How A "SKINNY" Reject Became The Best Midfielder In The WORLD!

[Music] when you think of a team which individual is the most important many will say the goal scorer who wins the matches leading the Lions others will say the captain who keeps the team pushing when the going gets tough for many years this was the case for Manchester City but now the European Champions have a different man who keeps the cogs turning and despite his record shattering year it's not the number nine nor is it the magical 17 but someone even deeper who works in silence as the man most responsible for guardiola's treble winners yeah he's the best he's an extraordinary hold Midfield a baby of 1996 Rodrigo Hernandez cascante was born in Via deada a small commuta town with a population of 23,000 to the west of Madrid R mahad was where he got his starts meeting the Hernandez brothers who have both now made it in their own right in the Spanish Capital it's only so long before the big boys come knocking and Atletico welcomed the 11-year-old where across the next few years he stood out for the vision and intelligence of a player far beyond his years the defensive playing culture of Los Co Janeiro stopped the coaches from being convinced by the local boy who was small and frail in his teen years so following some experimentation with his position atleti released the 17-year-old my my DNA was late growth so when I became I think 18 more or less I just start growing I was like this but I start growing and yeah to be fair when I came here to England I just start growing like that vial distinguished for its esteemed Youth Academy capitalized and after two more years years as a junior he made it to La Liga within a year of his 2016 debut he was a lynchpin of the first team starting all but two of their league games in the 1718 season he'd clearly grown now towering over most at 6'3 and even though his slender frame meant he still wasn't the most physical he was Nimble allowing him to beat the Press with quickness from brain to toe whether pinging accurate passes from long or combining Tiki taker Style with short onews he was going from strength to strength making strides for both club and Country lar Roa couldn't ignore his quality which reminded the selectors of another lanky deep lying playmaker in the Twilight of his career the 21-year-old had endless distractions just waiting to fill up his free time but the humble Spaniard went another way enrolling on a business studies and economics course at castellon University and even lived in student accommodation it helps me to clear my head not everything in life is football Barcelona had him in their sights but they were late as Atletico corrected their error by splashing 20 million EUR in the summer of 2018 to bring him back to Madrid his time out east was hugely important in his development and what felt like a backward step was actually a forward one returning to Madrid as seasoned but ambitious Pro Diego simonee fanned the Flames of rodri's potential slotting him at the core of a strictly Marshal team that were fighting for gold the disciplined hard worker immediately found his footing patrolling the area ahead of the back line his positional sense and long legs were breaking up play multiple times per game with clamping tackles and interceptions using his physicality now he was dominant in aerial battles and wasn't afraid of things getting rough channeling simeone's passion all year long he was a modern six not just sitting back but with a composed head on his shoulders could initiate attacks by carrying the ball forward for a pass or shot only two names had spent more minutes on the pitch for atleti and only the captain Koke had touched the ball more however no one had made more passes put in a greater number of of tackles or recovered the ball as much as the new boy all of a sudden he was one of the elite DMS and demand had shot up with his market value doubling since arriving at the wonder metropolitano even Rising above his release clause which in hindsight was far too low for an inform Rising talent in an undersaturated Market amongst the richest clubs in World football Manchester City had the funds to match the €70 million Eur making him their most expensive signing ever at the time the offer to step through the doors of another heavyweight and into Europe's strongest Squad was enticing alone but add to that the Pep Guardiola factor and it became irresistible the coach saw himself as a player reflected in rogery and knew exactly what he needed to take those next steps forward the argentine's Tactical training had helped him as a Defender so peps Focus was instead on his on ball ability and positioning ensuring he's the right fit for City's system as Club Legend fernandinho hit his mid-30s a replacement needed to be arranged and after only a month in Manchester the manager was convinced that the Madrid native was the man for the job establishing a panoramic vision of the pitch and his teammates rodri's decisive thinking under pressure was perfect for a frontf footed Midfield and raised to be comfortable in possession didn't hurt his place in Pep's good books however that's not to say there was no room for improvement the tempo of the English game didn't suit him straight away as he's not a quick player so he needed to think ahead and extinguish any threats before they could burn him still it had been an impressive first year in England sprinkled with some belters and notable showings especially at the end when he headed the winner P Villa to secure the League Cup a hint at what's to come over the next 2 years Rod's place in the team became increasingly secure fulfilling the title of fernandinho's successor by giving pep what he wanted a consistent 8 out of 10 week in week out so the 16 up to notch being solid for the blues minute by minute always Under Pressure his calm sharpness on the ball allowed space for Bernardo Silva Kevin De bruyne and ilay gundan to create mastering the balance between pushing and sitting his vulnerabilities became harder to Target adapting to Pep's game plan to become City's stabilizer after his curious exclusion from the 2021 Champions League final which ended in Chelsea's favor having exploited a rodri siiz hole for their 1- n Win pep had an epiphany with him we better no doubt onward he structured everything around the Spaniard who on top of nearly 4,000 minutes per season was proving to be a clutch match decider slashing away a 94th minute winner at the Emirates and occasionally pummeling away loose balls from distance oh he had that an absolute rocket from Ry from Desperate tackles in the nick of time to Exquisite diagonal knock he could do no wrong and by 25 years old rodri was was outclassing his competition averaging the most recoveries in the best league in the world as well as the highest pass completion rate of all midfielders the year ended with a second consecutive premier league title and by whatever metric you ascribe City 16 had been pivotal now regarded the leading defensive midfielder in Europe that July the acquisition of earling harand completed guardiola's 11 and 2223 was to be the year everything changed at the Etihad with three years under his belt rodri's stature and confidence reached an alltime high named Co Vice Captain with his performances becoming increasingly Flawless a total footballer he'd near enough perfected his role under pep sweeping up with ease and offloading it as if he was engineered to do so thriving Under Pressure he spent most of the time in crowded areas making his sure-footedness and an asset that they couldn't feel safe without started 52 times more than any other Outfield player not in a decade had Guardiola had a name on his team sheet so often since Lionel Messi in his 91 goal year his 4,068 passes at a completion rate above 90 and 466 bull recoveries across all competitions were more than any other Premier League player as were his ball Carri and distance covered in possession these years in England had taught him to use his physicality and with the highest success rate in aerial Jewels his height aided City massively on both the offense and defense the Gunners threatened their Reign Over England but turned out to be just a scare as the Sky Blues made it a premier league three Pat after 4 years the FA Cup returned to their cabinet pushing it to a domestic double by June and putting a treble on the cards unbeaten in the Champions League conceding only five times on the road to the final rodri was now at the top of his game regaining possession in the UCL over 100 times 26 more than anyone else and the most in 15 years since Claude Mele the gold standard of defensive mids he was flexing all his muscles this year bagging a goal of the Season contender in the quarters to get them past Bayern Munich it's an absolute Beauty from at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium on the 10th of June against Inter Milan the 16 broke the deadlock with a sweeping answer to Silva's cutback [Applause] Rod Manchester City lead in the Champions League final for some time maybe ever this will be the most important goal in the history of Manchester City as the one one that gave the club its first European Trophy and they equaled their City Rivals as the second ever English side to do the Continental treble named man of the match and player of the tournament the Spaniard got his Redemptive moment an unlikely but deserving star I think we made history I mean it's a dream we have to enjoy because these moments never happen again this is for all of that work in the past like doo like Sergio like Silva like all of these players that uh make the club big and this this trophy is also for them since that night in Turkey nothing has changed for the grounded headliner only a week later he starred in the goalless Nations League final smashing home Spain's second penalty to get them over the line for a first taste of international silverware hailed for the second time in a month as a tournament's best player an incredible season had become a perfect one currently Midway through his fifth year as a citizen this campaign has been a testament to what his manager has been saying for some time now the amount of things he help us to do is is replaceable I would say right now this was never true until last September when clouded in Red Mist rodri was sent off against Nottingham Forest meaning he would be banned for the next two games in both of which they Dro points for the first two losses of their campaign you sound angry with Rod is that fair fair to say you are a third defeat came when the 16 was out on a yellow card suspension although outside of those matches City are unbeaten and have been for the 55 games that rodri has been involved in in many ways he's the most important player on the best team in the world giving pep what he wants most on the pitch control every stats graph and heat map Paints the picture that rodri is by some distance the UN rivaled King at what he does and without him they are not the same side stationed at the base of Midfield he's far from a passive side passer setting The rhythms of the play and dictating the tempo almost in the vein of a Patrick Vieira charging forward to influence the game higher up aged 27 he is in his prime and only improving as a player and leader so given that he has no Reliance on Pace or strength we could see Roder rolling over English pitches for another 8 n or even 10 [Music] years

Channel: TheRetroRoute

Views: 353,305

Keywords: Rodri, Manchester City, Champions League, Premier League, Man City, Pep Guardiola, Spain, Atletico Madrid, Villarreal, Long shots, Goals, Soccer, Football, England, Nations League, Euros, Haaland, Alvarez, Bernardo Silva, Gundogan, Foden, Busquets, Midfielder, Defensive, Cdm, Holding midfielder, A classic 6, Ruben Dias, Ederson, Mahrez, Doku, John Stones, Walker

Id: CaqH9gW_Hcg

Length: 13min 40sec (820 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 01 2024