Rodrigo da Costa Alex is an international football player who was born on June 17, 1982 in Niteroi, Brazil. He is married and lives with his wife and two children.
Rodrigo da Costa Alex represents Brazil at the international level and made his debut for the national side in a match against Mexico on August 17, 2003. He was a part of the national side that won 3-0 over arch-rivals Argentina in the Copa America 2007. As of 2008, Rodrigo da Costa Alex has won 27 international caps and is considered as one of the first choice centre-back players.
Rodrigo da Costa Alex, also known as “The Tank”, started playing football professionally with the Brazilian football club, Santos, in 2002 and made his first appearance for the club in the same year. He played 62 games for the club and had 12 goals to his credit. Piet de Visser, the scout for Chelsea and PSV Eindhoven, spotted his talent and recommended Chelsea to sign him. In 2004, Rodrigo da Costa Alex was signed by Chelsea Football Club. However, he could not play for the club because he had problems in attaining a work permit, and so was loaned out to play for the Dutch club, PSV Eindhoven.
Rodrigo da Costa Alex played for PSV Eindhoven for three years and wore the number 4 jersey. During the 2004-2005 season, he was a part of the team that won the Dutch Eredivisie championship and the Dutch Cup, and he also played a major role in the UEFA Champions League.
On August 2, 2007, Rodrigo da Costa Alex was granted a work permit, and this facilitated his move to Chelsea Football Club. He signed a three-year contract and became an addition to Chelsea’s centre-back options, which included team captain John Terry, Portuguese international Ricardo Carvalho, and Israeli international Tal Ben Haim. At a press conference held on August 14, 2007, Rodrigo da Costa Alex was given the jersey number 33. Five days later, he made his maiden appearance for the club in a match against Liverpool, when he came on as a substitute for Florent Malouda in the 85th minute. On October 20, 2007, he netted his first goal for the club from a free kick in a match against Middlesbrough. He followed it up with another goal from a free kick against Rosenborg in a Champions League game that happened on November 28, 2007. Rodrigo da Costa Alex increased his goal tally by scoring one of the goals in a match that saw Chelsea draw with Aston Villa on four goals.
When he is not playing football, Rodrigo da Costa Alex spends his leisure time in training. He also loves to spend time playing with his children at his home.
