Rodrigo Saravia

Rodrigo Saravia
Personal information
Full name Rodrigo Saravia Samayoa[1]
Date of birth (1993-02-22) 22 February 1993
Place of birth Guatemala City, Guatemala
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Columbus Crew SC
Youth career
2010–2012 Antigua GFC
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2015 Florida Gulf Coast Eagles 65 (2)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016– Columbus Crew 10 (0)
2016 → Pittsburgh Riverhounds (loan) 2 (0)
National team‡
2016– Guatemala 6 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19:30, 8 September 2016 (UTC).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19:30, 8 September 2016 (UTC)

Rodrigo Saravia (born 22 February 1993) is a Guatemalan footballer who plays as a midfielder for Columbus Crew SC in Major League Soccer.[2]

Career

Youth and college

Savaria was born in Guatemala City. As a youth in Guatemala, he played for Futeca Camp Elite and Antigua GFC.[3] He played for Antigua for two seasons until 2012[4] and was a standout in the midfield before being recruited to play college soccer in the United States. He was spotted by Antigua because a partnership between the club and Futeca.[5] Between 2012 and 2015, Saravia played for the Eagles of Florida Gulf Coast University. Over that time he made 65 appearances for the team, tallying two goals and seven assists. He was named an Atlantic Sun Conference First Team selection in 2014 and 2015 and a Second Team selection in 2013. In 2015, he was named the ASC Player of the Year as a senior. Throughout his college career, he helped lead FGCU to the A-Sun regular-season championships during each of his four years, a pair of A-Sun Tournament titles, and two berths in the NCAA Championship. He was previously also recruited by Boston College, Virginia Commonwealth University, North Carolina State University, and Rutgers University.[6]

Professional

In 2014, Saravia was scouted by Columbus Crew SC of Major League Soccer. Savaria was one of 59 players invited to the 2016 MLS Combine in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. In the process, he became the first-ever Florida Gulf Coast player invited to the combine and only the third-ever Atlantic Sun player invited to the event since 2007.[7] The Columbus Crew, who were 2015 MLS Cup runners-up, selected him with the 19th overall pick in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft following his performance at the MLS Combine. About the player, head coach Gregg Berhalter said, "He is very poised and controlled, a very smart, simple player, and very good technically.” It was expected that Saravia would fill a void left by out-of-contract Trinidad and Tobago international Kevan George. It was anticipated that Saravia would see the field during the 2016 Major League Soccer season.[8] On 4 February 2016, it was announced that he had signed a professional contract with the club,[9] becoming the 12th Guatemalan to sign for an MLS club in league history.[10]

On 10 August 2016, it was announced that Saravia and two teammates were loaned to the Crew's USL affiliates, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, on a match-by-match basis.[11]

International career

Saravia has represented Guatemala at the U17, U20, and U23 levels.[12] He was called up to the full senior team in Summer 2015 as the only collegiate, non-professional player in the squad for a friendly match against the United States at LP Field in Nashville, Tennessee but did make the matchday roster.[13] He also spent time that summer with the U23 squad during 2015 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying.[14] He was again called up to the senior squad for a friendly against Honduras on 10 February 2016. Saravia started and played the full 90 minutes of the eventual 3–1 victory. He was the only foreign-based player in the squad as new Guatemala head coach Walter Claveri prepared his team for upcoming 2018 World Cup qualifiers against the United States and Trinidad and Tobago.[15]

International career statistics

As of match played 1 June 2016.[16]
Guatemala national team
YearAppsGoals
201650
Total50

References

  1. ↑ "La convocatoria para el amistoso ante Honduras" (in Spanish). Antigua Esportive. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  2. ↑ "MLS profile". Major League Soccer. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  3. ↑ Vicente et Fajardo. "Saravia firma con el Columbus Crew y cumple uno de sus sueños" (in Spanish). Prensa Libre. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  4. ↑ "Seleccion Sub20 viajó a Honduras". Emisoras Unidas. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  5. ↑ "Rodrigos oficialmente u Saravia en nuevo jugador del Colombus Crew SC" (in Spanish). Don Balon. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  6. ↑ "FGCU profile". Florida Gulf Coast Athletics. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  7. ↑ MacBain, Jason. "Rodrigo Saravia Invited To MLS Player Combine In January". Florida Gulf Coast Athletics. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  8. ↑ Mitchell, Shawn. "MLS SuperDraft: Crew picks four with eye on depth, not impact". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  9. ↑ "Columbus Crew SC sign first-round MLS SuperDraft pick Rodrigo Saravia". Major League Soccer. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  10. ↑ Pablo Mijangos, Pedro. "El seleccionado Rodrigo Saravia es el guatemalteco número 12 en la MLS" (in Spanish). Soy502. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  11. ↑ "Crew SC loans trio to Pittsburgh on game-by-game basis". Columbus Crew SC. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  12. ↑ "PXI profile". Prospect XI. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  13. ↑ "College soccer: FGCU's Rodrigo Saravia invited to Guatemala National Team's camp". Naples News. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  14. ↑ Murphy, Pat. "Columbus Crew SC Select Midfielder Rodrigo Saravia with the 19th Overall Selection". Massive Report. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  15. ↑ Rodriguez, Miguel. "Rodrigo Saravia breaks through to international soccer". Eagles News. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  16. ↑ "NFT profile". national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
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