Rodrigo Meléndez

Rodrigo David Meléndez Araya (born 3 October 1977) is a Chilean former professional football player and current manager of Deportes Linares. He played as a defensive midfielder in his years active.

During his football career, he has won seven Chilean league titles with Colo-Colo and Cobreloa.

Football career Meléndez came through the youth academies of Colo-Colo and Magallanes, before joining the senior team of Cobreloa, where he made his professional debut in 1996. With the club, he won the 2003 Torneo Clausura championship.

Nicknamed Kalule, after the Ugandan boxer Ayub Kalule, he moved to Argentina after being named Chilean Footballer of the Year. He first played for Quilmes AC and later for Estudiantes de La Plata.

In 2006, he returned to his boyhood club Colo-Colo, which had recovered from bankruptcy and was enjoying a resurgence. The defensive midfielder, who remained with the club until 2010, won six league titles and reached the final of the 2006 Copa Sudamericana, where Colo-Colo lost to Mexican side Pachuca.

After two seasons with Deportes Iquique and a six-month spell at San Luis de Quillota, he ended his playing career with Chilean club San Antonio Unido, where he became the team's head coach the following season.

International career Meléndez represented Chile at Copa América in 2004 and 2007.

Managerial career In June 2023, he signed with Iberia in the Segunda División Profesional de Chile.

Personal life His son, Javier, is a professional footballer from the Colo-Colo youth ranks who made his professional debut playing for Cobreloa in 2021.

Career statistics GoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition 1. 15 November 2003 Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay 1–0 1–2 2002 World Cup qualifier

Honours Player Cobreloa Primera División: 2003 Clausura

Colo-Colo Primera División (6): 2006-A, 2006-C, 2007-A, 2007-C, 2008-C, 2009-C Copa Sudamericana: Runner-up 2006