Emerging as one of the most promising young talents of Brazilian football as well as Real Madrid, Rodrygo is walking the path of the great predecessors and breaking out of their shadows.
Rodrygo, a talent born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, could not escape that fate. At the age of 12, a year before becoming the youngest athlete to sign an advertising contract with Nike, you were hailed by the Brazilian media as the second Neymar. From then on, Rodrygo had to live in the shadow of his senior, and then when he could cover a bigger shadow.
“Anyway, there’s a benefit to comparing it, because I’m always left behind,” Rodrygo said. “We’re talking about Neymar, a huge icon for what he’s done and achieved. I’m just getting started, so working on comparisons with him is annoying. Yes, that could be a sign. well, because I was able to show any part of the field for comparison, but actually placing the subjects next to the god is a negative thing.”
“I’m always looking for ways to avoid being compared. It’s a non-bitter pressure that only I have to bear in the end. Thank God, when I said I wasn’t compared, then there was never much of a life. discuss this issue. Sometimes yes, but it appears from the outside, then it should not interfere and affect me directly,” the young Real Madrid striker shared.
It is not known if Rodrygo can reach the level of the most expensive player in world football history, but early signs suggest that he is on the way to becoming a superstar in his own way.
Joining Real from Santos for a transfer fee of 45 million euros at the age of 17, the young Brazilian talent arrived in Madrid at the beginning of the 2019/20 season with the intention of spending most of his time with Castilla, Real’s expected team. and is playing in the third division of Spain.
But with summer signings Hazard and Luka Jovic struggling with fitness and form, by the end of September, Rodrygo had been given a chance at a team by Zinedine Zidane. It was against Osasuna.
93 seconds after coming on from the expected bench in the first match in the Royal team shirt, Rodrygo scored. A dribble cut in, dropped the opponent’s defender, then corrected in the far bottom corner.
The ball rolled into the net, the talented young Brazilian player ran towards the corner and celebrated with a bow hunting gesture. A new idol for Madridistas was born.
2. Born in January 2001 and raised in a middle-class family in Osasco, Rodrygo had little choice but to enter the important world of football. His father, Eric, had a career wandering through many lower teams of Brazilian football, a total of 9 clubs and the only peak was Serie B.
Although he fathered Rodrygo at the age of 16, Eric made it clear that his son would write the proud career he dreamed of and accept to sacrifice his own career.
“Dad, because he is also a football player, he often has to change clubs. So, my landlord moved a lot. It was a common thing in football life, but it was the most difficult thing for a kid like me,” recalled Rodrygo. “I always cry every time I move to another city, but at the same time, this helps me grow a lot.”
“Mother, who does not appear often in my life stories told in the newspapers, but plays a very important role, even more important than my father. Both are worried about me,” continued Real’s young talent. “Father, because we are in the same field, because we are also players, we always know about football. But my mother is also very understanding. She talks to me every day.”
The Brazilian striker emphasized: “Family means everything to me. That’s the foundation for me. They are the ones who have supported me in all infinite conditions, they go everywhere with me. They are everything to me.”
3. Remembering his childhood days, Rodrygo said: “I spent all day outdoors. I go to school early in the morning and stay at school until late afternoon. In the afternoon, I would get up early to play soccer before going to school. When I got home from school, I played soccer, hide-and-seek, and all the outdoor kids games.” Few people know, in addition to a famous football prodigy, Rodrygo is also an excellent surfer.
Enrolled in Santos’ academy at the age of 10, Rodrygo started playing futsal, like the player his father hoped he would follow, Robinho. In the early 2010s, Robinho was still a world-famous football star, even if he failed to answer the expectations of the then-emerging rich team, Man City.
Robinho also started his career at Santos, playing more than 100 matches in Serie A with the boy who stood side by side with Brazilian football and then moved to Europe at the age of 21. A decade later, Neymar followed the same path, when he also won more than a percentage of matches for Santos and then joined Barcelona at the age of 21. The name and influence of this duo in Santos, before going to Spain, is really great, but it is nothing if placed next to the real king of Vila Belmiro: Pele.
More than 650 matches, the performance is approximately 1 goal/match, Pele is the level that every boy entering the Santos training system dreams of reaching. And despite the comparisons with the two modern stars, for Rodrygo, the Dream of Reincarnation that created the image of the greatest player in Brazilian history has never been so great.
“They (Pele, Neymar and Robinho) were my idols,” recalls Rodrygo. “Neymar is the person I follow the most, but I have had the opportunity to meet all three. Before going to Madrid, I went to Pele’s house and received his blessing. I always remember what Pele said: “Never fear anything”. I will always carry that storm with me, whether at Real, at Brazil, or anywhere.”
“Pele told me not to be afraid of anything, play your own football and not be afraid. That was the basic principle for me, especially when I started at Real Madrid. In the few times I met Robinho, he also left me with the impression of a great son, even more wonderful as a player. And I have a beautiful friendship with Neymar. All three mean a lot to me,” continued Rodrygo.
At 16 years and 300 days old, Rodrygo followed in the footsteps of his idol making his debut for Santos, coming on from the bench in a 3-1 win over Atletico Mineiro in Serie A. Two weeks after his 17th birthday, he scored a goal. the first victory in a player’s career, at the last minute winning
Not sticking with Santos for a long time like an idol, with only 41 appearances, but Rodrygo still left a strong mark. He is the youngest player to play and score for Santos in the Copa Libertadores
4. After an impressive debut, Rodrygo was given more opportunities to play for the first team. For the first time in La Liga, the Brazilian striker got the second goal for the Royal team. That is the premise that opens the fairy tale in the Champions League on a mid-week evening in the first week of November.
For the second time in Europe’s most prestigious arena, in just 375 seconds from 4 to 7 minutes in the welcome of Real Madrid’s Galatasaray, Rodrygo twice recorded his name on the scoreboard.
In the 14th minute, Real was awarded a penalty, if Rodrygo successfully made it, this less than 20-year-old striker has the opportunity to become the fastest hat-trick player in the history of Europe’s most prestigious tournament. Of course, that’s just theory. It was Ramos who did it.
However, Rodrygo has another way to go down in history. In injury time, the Brazilian striker scored a 5-0 victory for the Royal team. He received the ball on the right wing, about 40m from the opponent’s goal, poured the ball into the penalty area, coordinated with senior Benzema and then hit the Turkish net with a dangerous finish.
As a result, Rodrygo became the first player born in the 21st century to score a hat-trick in Europe’s most prestigious tournament, and the second youngest player in history to score three goals in the same match. In fact, the Champions League has only seen three players under the age of 20 score hat-tricks, Raul and Rooney are both legends, and Rodrygo is the third.
5. Rodrygo’s explosion not only proves the talent and bravery of the Brazilian striker, but also shows that Zidane knows how to create an environment for young players to develop in a team that is always packed with stars like Real. That is also one reason why Zizou is so successful, with three unprecedented Champions League titles.
Rodrygo is one of the sprouts incubated at the Bernabeu under Zidane’s reign. First it was Marco Asensio, part Casemiro, then Fede Valverde, or Vinicius, Rodrygo’s compatriot. This can be considered a new generation of Real’s Galactico if it continues to develop in the right direction.
“We have a very good relationship,” Rodrygo revealed about coach Zidane. “He, like everyone else, welcomed me warmly here and knew the right moment to throw me on the pitch after a thorough preparation.”
“Now, I believe that if I play at night, he always has many tasks for me to complete. Zizou supports me every day, talks to me, advises me on what I need to improve on, shows me what I am doing well and doing right. The time spent with Zizou was wonderful.”
A year before Rodrygo, Vinicius appeared at Real when he was only 19 years old, and in the recent January 2020 transfer window, Reinier, it is clear that the samba flavor on Real’s attack is increasingly rich and oriented for the future. future.
This trio has cost the Royal team a total of 126 million euros and if developed as expected, it will certainly become the leading faces of the greatest European team entering a new era.
“We have a dream to make history at Real Madrid and with the Brazilian national team,” said Rodrygo. “Me and Vinicius are good teammates, good friends. We met at home, but since he’s from Rio and I’m from Sao Paulo, there’s a certain distance, so we only chat online.”
“Now, we are together every day and our friendship is growing stronger. We have many similarities and we share a dream,” emphasized Rodrygo.
Talking about Rebier, Real’s 19-year-old striker shared: “I think Real want to create a trio, or a Brazilian quartet in attack. Let’s see!”. Rodrygo’s promise can come true at the 2022 World Cup, the tournament that marks the 20th anniversary of the last time Brazil won the world championship. In the last 4 World Cups, the illustrious Selecao has only reached the semi-finals once.
6. After an explosive performance against Galatasary, Rodrygo was quickly called up to the Brazilian national team to play a friendly against rival Argentina. With such advancements, a place in the Copa America next year with Selecao is completely within reach of this 19-year-old striker.
“The biggest dream of every Brazilian boy is to put on a yellow and green shirt,” Rogrygo said of his call-up to the Selecao. “The dream has come true. I hope to be wearing this shirt often. Playing for Real and Brazil, it’s every player’s dream and I’ve reached it.”
“I also know it is a big responsibility. So I always have to try my best and live in moderation. All my actions will reflect who I am and will have followers,” the striker emphasized.
This striker understands the responsibility and impact of himself, a player who is becoming an idol, in contrast to the boys who have been, are and will follow the Dream with the ball. It shows that he is willing to step out of the shadow of those gods and become an icon in his own right.
