Rodri, the surprise coronation of the collective – Libération

2024-10-28 21:44:00

The Manchester City and La Roja midfielder was awarded this Monday 28 October. The choice to reward this pure team player, albeit sober, marks a turning point in the history of the Trophy. Much to the dismay of Real Madrid, who canceled his visit.

His marketing aura borders on nothingness, he has adopted a certain media or sartorial austerity come with me in the increasingly crazy world of football. But that didn’t stop Rodrigo Hernandez Cascante, known as Rodri, from winning his 68th Ballon d’Or this Monday. The coronation of the Manchester City midfielder and the Red The Spaniard, undoubtedly the two most beautiful collective machines in their respective expressive fields (clubs and selections), is a great surprise.

Almost a revolution. Before him, voters had never rewarded a pure team player, whose collective expression erases every trace of individuality, apart from technical quality and fighting. A piece worked exclusively to transform a large ensemble. The affair did not go well. This year, the Ballon d’Or organization had decided on an unprecedented procedure: secrecy had to prevail until the envelope designating the winner was opened, with the aim of creating suspense (in previous editions, the winner arrived with the family and all smiles). and to create a television “moment” on the L’Equipe channel, which broadcast the event. However, Real Madrid was informed in the morning. And he canceled his delegation’s trip to Paris, shocked to see his own players (Toni Kroos, Dani Carvajal and the big favourite, Brazilian striker Vinicius Junior) not getting the main reward at stake.

A system man, both drive belt and prime mover

Ironically, the one who stood out was a native of Madrid who had never worn the Real shirt. Rodri ticked a few boxes. Starting from the record of 2024, the fourth consecutive title with his English team, Manchester City, in the fiercest national championship on the planet and the victory of the European Nations Championship with Spain, Rodri having been voted best player by UEFA at the end of a competition. that the Red had flown over in rare proportions. His manager at City, Pep Guardiola, once dressed him as “best midfielder in the world ever“, his coach, Luis de la Fuente, speaks of Rodri as “perfect computer» and the two design a system man, at the same time transmission belt between their ideas and the way in which the team will apply them and first executor. The one who provides both the momentum and the temperature, before being the guarantor of what is happening. His injury and then substitution with Martin Zubimendi at half-time of the European Championship final against the English national team (2-1) will have paradoxically prolonged his splendor: no one saw the difference.

The replacements of Red he went for the title. And observers left with the idea of ​​a collective so well regulated, of a mentality so pervasive that the performance survived the erasure of its first architects. Before the European Championship semi-final against the Blues, the 28-year-old footballer had long intellectualized about the Caretaker his role as a defensive midfielder and his way of experiencing the game: “I try to give movement to the game, dynamism, rhythm. To get in touch as soon as possible with the players in front of me, to help the game mature, to interpret it, to take it where I want. This is what most defines the role of the pivot: when to accelerate, when to brake, when to press higher, when to go lower. These thoughts always come to mind. When the ball comes towards me and I have to take a break, I won’t speed up the game.»

A discreet overall outfit, a little stiff

Then : “It’s difficult to communicate in the field. Especially when you are tired and tense. We communicate through intention. If teammates see our body language, they will understand. I always thought that the role of a midfielder was very important in terms of leadership, conceptually, tactically. It is difficult for a winger or full-back to organize himself from his position, because he has no perspective. I like this role and it’s the role you have to have if you want the team to work.» A discreet overall performance, a little stiff, which he shares with some (Alvaro Morata, Nico Williams, Robin Le Normand, Dani Olmo, Unaï Simon…) of those with whom he obtained the European title in July. A sort of work ethic, far from the glories that now occupy the periphery of the game. Not bad news, this about the Ballon d’Or.