Jay Rodriguez: From Championship Burnley to the England Squad

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: November 7, 2013

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A reserve team match for Burnley against Hull City isn’t the most glamorous of events.

If lucky, the crowd will trickle into triple figures—if you include the people working the turnstiles—and, as a young forward looking for a Premier League break, you will manage to mark the score sheet with your name.

If unlucky though, you fracture your ankle going in for a header, ruling you out for the next three months. “He's an integral part of our side,” said then-Burnley manager Owen Coyle of Jay Rodriguez via ESPN FC. “It's a blow to lose him.”

He never did return for his Premier League bow with the Clarets, instead going out on loan to Barnsley in the Championship where one goal in six appearances hardly yielded rave reviews from fans of the Yorkshire club.



Rodriguez is a quiet, personable guy though, and following that low point in his career it's been no surprise to see him work so hard to accelerate his career.

Thursday's call up to Roy Hodgson's England squad is a reward few that know him would deny he deserves.

Born to a Spanish father—Kiko Rodriguez was a prolific scorer in semi-professional football and once had a trial with Deportivo de la Coruna—and an English mother, the Southampton striker couldn't be less Spanish and more Lancastrian if he tried.

And it's the little things he does off the pitch which have led to not just the Saints' fans, but Burnley fans too—he left Turf Moor to move south for £7 million in 2012—getting all giddy over his international call up:



From opening a shop for his Mum, to leaving Burnley with the heaviest of hearts, Rodriguez's career has been underlined by warmth and humility.

“I can't thank everyone enough,” he told Chris Boden of the Burnley Express when he left. “It's obviously a sad time for me, but the club ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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