Rodrigo Palacio

Early career

At age 12, he joined Bella Vista de Bahía Blanca's youth academy, and made his first team debut aged 19 in 2001, in a Torneo Argentino B (fourth division) match. Palacio began his professional career as a 20 year old in 2002, when he signed for Huracán de Tres Arroyos of the Primera B Nacional (second division). He made his debut on 25 August 2002, in a 2–0 victory against Juventud Antoniana. Palacio played two years for the club, and left in 2004.

Banfield

In 2004, Primera División club Banfield signed Palacio. He spent two seasons at the club, scoring 11 goals in 38 appearances. In August 2004, he played his first match in a continental competition and scored in a 1–1 draw against Arsenal de Sarandí as part of the 2004 Copa Sudamericana. He scored in the second leg as well, but Banfield lost the match 4–3 and were eliminated.

Boca Juniors

In January 2005, Palacio completed a transfer to Boca Juniors shortly before the 2005 Clausura began. He scored his first goal for the club on 18 January, in a 2–0 victory against Independiente. In the 2005 Copa Sudamericana, Palacio scored a hat trick in the quarter finals against Sport Club Internacional on 10 November 2005, which ended in a 4–1 for CABJ. He also scored the opening goal in the first leg of the finals against Pumas UNAM, contributing greatly to Boca's championship, which was eventually won on penalties. Palacio was the third top scorer with 5 goals, behind Bruno Marioni and Jorge…

Palacio played his first match with the Argentina national team on 8 March 2005 in a friendly match against Mexico which ended in a 1–1 draw at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Later that month, on 25 March, he played his first competitive match, a 2–1 away victory in a 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Bolivia, with Palacio playing the last eight minutes of the match. He was selected by the coach José Pékerman for the following year's World Cup, and was given the shirt number 14. He made his debut in the tournament, entering the pitch in the 64th minute and helping the team win the first match of Group C against the Ivory Coast in a 2–1 victory. He did not play any more matches until the end of the tournament, with Argentina being eliminated from the tournament in the quarter-finals after losing 4–2 on penalties (1–1 in extra time) against Germany. Under new Argentina coach Alfio Basile, Palacio was selected for the 2007 Copa América and given the shirt number 7. He played his first match of the tournament in the team's last match in Group C against Paraguay, starting and playing 90 minutes in a 1–0 victory at the Estadio Metropolitano de Cabudare. Argentina finished as group winners, beating the United States, Colombia and Paraguay. He made his second appearance after playing the last 12 minutes in a 3–0 win against Mexico, securing Argentina's place in the semi-finals of the tournament. In the final, he was an unused substitute as Argentina lost 3–0 to rivals Brazil. On…

Palacio is known to be an intelligent and technically skilled player with versatility across forward positions. Throughout his career, he has been deployed in several offensive positions, including as a striker, as a second striker, and as a winger. He is also known for his defensive work-rate.

Palacio has a daughter. His father, José Ramón Palacio, was also a footballer.