Mario Rodríguez Varela (20 October 1937 – 10 May 2015),[3] was an Argentine professional footballer who played as a forward. Nicknamed Mariulo, he was the topscorer of the 1964 Copa Libertadores with six goals.
Rodríguez was born in Palermo, Buenos Aires and grew in Barrio Norte; he played at youth level for Chacarita Juniors.[4] He then made his professional debut in 1957, playing in the Argentine second level; during the 1960 season he debuted in Primera División Argentina for Chacarita Juniors: thanks to his goalscoring skills, good physical strength and he managed to become one of the best forwards of the Argentine league.[2] In 1963 he and Raúl Savoy moved to Independiente: Rodríguez was one of the protagonists of the two wins in the 1964 and 1965 editions of the Copa Libertadores, scoring many goals.[2][4] He then left Independiente for Vélez Sarsfield, but he struggled to obtain opportunities to play, and eventually decide to leave Argentina for Chile. He then signed for Colo-Colo, where he played 2 seasons,[5][6] scoring a total of 28 goals in 52 games.[7] He switched to Audax Italiano in 1970.[8] He then moved back to Argentina in 1971.[9][10]
Rodríguez played 10 international games for Argentina between 1962 and 1963. His first game was Argentina-Uruguay played on 13 March 1962.[2] He scored 5 of his 6 goals during the 1963 South American Championship, and scored the sixth one on 16 April 1963 against Brazil.[2]
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