Over the course of 17 seasons, Rodrigues amassed Portuguese top division totals of 338 games and 21 goals, representing Académica de Coimbra (two spells), S.L.
[6][7][8] Rodrigues then joined Vitória de Guimarães for two seasons, playing all of the league games in 1974–75 and receiving the captain armband in the following year, which ended with another Portuguese Cup final lost.
[2] Rodrigues returned to Académica in 1976, playing only 33 league appearances over three years, five of those in 1978–79 and with the team suffering relegation, the 36-year-old retired from football.
[2] In the following four years, he managed several teams, notably Leça and Beira-Mar (twice), returning to Benfica in 1995 on invitation of Artur Jorge to coach the under-12, winning the Campeonato Nacional de Infantis.
[9] Rodrigues' last appearance was on 16 October 1976 against Poland, in a 2–0 home defeat for the 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign.