Former Inter Milan striker Rodrigo Palacio scored more than 200 goals in his 20-year career as a professional footballer, but he is now shooting in the sixth division of Italian basketball at the age of 41.
Palacio began his professional soccer career at the age of 20 when he signed with Primera B Nacional team Huracán de Tres Arroyos from the Bella Vista minnows club in 2002. After an impressive season and a stint at Huracán, he caught the attention of the more sensible Argentinian. Banfield, which broke it in January 2004.
He spent two seasons at the club, scoring 11 goals in 38 appearances before being called up by Boca Juniors. It was with the Genoese that Palacio began to shine.
By his sophomore year, he had established himself as a normal starter and scored more than 20 goals per season at the Alberto J. Armando Stadium. His impressive form earned him several call-ups to the Argentine national team, adding a position in José Pekerman’s team at the 2006 World Cup.
In 2009 he moved to Italy to play for Genoa, where, in his third and final season, he ranked among the top scorers in Serie A with 19 goals in 32 appearances. In June 2012, Inter Milan paid £9. 2 million for his services. , signing him to a three-year contract that paid the player £2. 3 million per year.
At the time, Inter Milan was in a transition phase and therefore there would be no major trophies for Palacio during his five years in charge. But he came close to winning soccer’s top prize in 2014, when Argentina narrowly missed out on his third World Cup thanks to him. In the final, Mario Goetze won at the last moment.
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He would spend another four years at the top of the Italian football pyramid with Bologna from 2017 to 2021 before being relegated to Serie B with Brescia. At the end of the 2021/2022 season, his contract was terminated.
However, despite the fact that he was in his forties at the time, Palacio had no reason to prevent the sports competition. First, he was linked with a move to Series D ASD Imperia. But Palacio decided to replace the sport altogether by joining the semi-professional basketball team Polisportiva Garegnano as a base.
Palacio was an avid basketball player in his development. He juggled youth football and basketball, but decided to focus his attention on the former when things started to take off.
When he was playing in Bella Vista as a teenager, his former coach Ernesto Ancán confessed that he “stopped playing basketball and got to soccer” and that “he arrived tired but still played because of his condition. “He’s a normal starter for Polisportiva Garegnano and it doesn’t look like he’s retiring anytime soon.
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