Following the retirement of Sergio Busquets, Rodri took a step forward in the absolute Spanish team. The Manchester City player is now the starting point for Luis de la Fuente’s new project. With the rivalry of one of the young promises like Zubimendi, the man from Madrid took victories against Norway and played the entire match.
Rodri was the player selected to appear with the coach at the pre-match press conference. Scotland-Spain in Glasgow. Of course, Rodri was asked if he would be a natural substitute for a legend like Busquets. I am the best version of myself and I lead the national team. Promote my best football”.
On Scotland: “A quality team with a lot of alternatives, they go to the second ball a lot and they do damage. They try to play longer than the goalkeeper. We will have to play a very complete game to win. A very physical team that defends on the low block., with a line of five. They specialize in set pieces, which we defend very well against the Norwegians. We will continue our style of play to take advantage of the opponent’s weaknesses.”
Headquarters in Qatar
On Luis Enrique’s position as a defender in Qatar: “Coach spoke clearly, my position is pivot, what I did at my club. It was an unforgettable experience in Qatar. I’ve proven to myself that I can be versatile and play a variety of positions.”
More variants: “Maybe it’s true that we had players with the same profile before.Sometimes when we needed other types of players, we didn’t have them. Now there are pure strikers. It allows us to center more and be more vertical. The coach will join us to play somehow. Every opponent conditions you. It’s nice to have a range of actors with different characteristics.”
Competition with Zubimendi: “I’ve been here for a while with the national team and I’m trying to infect other kids, let them learn. Zubimendi is at a high level, He shows it in his club. Try the coach to see what we did in the selection and what guidelines to follow. He already has a high level and it depends on what the coach wants.”
New teacher:I have known Luis for a long time.. I know what you want without the pivot markup. It is somewhat common to all trainers. Being a solver, losing a few balls, reliable defensively, capable of filtering. The role of ranking peers. Improve a little more as the teams get closer with the good shot we have”.