On July 1st, Spain defeated Georgia 4-1, advancing to the quarter-finals of the European Championship. Spain’s midfielder Rodri, who was named the MVP of the match, received praise from all quarters after the game, with Mundo Deportivo writing that the Manchester City midfielder is “the team’s axis and lighthouse”.
The article stated that it is extremely wrong to think that this Spain team doesn’t have any superstars. While Gavi and Nico Williams are on their way to becoming stars, Spain has already had one of the best players in the world in the same position, the underrated maestro, Rodri. The Manchester City midfielder is the undisputed core of De la Fuente’s side, and is also the lighthouse that guides the team forward.
Against Georgia, Rodri not only scored the equaliser for the team with his weaker foot, steadying the nerves, but also proved that he deserved the MVP award with a series of statistics: 93.2% pass success rate in the opponent’s half (109 successful passes out of 117), 6 successful duels out of 6. Rodri is like the final boss in a video game, extremely difficult to beat.
While Rodri is starting to receive the recognition he deserves, he is still an underrated footballer to some extent. Rodri has been contributing consistently excellent performances for the team year after year, becoming one of the most crucial players in top-level matches, yet he rarely appears on the lists of the world’s best players, at least in the eyes of the public. For coaches, however, whether it’s Guardiola or De la Fuente, having Rodri is a blessing, and the team’s results speak for themselves.
The 28-year-old Rodri has already won almost every honour at club level, but he is still missing the accumulation of national team honours. Perhaps in two weeks, Rodri and his teammates can achieve a breakthrough in national team honours in Berlin, at which point the title of “underrated maestro” will be completely shed.
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