The entire footballing world had their eyes glued to one location within Europe. It was supposed to be the day where a certain English team made history and put themselves next to their bitter rival in terms of potentially being one of the best teams that our glorious game has ever seen. But, standing in thier way was a team that was representing the Nazzuri with all of the force and intention that you could imagine. Many foolish Pundits and fans were procclaiming Manchester City’s victory even before a ball was kicked. It’s as if they forgot where the art of defending was invented. And like a defensive wall that refused to be broken, Inter stopped majority of City’s momentum over and over, even looking more dangerous throughout the first 60 minutes of the match. Then, the clock hit 67:25, and City had possession of the ball within the Inter defensive area. After Mauro Akanji slipped in a pass through to the on running Bernardo Silva, he composed himself, looked for an open teammate, then slipped that pass into the guy who we’ll be talking about in today’s episode. Some call him by his government name (Rodrigo), but today, we’ll simply refer to him as “RODRIIIIII!”
PLAYER BIO
A lot of people like to consider Rodri as being the second coming of his compatriot (and former world class player I might add) Sergio Busquettes. But, I personally believe that there are some differences that make Rodri a different sort of player to who I think is the greatest D.L.P of all time. Nevertheless, let’s dive more into what Rodri will be offering us within SMW…
SM23 ATTRIBUTES
Rodri is a player that does most of his work off the ball, doing the things that casual fans or “ball watchers” will never see, but let’s not allow that to take away from what he does on the ball since Rodri is a possession type Manager’s dream with his ability to dictate the tempo of a match (particularly when playing a normal or slow tempo). There are still some duds within his attributes such as his ‘Aerial Ability’ which is at a painstaking ’63’ which, for anyone who actively watches the Prem, would know that Rodri is one of City’s best players in the air and ALWAYS gets contact from set pieces. I also believe that his ‘Aggression’ should be improved which is down to a stigma that most Spanish players have in terms of their lack of “fight” due to their diminutive stature and playing style (IMO).And, I’m sure you dont need me to explain why his set pieces taking is quite hilarious…
BEST ROLES
If you ain’t playing Rodri at the base of your midfield then I’m afraid you’re doing something wrong. I’ve seen managers play him as their ‘8’ or ‘7’ within a 4-3-3 formation which makes me cringe…Even though he is considered one of the best sole pivots in the game, that doesn’t mean he does not have the capability to play within a double pivot. You just have to make sure that the guy next to him is extremeley efficient at a few things we will be explaining shortly…Another first, Rodri is one of only maybe 6 or 7 DM(C)’s who has the abilty and tactical nuance to play by themselves within a 4-1-3-2. This formation is HIGHLY specific which means you should never take the player who is your deepest midfielder for granted since if you get it wrong, the entire formation will be ruined…Another unique and first for this season’s formation, Rodri’s outstanding ability allows us to play the unorthodox 3-1-3-3. But, similarly to the above formation, he’s only one of a few, and his teammates will be of absolute importanceLet’s not forget that Rodri is a well established and capable D(C) if you ever wanted to play him there. As a matter of fact, you could use him within this position for the entirety of a season and he’ll still perform well throughout
HOW TO BEST USE HIM
This might seem controversial, but I believe that Rodri’s best role is actually as a ‘Ball Winning Midfielder’. The reason for my thinking is down to the fact that he will not be the most impactful ‘Deep-lying Playmaker’ if he’s the main hub of your team and you intend to use him. This also has an effect on any tempo as a matter of fact since he is a great conductor from deeper positions, but he’s no Kimmich, Locatelli, or Sergio Busquettes within the attacking third (but he’s not far from their effectiveness)
WHO ARE HIS BEST TEAMMATES?
Now, not because I said that Rodri’s best role is as your B.W.M does not mean that you’ll never play him as your D.L.P ever again, lol. In his best formation, If you want him as your B.W.M, he’ll need a ‘Stopper’ behind him since his two midfield compatriots need to be offensively bias. While, choosing to use him as your D.L.P will require a ‘Ball-Playing Defender’ behind of him to give him some assistance within deep progression since both players next to him should be more energetic players who will be doing a lot of running (y’know, like what most D.L.P’s need to have, especially within a 4-3-3) As I mentioned earlier, Rodri is someone who can easily play within a double pivot, but he will need to have a ‘Box to Box’ Midfieidler next to him since he’s not the most mobile of players. His teammate will do most of the leg work while Rodri makes your team tick from those deeper positions For the 4-1-3-2, the most important players that you should consider are placed behind Rodri within the back 4. You should consider having proper defenders at the back who aren’t the most interested in getting forward since this formation has enough forward players to start with. Additionally, this will allow Rodri the freedom to be the sole contingent within your midfield knowing that if possession is lost he has 4 proper defenders behind him ready to back him up The 3-1-3-3 is a bit similar with the biggest difference being who operates within the midfield area. Rodri (and this formation) will need a lot of legs to get around the lack of width which means you’ll need some highly hard working ‘B.2.B’s or ‘G .M’s, with a creative player at the top of the Diamond, who, alongside Rodri, will be your team’s main source of creativity. I also advice that your wide D(C)’s have decent amount of pace since they will be the ones most targeted by your opps When it comes to playing in deeper positions, Rodri isn’t no “pass it simple” type of player, so you should seek to give him the opportunity to dictate the play from the back which can be done via playing with enegetic type Midfielders in front of him, as well as a ‘Stopper’ as his D(C) partner who will keep things simple on the ball to allow Rodri to be the shining light. The Fullback will be an added bonus to cover for Rodri’s lack of pace, but is only optional
Rodri is quite possibly the best way for us to complete season 7’s look at every world class player there is within SMW. It’s been one hell of a ride, and I would like to show my appreciation for each of you Soccermanagerites who have tuned in either for one sentence, paragraph, episode or if you’ve read the entire season!
We’ll be taking a short break in order to prepare for season 8, but mark this weekend ( August 12th and 13th) on your calendar, beacuse with the return of top flight football comes the return of our beloved ‘SMB Stories’ series 🌟 🤸
I’m sooo pumped to get it back on track and looking forward to engaging with some real life footy with each and everyone of you.
The Soccermanager Experience 