![]() Goldberg in 2017 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Rodrigo Alejandro Goldberg Mierzejewski | ||
Date of birth | 9 August 1971 | ||
Place of birth | Santiago, Chile | ||
Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
Position(s) | Striker | ||
Youth career | |||
Universidad de Chile | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1989–1997 | Universidad de Chile | 67 | (11) |
1992–1993 | → Santiago Wanderers (loan) | 61 | (25) |
1997–2003 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 75 | (28) |
1998–1999 | → Universidad Católica (loan) | 19 | (5) |
2005–2006 | Santiago Morning | 37 | (6) |
Total | 259 | (75) | |
International career | |||
1995–2001 | Chile | 13 | (4) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Rodrigo Alejandro Goldberg Mierzejewski (born 9 August 1971) is a Chilean former professional footballer who played as a striker. He gained national notoriety in Israel for his talented play with Maccabi Tel Aviv and good use of the Hebrew language. [1] At the international level, he made 13 appearances for the Chile national team scoring 4 goals.
Goldberg was an integral part of the Maccabi Tel Aviv squad that took back to back cup titles and a league championship thereafter. [2] He had a strained relationship with club captain Avi Nimni and verbally criticized him in the Israeli media before returning to Chile. [3]
After playing for four seasons in Israel, Goldberg returned to Chile to play for Santiago Morning. During a club match against Palestino, he was subjected to anti-Semitic abuse from the opposition supporters because of his Polish and German Jewish background. [4] Goldberg is, however, a Catholic, as a result of the conversion of his grandparents. [5]
Goldberg graduated as an Industrial Civil Engineer at the San Sebastián University. [6]
Since 2006, he has worked as a football commentator and analyst in both radio and TV media such as Canal del Fútbol, [7] Fox Sports [8] and Radio Cooperativa. In addition to this, he worked for TVN during the 2011 Copa América. [7] Also, he has worked for print media such as Publimetro [ es ] and La Tercera. [9]
From 2019 to 2021, Goldberg worked as Sports Director of Universidad de Chile alongside his former fellow footballer Sergio Vargas. [10]
Universidad de Chile
Maccabi Tel Aviv
I'm not Jewish. The only Hebrew word I knew was 'shalom.' My grandparents were German and Polish Jews, and they converted because in this country, it was easier to be Catholic