
His first two were from the penalty spot in normal time, with the other
two from open play in extra time to make the score 6–3.[19] In the second round match on 23 August against Barnet he scored the opening goal of a 3–2 win.[20] His first and second league goals of the season came in a 5–1 win against Nottingham Forest, opening the scoring and adding a second goal 10 minutes later.[21] His next league goal came on 19 November when he opened the scoring against Leeds United, heading in a Kieran Trippier cross.[22] On 26 November he scored a 93rd minute winner in a 3–2 win away to Hull City.[23] He scored again three days later in the following game in a 4–0 win at home to Ipswich Town, which was his 5th league goal of the season.[24] His next goal came from the penalty spot as Burnley beat Doncaster Rovers 3–0 at home on 26 December 2011.[25] His first goal of 2012 came on 7 January in an FA Cup third round match away to Norwich City.[26] He scored his first league goal of 2012 the following game in a 2–0 win away at Middlesbrough.[27] On 31 January, he scored a two goals, both headers coming from two crosses by Kieran Trippier, as Burnley beat Nottingham Forest 2–0.[28] His form continued as he scored again the following game in a 1–1 draw at home to Peterborough United,
this time rescuing a point for Burnley as he scored a terrific solo
goal in the 87th minute, dribbling the ball from near the centre circle
before scoring. This was his 17th goal of the season in all
competitions.[29]
Rodriquez finished the season as Burnley's top goalscorer with 21 in
all competitions which helped him earn a place in the PFA Championship
Team of the Year.
Southampton
In the summer of 2012, Rodriguez was subject of lot of interest from Premier League clubs, and on 23 May, Championship rivals Cardiff City were reported to have made an offer for Rodriguez.[30] On 28 May, it was reported that Burnley had accepted a "substantial offer" from newly promoted Premier League side Southampton.[31] On 10 June, Rodriguez signed for Southampton on a four-year deal[32] reported to be in the region of £7 million.[33][34] His first goal for Southampton was a header scored in the Markus Liebherr Memorial Cup match against Arsenal on 14 July 2012. He made his debut on the opening day of the 2012–13 season, starting against Manchester City, before being substituted by Rickie Lambert in the 55th minute.[35] He scored his first goals for Southampton on 25 September, scoring twice in a 2–0 win against Sheffield Wednesday in the League Cup.[36] Rodriguez scored his first Premier League goal for Southampton against Tottenham Hotspur on 28 October 2012.[37] He scored in a 3-3 draw away to Stoke City on 29 December.[38] He scored his first FA Cup goal for Southampton on 5 January 2013 in a defeat to Chelsea in the third round.[39] On 30 January, he opened the scoring in a 2-1 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford, before two goals from Wayne Rooney turned the match around.[40] On 16 March, he scored the final goal in 3-1 win against Liverpool.[41] He continued his fine run of form with goals in a 2-1 win over reigning European champions Chelsea [42] and in a 2-0 victory against Reading.[43]
International career
In February 2011, he received his first call up for the England under-21 squad.[44][45] On 8 February 2011, Rodriguez made his international debut in a friendly against Italy under-21, coming on as a substitute in the 60th minute replacing James Vaughan.[46]
Rodriguez earned his first call-up to the full England squad on 7 November 2013, along with team-mates Rickie Lambert and Adam Lallana, for England's friendlies against Chile and Germany.[47][48] Rodriguez won his first cap for England on 15 November in a friendly match against Chile at Wembley Stadium
