Owner and owner Rodrigo Hernandez Cascante is the best midfielder in the world. Now that Sergio Busquets is leaving elite football, the baton has been raised, with Rodri, an undeniable moral and footballing authority. A footballer in one piece, who has been and remains the best kept secret in Spanish football. If there is perfection in soccer, it looks a lot like Rodri. Its bodywork is impressive. His body seems to be carved in granite. His head is a cross between a GPS and an IKEA factory. His foot, a ‘Google Maps’ that points, generates and always draws the shortest route. His football is unique, he has no natural substitutes and he is wrong once in a hundred in terms of decision making. There are three certain things in this life. Treasure, death and that Rodri always makes the right pass.
The cornerstone of Guardiola’s work in the premiership, Rodri worked for years, in pieces and in silence, until he became a unique footballer who transcended any landscape, system, style and era. Rodrigo was baked at Atleti’s youth academy, boiled at Villarreal, redefined at Calderón and sublimated at Manchester City. Asim. It is becoming more and more perfect, it plays better each time, it has more and more authority and it controls more and more of the games. It was the hinge with Marcelino. Together with Simeon he did the “military” for the aristocracy. Along with Luis Enrique he was the best in Spain playing centre-back. And with Guardiola, he has turned the midfielder’s job into an art collection. Create, Destroy, Pass, Associate, Rotate, Remove, Press, Rule and Lead. Rodri, cerebral, Cartesian and efficient, carries an entire team in his bag. If football were a language, Rodri would be its perfect interpreter. No one speaks the language of the ball like him. Cleanliness, elegance, restraint, class and effectiveness. This is a diesel engine, compass, reference and field marshal.
If it had been a Balkan, it would have been Rodrigue and it would have cost a lot more. If he were from Brazil, he would be Rodriginho and we would never have heard of Mauro Silva. If he had been an Englishman, he would have been Rodrinson and he would have been the cream of the premiership. If he were French, he would be Rodrigue and Zidane’s Ordig would fit his shoes. The fact is that Rodri is Spanish. That they called him ‘Rodrizontal’, that they said he had no standards, that he was overrated, that he was not taking a step forward and that he was too nice a boy to succeed. He has covered himself with glory. The fact is that he is the best football player this country has right now, that he deserves all the recognition that critics have denied him over the years and that with each passing game, he plays better. Rodrigo is a bit noisy and many nuts. Less publicity and more class. His profession, midfielder. It is the best in the world.
