Ancelotti announces: “We have found the player we were missing at Real Madrid”
“Search, compare, and if you find something better, buy it.” It is an advertising slogan for a detergent company that Carlo Ancelotti cited again after Karim Benzema fell due to exhaustion and confirmed his absence from the Osasuna match in La Liga.
Real Madrid searched the market in January and couldn’t find a player who could contribute different things than what’s already in their squad, which is complicated when you have Karim who can do anything. He searched the club home and ended up spotting Alvaro Rodriguez, who continues to impress with his rising performances.
He is doing well. He was in the Copa América U-20 and that’s why he didn’t make the squad for the last matches, but he will be tomorrow. He’s a boy we trust. He has characteristics that were lacking for us: he is very tall and brave, he does well with his head… he can help us.”
The Italian coach confirmed the call-up of the youth team striker and positively assessed the qualities of the Uruguayan player, who had already made his debut with the first team in the Copa del Rey match against Caserinho. Álvaro Rodriguez came on in the 68th minute, replacing an overcast Hazard looking for goal thanks to his aerial strength in a tangled match both on the pitch and on the scoreboard.
How does Alvaro Rodriguez play?
Uruguayan striker Alvaro Rodriguez has become one of the greatest emerging talents in the Real Madrid academy. The 18-year-old young striker plays a key role in the reserve team (Castilla) under the leadership of Raul Gonzalez, which helped him return to being called up with the first team … after returning to Madrid from the U-20 Copa America.
The Uruguayan forward scored five goals in six Copa America matches as Uruguay qualified for the U-20 World Cup. He earned a new nickname “El Toro” due to his size and physical strength.
He scored two goals against Venezuela and a hat-trick against Bolivia. Those goals made him one of the famous names in his country and were key in calling for Ancelotti, who saw his qualities could bring something different to the team.
“He has qualities we don’t have.”
Álvaro Daniel Rodriguez Muñoz was born in Palamos on July 14, 2004, and is the son of Uruguayan footballer “Coquito” Rodriguez. By age, performance and appearance in youth football, “El Toro” is the future No. 9 striker in Real Madrid thanks to his leaps in rising performance and his international presence with his country’s national team.
Despite his huge size (1.93 metres), Álvaro Rodriguez can play both as a striker and as a winger, although the position Raúl uses most at Castilla is at the point of attack.
Source: Marca
