Gerson Rodrigues (footballer, born 1995)

Gerson Rodrigues Correia Leal (born 20 June 1995) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Süper Lig club Sivasspor, on loan from Ukrainian side Dynamo Kyiv. Born in Portugal, he plays for the Luxembourg national team.

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Rodrigues and the second or paternal family name is Correia Leal.

Gerson Rodrigues
Rodrigues in 2019
Personal information
Full name Gerson Rodrigues Correia Leal
Date of birth (1995-06-20) 20 June 1995[1]
Place of birth Pragal, Almada, Portugal[2]
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Sivasspor
(on loan from Dynamo Kyiv)
Number 11
Youth career
Metz
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2014 Swift Hesperange 10 (0)
2014–2016 Union Luxembourg 23 (3)
2016–2017 Fola Esch 20 (9)
2017 Telstar 12 (3)
2018 Sheriff Tiraspol 22 (8)
2019 Júbilo Iwata 15 (5)
2019– Dynamo Kyiv 33 (6)
2020 → Ankaragücü (loan) 11 (6)
2021–2022 → Troyes (loan) 12 (1)
2022 → Eyüpspor (loan) 5 (3)
2022–2023 → Al-Wehda (loan) 15 (2)
2023– → Sivasspor (loan) 0 (0)
International career‡
2017– Luxembourg 57 (17)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 27 June 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17 October 2023

A goalscoring midfielder, Rodrigues is the first Luxembourgish footballer to play in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League. He is currently the all-time leading goalscorer for the Luxembourg national team.

Club career

Early career

Rodrigues was born in the Portuguese town of Pragal, near Lisbon.[2] He began his youth career in France with FC Metz.[2] He was unable to make a breakthrough into the first-team squad at Metz and went on to play club football in Luxembourg for FC Swift Hesperange, Racing FC Union Luxembourg, and CS Fola Esch.[2][3] From there, he moved to SC Telstar in the Netherlands.

On 30 January 2018, Rodrigues signed for Sheriff Tiraspol.[4] On 10 July 2018, he made his debut in the UEFA Champions League qualifying round against Torpedo Kutaisi.[2] After winning the league title with Sheriff in Moldova, Rodrigues signed for Júbilo Iwata on 16 January 2019.[2][5] He quickly became a key player for Júbilo, scoring 7 goals in 18 matches for the club.[2]

2019–20 season

On 2 August 2019, Rodrigues signed a contract with FC Dynamo Kyiv.[6] On 31 January 2020, Rodrigues moved on loan to Ankaragücü in the Turkish Süper Lig for the remainder of the season.[7] Rodrigues and teammate Ante Kulušić were involved in a training ground dust-up in July 2020. He was removed from the squad for the following match against Galatasaray and his loan was subsequently ended.[8] In his time with Ankaragücü, Rodrigues scored six goals and notched one assist in 11 league matches as the club finished in last place but were saved from relegation as the league was expanded to 21 clubs for the 2020–21 Süper Lig season because of complications from the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey.[9][10]

2020–21 season: Double winners

In the Ukrainian Super Cup on 25 August 2020, Rodrigues scored the winning goal in an eventual 3–1 triumph over rivals Shakhtar Donetsk.[11] On 15 September, Rodrigues opened the scoring against Dutch side AZ Alkmaar in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League as his side won 2–0.[12] Rodrigues scored from the penalty spot in the play-off round against Belgian side Gent, capping a 5–1 win on aggregate and securing a place in the group stage.[13] Rodrigues featured in the club's first group stage match against Italian giants Juventus on 20 October, and in doing so became the first Luxembourgish player to play in the group stage of the Champions League.[14]

Rodrigues was an important member of the Dynamo Kyiv squad that won the domestic double of the Ukrainian Premier League and Ukrainian Cup during the 2020–21 season.[15]

2021–22 season: Loans to Troyes and Eyüpspor

On 31 August 2021, Rodrigues joined newly promoted Ligue 1 side Troyes on a season-long loan. The club held an option to make the deal permanent at the end of the season.[16]

On 7 March 2022, FIFA announced that, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, all the contracts of foreign players in Ukraine are suspended until 30 June 2022 and they are allowed to sign with clubs outside Ukraine until that date.[17] On 30 March 2022, Rodrigues signed with Turkish club Eyüpspor until 30 June 2022 using the new rule.[18] He played on loan in the 2022-2023 season for Al Wehda (Saudi Arabia).

International career

Rodrigues made his international debut for Luxembourg in 2017. On 21 March 2019, he scored his first goal for the national team and Luxembourg's second of the match, as they came back from a goal behind against Lithuania to win 2–1 in UEFA Euro 2020 qualification.[19] On 27 March 2021, Rodrigues scored the only goal in a famous 1–0 victory away to Ireland in 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification.[20] Three days later, Rodrigues followed this up by scoring the opening goal for Luxembourg against his country of birth, European champions Portugal, to take a shock lead, but they eventually fell to a 1–3 defeat.[21]

Career statistics

Club
As of 18 August 2021[3]
Club Season League National Cup[lower-alpha 1] Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Swift Hesperange 2012-13 Ehrenpromotion 21———21
2013–14 BGL Ligue 10010——110
Total 12110——131
Union 05 Kayl-Tétange 2014-15 Ehrenpromotion 224———224
Racing FC 2015–16 BGL Ligue 23330——263
Fola Esch2016–17 209542[lower-alpha 2]0—2713
Telstar 2017–18 Eerste Divisie 12310——133
Sheriff Tiraspol 2018 Moldovan National Division 228207[lower-alpha 3]0—318
Jubilo Iwata 2019 J1 League 15532——187
Dynamo Kyiv 2019–20 Ukrainian Premier League 82004[lower-alpha 4]000122
2020–21 2243012[lower-alpha 5]21[lower-alpha 6]1387
2021–22 30———30
Total 3363016211539
Ankaragücü (loan) 2019–20 Süper Lig 11600——116
Troyes (loan) 2021–22 Ligue 1 12100——121
Eyüpspor (loan) 2021–22 1.Lig 5300——53
Career total 187491862521123158
  1. Includes Luxembourg Cup
  2. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  3. Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, three appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
  5. Eight appearances and two goals in UEFA Champions League, four appearances in UEFA Europa League
  6. Appearance in Ukrainian Super Cup

International
As of match played 16 October 2023[22]
National teamYearCapsGoals
Luxembourg 201790
201850
2019103
202072
2021115
2022105
202362
Total5717
Scores and results list Luxembourg's goal tally first.[23]
List of international goals scored by Gerson Rodrigues
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.21 March 2019Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg Lithuania2–12–1UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
2.7 June 2019LFF Stadium, Vilnius, Lithuania1–01–1
3.14 November 2019Red Star Stadium, Belgrade, Serbia Serbia1–22–3
4.5 September 2020Baku Olympic Stadium, Baku, Azerbaijan Azerbaijan2–12–12020–21 UEFA Nations League C
5.7 October 2020Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg Liechtenstein1–21–2Friendly
6.27 March 2021Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Republic of Ireland Republic of Ireland1–01–02022 FIFA World Cup qualification
7.30 March 2021Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg Portugal1–01–3
8.1 September 2021Stade de Luxembourg, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg Azerbaijan2–02–1
9.11 November 2021Baku Olympic Stadium, Baku, Azerbaijan1–03–1
10.3–1
11.7 June 2022Tórsvøllur, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands Faroe Islands1–01–02022–23 UEFA Nations League C
12.14 June 2022Stade de Luxembourg, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg1–02–2
13.22 September 2022Başakşehir Fatih Terim Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey Turkey3–23–3
14.25 September 2022Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg Lithuania1–01–0
15.17 November 2022Stade de Luxembourg, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg Hungary1–02–2Friendly
16.17 June 2023Stade de Luxembourg, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg Liechtenstein2–02–0UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying
17.13 October 2023Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavik, Iceland Iceland1–11–1UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying

Honours

Sheriff Tiraspol

Dynamo Kyiv

Personal life

Rodrigues became a Luxembourgish citizen in March 2017 after officially requesting it to the authorities. He thus became immediately eligible for the national team. He still retains his Portuguese citizenship as of today.[26]

References
  1. UEFA.com. "Gerson Rodrigues | Luxembourg | European Qualifiers". UEFA.com. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  2. "Presenting the newcomer: Gerson RODRIGUES. Portuguese from Luxembourg". FC Dynamo Kiev. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  3. Gerson Rodrigues at Soccerway
  4. "Добро пожаловать, Жерсон Родригес". fc-sheriff.com (in Russian). FC Sheriff Tiraspol. 31 January 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  5. "Спасибо, Жерсон Родригес". fc-sheriff.com (in Russian). FC Sheriff Tiraspol. 16 January 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  6. "Presenting the newcomer: Gerson RODRIGUES. Portuguese from Luxembourg". fcdynamo.kiev.ua. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  7. "Gerson Rodrigues to continue his career in Turkey". FC Dynamo Kiev. 31 January 2020. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  8. "Bilgilendirme" (in Turkish). 17 July 2020.
  9. "2019-2020 Ankaragücü Player Details". FBref. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  10. "No relegations for 2019-20 season in Turkish Super Lig". AA. 29 July 2020. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  11. "Шахтар 1:3 Динамо". UPL (in Ukrainian). 25 August 2020. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  12. "Dynamo Kyiv 2-0 AZ Alkmaar". UEFA. 15 September 2020. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  13. "Dynamo Kyiv 3-0 Gent". UEFA. 29 September 2020. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  14. "Gerson Rodrigues is the first ever Luxembourgish player to appear in the main stage of the Champions League". Twitter. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  15. "Gerson Rodrigues: "Die Premier League wäre ideal für mich"". Wort (in German). 1 June 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  16. "Troyes sign Luxembourg international Gerson Rodrigues from Dynamo Kyiv". Get Football News France. 31 August 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  17. "FIFA adopts temporary employment and registration rules to address several issues in relation to war in Ukraine". FIFA. 7 March 2022.
  18. "Eyüpspor'umuza Hoş Geldiniz Gerson Rodrigues ve Olivier Thill!" (in Turkish). Eyüpspor. 30 March 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  19. "Luxembourg 2-1 Lithuania". UEFA. 21 March 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  20. "Republic of Ireland embarrassed by Luxembourg and Gerson Rodrigues". The Guardian. 27 March 2021.
  21. "Diogo Jota and Cristiano Ronaldo scored to help spare Portugal's blushes and deny Luxembourg another major World Cup 2022 qualifying win". BBC. 30 March 2021.
  22. "Gerson Rodrigues, international footballer". EU-Football.info.
  23. "Gerson Rodrigues". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  24. "Wins for Gerson Rodrigues and Oli Thill". RTL. 9 May 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  25. "Dynamo Kyiv vs. Zorya". Soccerway. 13 May 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  26. "Gerson Rodrigues est Luxembourgeois". 6 March 2017.
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