Rodrigo Meléndez

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Rodrigo Meléndez
Meléndez Picture
Personal information
Full name	Rodrigo David Meléndez Araya
Date of birth	October 3, 1977 (1977-10-03) (age 30)
Place of birth	Santiago, Chile
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Playing position	Midfielder / Defender
Club information
Current club	Colo-Colo
Number	18
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1996-2003 2003-2004 2004-2005 2006-Present	Cobreloa Quilmes Estudiantes de La Plata Colo-Colo	142 (1) 032 (0) 042 (0) 057 (1)
National team2
2001-present	Chile	026 (1)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 4 June 2008. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 10 August 2007. * Appearances (Goals)

Rodrigo David Meléndez Araya (born October 3, 1977, in Santiago) is Chilean football player, who currently plays for Chilean club Colo-Colo as a defensive midfielder. Also known as Kalule, he is acknowledged for his strength, tenacity and mostly his aggressive grasp of the game. He is very laid back off the field.

[edit] Cobreloa

As a youth player, Meléndez was rejected by Chilean giants Colo-Colo and Universidad de Chile because of his height. Instead Chilean club Cobreloa gave him his start. He debuted in the Liga Chilena for Cobreloa in 1996. Throughout his stay with the team, Meléndez was a first team regular. In 2003, his last year with the club, Cobreloa won both the apertura and clasura tournaments.

[edit] Argentina

After a seven year career in his native Chile, Meléndez ventured across the Andes to Argentina. He arrived to Quilmes. a club in Buenos Aires, Argentina, His first season with the club was also the club's first in the Premier Argentinian Division.first division. The team surprised many by finishing fourth in the apertura tournament and sixth in the clasura tournament. In only one season, Meléndez had 32 caps for Quilmes before moving on to another team.

The next two years, Meléndez would find himself on Estudiantes de La Plata. a well-known club from La Plata. During his stay with Estudiantes de La Plata he became somewhat of a fan favorite. Fan Surveys had him at the top of the list.In the 2004-2005 season, Estudiantes de La Plata finished fourth in both the apertura and clasura championship. Melendez left the country as one of the most accomplished Chilean players to play in Argentina.

[edit] Return to Chile

Meléndez returned to Chile in 2006 to the same club which had rejected him years before, Colo-Colo. In the apertura tournament of 2006 Colo-Colo defeated Universidad de Chile to take home their twenty-fourth title in club history. However, Meléndez was sidelined for the final game because of an injury. Currently he is a regular starter on Colo-Colo's squad that has reached the final of the Copa Sudamericana 2006 and the finals of the Clasura Tournament 2006 of the Liga Chilena where he scored one goal in the 3-0 victory in the first leg against Audax Italiano.

[edit] International

Meléndez would have been a part of the 2000 Chilean Olympic team in Sidney but missed the competition due to injury. He was part of Nelson Acosta's preolympic team and would have made the trip to Sidney where the team evenutally won the bronze medal.

Meléndez made his international debut on July 1, 2001 against Brazil. During the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, Meléndez was a regular starter for Chile in the first-half of Chile . However, a defensive-midfielder duo with Claudio Maldonado and David Pizarro. Unfortunately, Chile failed to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup after drawing to Ecuador in the last game.

Meléndez lone goal with La Roja came against Uruguay in their 2-1 loss in Montevideo.

[edit] Titles

Season	Club	Title
Apertura 2003	Cobreloa	Primera Division Chile Champion
Apertura 2006	Colo-Colo	Primera Division Chile Champion
Clausura 2006	Colo-Colo	Primera Division Chile Champion
Apertura 2007	Colo-Colo	Primera Division Chile Champion
Clausura 2007	Colo-Colo	Primera Division Chile Champion

v • d • e Chile squad - Copa América 2004 1 Bravo • 2 Álvarez • 3 L. Fuentes • 4 Pérez • 5 Ramírez • 6 Acuña • 7 Valenzuela • 8 Millar • 9 S. González • 10 Jiménez • 11 M. González • 12 Varas • 13 I. Fuentes • 14 Villarroel • 15 Mancilla • 16 Cisternas • 17 Mirosevic • 18 Meléndez • 19 Olarra • 20 Aros • 21 Figueroa • 22 Galaz • Coach: Olmos

v • d • e Chile squad - Copa América 2007 1 Bravo • 2 Ormeño • 3 Rocco • 4 Fuentes • 5 Riffo • 6 Cabión • 7 Tello • 8 Suazo • 9 Navia • 10 Valdivia • 11 González • 12 Peric • 13 Vargas • 14 Fernández • 15 Contreras • 16 Iturra • 17 Sanhueza • 18 Meléndez • 19 Jara • 20 Fierro • 21 Villanueva • 22 Lorca • Coach: Acosta