There are three things that are certain in this life. Treasure chest, dead and that Rodri always makes the right pass
master and lord Rodrigo Hernández Cascante is the best midfielder in the world. With Sergio Busquets leaving elite football, the baton is picked up, with an unquestionable moral and football authority, Rodri. A footballer in one piece, who was and is the best kept secret in Spanish football. If there’s perfection in football, it’s a lot like Rodri. Its bodywork is impressive. His physique seems to be chiseled out of granite. His head is a cross between a GPS and an IKEA factory. His foot, a ‘Google Maps’ that points, always generates and draws the shortest route. His football is unique, he has no natural substitute and in terms of decision making he is once in a hundred wrong. There are three things that are certain in this life. Treasure chest, dead and that Rodri always makes the right pass.
A cornerstone of Guardiola’s work in the Premiership, Rodri spent years working piecemeal and quietly until he became a unique footballer, transcending every scenario, system, style and era. Baked in the youth academy of Atleti, stewed in Villarreal, moved to the Calderón and sublimated in Manchester City, Rodrigo has no ceiling. No limits. It’s getting more and more complete, it’s playing better and better, it’s got more and more authority and it’s mastering the games more and more. With Marcelino it was the hinge. With Simeone he did the “military” for the elite. With Luis Enrique he was the best in Spain playing centrally. And with Guardiola, he has turned the job as a midfielder into an art collection. Build, destroy, pass, associate, rotate, delete, squeeze, rule and lead. Rodri, cerebral, Cartesian and efficient, carries an entire team in his backpack. If football were a language, Rodri would be the perfect interpreter. No one speaks the prom dialect like he does. Neatness, elegance, sobriety, class and effectiveness. It is a diesel engine, compass, reference and field marshal.
If it was Balkan it would be Rodrigic and it would cost a lot. If he was Brazilian it would be Rodriginho and we would never have heard of Mauro Silva. If he were English it would be Rodrinson and he would be the cream of the crop. If he were French, he’d be Rodrigueau and Zidane’s order would fit his shoe. The fact is that Rodri is Spanish. That they called him “Rodrizontal”, that they said that he had no level, that he was overrated, that he did not move forward and that he was too good a boy to succeed. They have covered themselves with glory. The reality is that he is the best footballer this country has right now, he deserves all the recognition that critics have denied him for years and he is playing better with every game. Rodrigo is little noise and a lot of crazy. Little publicity and a lot of class. His profession, midfielder. It’s the best in the world.
Reuben Uria
Source: Goal