João Rodrigo Silva Santos


João Rodrigo Silva Santos was a Brazilian professional footballer who played as a forward.

Career

Commonly known as João Rodrigo, he played for Brazilian clubs Bangu, Madureira, Duque de Caxias, Remo, Volta Redonda, Tigres, Duque de Caxias, Olaria, Botafogo and Bonsucesso. He also spent a short time in Honduras with Olimpia. In 2003, he played briefly for Swedish club Öster, where he played six matches and scored one goal in Allsvenskan.

Death

João Rodrigo was murdered by suspected drug traffickers on 29 October 2013, aged 35, in Rio de Janeiro. He did not return home that night. When his wife opened the door on her way to work the next morning, she found his severed head on the step of their front and, according to the police, inside a backpack. His eyes and tongue had been gouged out, according to Brazilian media reports.