Rodrygo, the quiet hunter

When Rodrygo Goes (Osasco, Brazil, 19 years old) reached the Alfredo di Stéfano dressing room after having saved Real Madrid from a serious skid against Inter with his goal, there was not much reception celebration.

The dressing room, which they could not use on Saturday because of LaLiga's anti-covid protocol but on Tuesday they could use UEFA's, had already begun to empty.

Some had gone home, others were in the shower or at doping control.

One of the effects of taking the photos of the saving moment is that each time you get to everything later.

Before winning the shower, the Brazilian had to attend eight television channels that pay for the rights of the Champions League, almost half an hour of reviewing the happy moment that Rodrygo faces with a rare poise with an innocent tone.

In his program of building a global soccer figure, the footballer has taken classes in how to deal with the media since he was 14 years old, three after becoming the youngest athlete to sign a contract with Nike.

"He was on the bench waiting for the opportunity so that if he came in, he could score a goal or give an assist and help the team," he told one of those cameras that awaited him.

Rodrygo always seems ready.

In October of last year, with Zidane on the wire and Madrid entangled in one of his intense and fleeting crises, the Frenchman included him in the starting eleven of the match against Galatasaray in Istanbul (0-1).

By then, a newcomer to the club, Rodrygo had only played with the first team for 43 minutes spread over two league games.

He fulfilled with note, Zidane kept the position and also lined it up from the start two weeks later when Galatasaray visited the Bernabéu.

The Brazilian scored a perfect hat trick (goal with the right, with the left and with a head) and gave an assist (6-0).

That night, the dressing room did receive him with joy.

The celebration then continued with his family in an Argentine restaurant near the stadium.

At one point in the evening he was forced to make a speech.

He stood on the chair and thanked them for accompanying him there.

The tone of restrained joy did not differ much from that of the field.

"He is the calmest Brazilian I know," says a source from Valdebebas.

“It is very quiet.

Young, and he knows how to wait his time ”, coincide from their surroundings.

"He has a lot of confidence in the games and whenever he enters, a few or many minutes, he trusts that he can do his best."

Gym

In the months that he has been at Real Madrid, a little over a season, Rodrygo has experienced ups and downs in his presence in the team, even with some visits to the subsidiary, Raúl's Castilla.

He has always tried to face it with the same predisposition of a hunter on the lookout.

When the composition of the forward (Benzema aside) had a certain air of lottery, and also now that Marco Asensio has returned from his very long injury and Zidane provides him with care and continuity in the starting eleven.

"He knows that the minutes he has will be much more expensive, but he also knows that if every time he goes out he does well, Zidane will have no qualms about upgrading him," they say from Valdebebas.

Meanwhile, he has followed his building plan, lately with more dedication to work in the gym, where he has added muscle mass to gain power when he goes to the crash and in the snatch.

Rodrygo is one of the footballers who best expresses the moments he has.

In the Champions League, for example, he has spent 408 minutes on the pitch in eight games, in which he has scored five goals and has given three assists: he participates in a goal every 51 minutes.

It is also one of those that makes the most of the chances it generates.

Since he is in Madrid he has produced 4.56 expected goals, a magnitude elaborated by Opta that measures the quality of the opportunities.

However, he has scored eight times, that is, he exceeds expectations by 3.44 goals.

Among Madrid's players, only Modric, who exceeds expectations by 4.44, is ahead of the Brazilian, in a ranking that Vinicius closes, with a deficit of 5.77: Opta estimates that he should have scored almost six more goals.

In January, when the final of the Spanish Super Cup against Atlético de Madrid in Arabia came to penalties, Rodrygo was on the lookout as pitchers were chosen.

“I tried to wait to be my first final and to have players with more experience, out of respect.

But Toni Kroos told me to shoot.

Marcelo was also there and Toni said: 'Rodrygo, Rodrygo ”.

And Rodrygo scored.