Hugo Rodríguez

Lore & Background

De León joined Nacional in 1977. With Nacional, he won two Uruguayan league titles, in 1977 and 1980, and the Copa Libertadores in 1980. In 1981, he left Nacional to play for Gremio missing the final game of the 1980 Intercontinental Cup which Nacional would subsequently win. With Gremio he won the Copa Libertadores and the Intercontinental Cup in 1983. After spells in Brazil and Spain he returned to Nacional in 1988, to win the Copa Libertadores and Intercontinental Cup in that year, and the Copa Interamericana and Recopa Sudamericana in 1989. At the end of the year, he left Nacional to play for River Plate of Argentina, where he won the 1989/1990 league title. He returned to Nacional in 1992 and won his third Uruguayan league title as a player. He retired in 1993.

In Their Own Story

The floodlights at the Azteca hummed. The second half was winding down, the score tied, and the crowd was a single breathing organism. Hugo Rodríguez received the ball just outside the box, turned, and saw the gap. Three steps. The defender lunged. Hugo was already past him, the ball glued to his right foot. He didn't look up. He didn't need to. The strike was low, driven, and the net rippled before the goalkeeper's glove even left the ground.

He ran the fifty metres to the corner flag, arms wide, and the stands detonated. A woman in the lower tier screamed his name so hard her voice cracked. He pointed at the crowd, that half-smile, that lean silhouette against the white floodlight. For a moment the whole stadium belonged to El Flaco, and he let them have it.

Reader's Guide

The 187 cm defender was capped 48 times for Uruguay between July 1979 and June 1990, including four games at the 1990 World Cup. De León helped the Uruguay national team win the 1980 Mundialito, a tournament celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first World Cup. De Leon also led Uruguay to a 2nd place finish at the 1989 Copa America hosted in Brazil.

Did You Know?

• De León was a candidate for Vice President of Uruguay in the 2009 general election.
• As a coach, he won Uruguayan league titles with Nacional in 1998, 2000, and 2001.
• He has not worked in Uruguay since 2004 due to a conflict with the Uruguayan coaches' association.