Rocky Rodriguez’s place in Costa Rican women’s football history is already secure. At the age of 21 she scored the Central American country’s first goal at a FIFA Women’s World Cup™ when she calmly stroked in a left-footed shot against Spain at Canada 2015.
At both club and international level she remains as prolific as ever aged 32 and is now taking aim at a third appearance in the global finals with Las Ticas, who return to Concacaf qualifying next month against Bermuda.
A member of the Kansas City Current of the NWSL, Rodriguez recently visited with FIFA to speak about the upcoming club season, the state of the Costa Rican national team, qualifying for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Brazil 2027™, and the strides made in women’s football.
Rocky Rodriguez: Right now we’re in a preseason, there’s a lot of new faces, we have a new coach and we’re in that phase of all of us trying to get on the same page and be ready for the first of the season.
And with the national team it’s also a big year with qualifiers and it’s very busy. We already started qualifiers at the end of last year, and so for a lot of us, it’s very significant because we’ve been together for quite some time in the national team and it’s the biggest stage for us to represent our country.
It is tough and very demanding. I’m the busiest off the field when I have to recover, eat properly and do all the things that are in your control for you to stay healthy. I think I invest the most time doing things that will keep me healthy, whether it’s the gym, sleeping, eating or massage, whatever it is. It’s tough. The travel will also get you, so there’s a lot of planning that goes into it.
I really enjoy how involved the city is with the club. I think it’s one of the markets in the NWSL that has that special connection with the fans in the city, so that’s one of my favorite things.
Concacaf and women’s soccer overall is getting so much more competitive every year, which is a good thing. I wish women’s soccer in Costa Rica was evolving as much as it was worldwide because I feel like we have fallen behind. But I would say our biggest strength is that every player has already competed at the international level. We know what it takes to qualify, we know how hard it is. We know what the competition requires, and so I think that experience is very valuable.
I enjoy connecting with my team-mates and if I’m able to do that, it gives me strength and motivation to do better. I also always say I that know I have a lot to learn from new players. I think what I enjoy about being an experienced player is the fact that it’s not necessarily new what we’re going go through. If I can make my team-mates better, if I can make them feel comfortable, I think the team is better as a whole.
For sure scoring has to be one of the fondest memories, but you know what? I enjoy the environment in the city – and this applies for U-20 World Cups – just how you can feel the environment and excitement of a tournament. Also, the resources that are there. Like, you’re going to train on top class pitches, which is not always the case still for women’s soccer, so I enjoy all of that. It’s not necessarily just the games, and of course scoring is my favorite thing to do, but the environment, attention and excitement is what you want to be a part of.
That would mean a lot because it is really hard to make it to the world stage. We want to not only qualify, but compete as well hopefully. That’s something we haven’t been able to do for any Costa Rican national team. We haven’t been able to advance from a group stage, but to be able to be part of the group that would continue making history would mean a lot. I’ve been a part of a generation that has made history for a country. It’s an honor and we have a huge opportunity ahead of us.
I think there has to be a belief first and foremost, and with that has to come the work. That’s the foundation. At the end of the day once the game starts, it’s a soccer game and we try to mitigate the difference in level. For us the biggest challenge is we don’t have a professional league in our country, so for our players to be professionals we have to leave Costa Rica, and not everyone on the team is outside of Costa Rica. We have to be more conscious of that, but if we make it to the World Cup, it means that we’re good enough to be there.
Probably the investment. It all comes down to that, right? With investment comes better resources and everything’s a little more professional. It’s a job now. We can be professionals. From how it was when I started to now is so different. Around the world it’s grown so much. I think the number of players that are now playing versus even five years or ten years ago is monumental. There are so many more leagues and more players from every country.
It’s a more physical game. I think some countries have always been dominant physically, but I think in general it just seems like the game is getting more physical. It’s a requisite for certain positions to be fast, but it seems like they are getting faster every time, so faster and stronger are the changes I’ve noticed.
Photos courtesy of Kansas City Current
