Rodrigo Palacio, former striker for Boca and the Argentine National Team, decided to retire from professional football after a long and successful career, but he will continue to be linked to the sport since he returned to playing basketball, as he did when he started in Bahía Blanca, although now amateur in Italy.
At the age of 40, the man from Bahia joined the Garignano squad, a team from Serie D of Italian basketball, and, from his surroundings, they affirm that he will no longer play football professionally.
Palacio closed an extensive and successful career, which is vividly remembered by the unforgettable play in the final of Brazil 2014 against Germany when he tried to beat goalkeeper Manuel Neuer with a shot from above, but which also has many milestones achieved on base to its unquestionable quality.
The skillful striker had two World Cup appearances with the national team in Germany 2006 and Brazil 2014 and played more than 350 games in Italian football, which left him as the third Argentine with the most appearances in Serie A below Javier Zanetti and Roberto Sensini .
Prior to his arrival at “Calcio”, the striker shone in Argentine football with a rising career that began in Bella Vista de Bahía Blanca and Huracán de Tres Arroyos, made the jump to Banfield and then had his most important step in Boca, where he came to win the Copa Libertadores de América in 2007. His excellent performance, especially in the successful cycle of Alfio Basile, motivated him to remove the title from an idol of the institution such as Guillermo Barros Schelotto. In a duo with Martín Palermo and then in partnership with Juan Román Riquelme he became a very complete striker, with goals, overflow and assists.
In mid-2009 he was transferred to Genoa and this club was his gateway to Italian football since after almost a hundred appearances he was bought by Inter in 2012. In Milan and at the age of 30, Palacio, always low profile, He experienced a new boom in his career as he played five seasons at a high level that he could not turn into titles but left a mark on the club.
Five years later, Bologna opened the doors for him and the Bahian did not disappoint as he became the team leader and was the figure for four seasons.
At the age of 39 he was dismissed as an idol of the northern Italian club and there he concluded his experience in the highest category of “Calcio”. He joined Brescia from Serie B, where he played until the end of the 2021/22 season.
His last official match was on May 22 in a 2-1 defeat against Monza (currently in Serie A) and he completed 28 minutes. He registered 6 goals in 33 games in his last campaign as a professional.
After a few months of uncertainty and without seductive offers to continue in football, Palacio joined the Garegnano squad, a Serie D team of Italian basketball. Palacio rediscovered an old passion and spent the entire preseason with the team that will start the tournament next weekend. According to the last posting of the official account of the club located in the city of Milan, Palacio is already a “protagonist” of the team and during the preparation he scored 14 points.
