Gerson Rodrigues Correia Leal (born 20 June 1995) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Fortuna Liga club Slovan Bratislava, on loan from Ukrainian side Dynamo Kyiv. Born in Portugal, he plays for the Luxembourg national team.
 Rodrigues in 2019 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gerson Rodrigues Correia Leal | ||
| Date of birth | 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 | Slovan Bratislava (on loan from Dynamo Kyiv) | ||
| Number | 10 | ||
| 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) |
| 2023–2024 | → Sivasspor (loan) | 13 | (2) |
| 2024– | → Slovan Bratislava (loan) | 4 | (4) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2017– | Luxembourg | 63 | (21) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18 March 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 9 June 2024 | |||
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
editEarly career
editRodrigues 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]
Dynamo Kyiv
edit2019–20 season
editOn 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
editIn 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
editOn 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
editRodrigues 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
editClub
edit- As of match played 18 March 2024[3]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Swift Hesperange | 2012–13 | Division of Honour | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | 2 | 1 | |||
| 2013–14 | Luxembourg National Division | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 0 | |||
| Total | 12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 1 | ||||
| Union 05 Kayl-Tétange | 2014-15 | Division of Honour | 22 | 4 | — | — | — | 22 | 4 | |||
| Racing FC | 2015–16 | Luxembourg National Division | 23 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 3 | ||
| Fola Esch | 2016–17 | Luxembourg National Division | 20 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 2[b] | 0 | — | 27 | 13 | |
| Telstar | 2017–18 | Eerste Divisie | 12 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 3 | ||
| Sheriff Tiraspol | 2018 | Moldovan National Division | 22 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 7[c] | 0 | — | 31 | 8 | |
| Jubilo Iwata | 2019 | J1 League | 15 | 5 | 3 | 2 | — | — | 18 | 7 | ||
| Dynamo Kyiv | 2019–20 | Ukrainian Premier League | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4[d] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 2 |
| 2020–21 | 22 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 12[e] | 2 | 1[f] | 1 | 38 | 7 | ||
| 2021–22 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 33 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 53 | 9 | ||
| Ankaragücü (loan) | 2019–20 | Süper Lig | 11 | 6 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 6 | ||
| Troyes (loan) | 2021–22 | Ligue 1 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 1 | ||
| Eyüpspor (loan) | 2021–22 | 1.Lig | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 3 | ||
| Al Wehda (loan) | 2022–23 | Saudi Pro League | 15 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 2 | ||
| Sivasspor (loan) | 2023–24 | Süper Lig | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 2 | ||
| Slovan Bratislava (loan) | 2023–24 | Slovak First Football League | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 4 | ||
| Career total | 219 | 57 | 19 | 6 | 25 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 266 | 66 | ||
- ^ Includes Luxembourg Cup, KNVB Cup, Moldovan Cup, Emperor's Cup, Ukrainian Cup, King Cup, Slovak Cup
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- ^ Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, three appearances in UEFA Europa League
- ^ Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
- ^ Eight appearances and two goals in UEFA Champions League, four appearances in UEFA Europa League
- ^ Appearance in Ukrainian Super Cup
International
edit- As of match played 8 June 2024[22]
| National team | Year | Caps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luxembourg | 2017 | 9 | 0 |
| 2018 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 10 | 3 | |
| 2020 | 7 | 2 | |
| 2021 | 10 | 5 | |
| 2022 | 10 | 5 | |
| 2023 | 8 | 5 | |
| 2024 | 4 | 1 | |
| Total | 63 | 21 | |
- Scores and results list Luxembourg's goal tally first.[23]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 21 March 2019 | Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg |  Lithuania | 2–1 | 2–1 | UEFA Euro 2020 qualification |
| 2. | 7 June 2019 | LFF Stadium, Vilnius, Lithuania | 1–0 | 1–1 | ||
| 3. | 14 November 2019 | Red Star Stadium, Belgrade, Serbia |  Serbia | 1–2 | 2–3 | |
| 4. | 5 September 2020 | Baku Olympic Stadium, Baku, Azerbaijan |  Azerbaijan | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2020–21 UEFA Nations League C |
| 5. | 7 October 2020 | Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg |  Liechtenstein | 1–2 | 1–2 | Friendly |
| 6. | 27 March 2021 | Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Republic of Ireland |  Republic of Ireland | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 7. | 30 March 2021 | Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg |  Portugal | 1–0 | 1–3 | |
| 8. | 1 September 2021 | Stade de Luxembourg, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg | Azerbaijan | 2–0 | 2–1 | |
| 9. | 11 November 2021 | Baku Olympic Stadium, Baku, Azerbaijan | 1–0 | 3–1 | ||
| 10. | 3–1 | |||||
| 11. | 7 June 2022 | Tórsvøllur, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands |  Faroe Islands | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2022–23 UEFA Nations League C |
| 12. | 14 June 2022 | Stade de Luxembourg, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg | 1–0 | 2–2 | ||
| 13. | 22 September 2022 | Başakşehir Fatih Terim Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey |  Turkey | 3–2 | 3–3 | |
| 14. | 25 September 2022 | Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg | Lithuania | 1–0 | 1–0 | |
| 15. | 17 November 2022 | Stade de Luxembourg, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg |  Hungary | 1–0 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 16. | 17 June 2023 | Stade de Luxembourg, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg | Liechtenstein | 2–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying |
| 17. | 13 October 2023 | Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland |  Iceland | 1–1 | 1–1 | |
| 18. | 16 November 2023 | Stade de Luxembourg, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2–0 | 4–1 | |
| 19. | 4–1 | |||||
| 20. | 19 November 2023 | Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz, Liechtenstein | Liechtenstein | 1–0 | 1–0 | |
| 21. | 26 March 2024 | Stade de Luxembourg, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg |  Kazakhstan | 1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
Honours
editSheriff Tiraspol
Dynamo Kyiv
Personal life
editRodrigues became a Luxembourgish citizen in March 2017 after officially requesting it to the authorities. He thus became immediately eligible for the national team of Luxembourg. He still retains his Portuguese citizenship as of today.[26]
References
editExternal links
edit- Gerson Rodrigues at National-Football-Teams.com
- Gerson Rodrigues at J.League (archive) (in Japanese)
- Gerson Rodrigues at Soccerway
- Gerson Rodrigues at UAF and archived FFU page (in Ukrainian)
