Real Madrid News
Ancelotti likes Real Madrid teenager, but no decision made on first-team promotion
Alvaro Rodriguez is quickly making a name for himself among the Real Madrid fanbase. The young striker made his senior debut earlier this season in a Copa del Rey encounter and got his maiden La Liga appearance this past weekend versus CA Osasuna.
The 18-year-old has been performing well for Castilla under Raul Gonzalez, scoring five goals in 16 games. And, on his La Liga debut this past weekend, the Uruguayan prospect made an impact after coming on as a sub, getting an assist on the night.
Now, The Athletic’s Mario Cortegana has come out with a detailed report on how Rodriguez’s signing at Real Madrid came about and what plans the club have for the teenage striker.
Rodriguez started his footballing journey at the Girona youth academy, close to FC Barcelona. But the Blaugrana did not make an attempt to sign him at any point as they felt he did not possess the “Barça DNA”.
And, Real Madrid took advantage of this situation and quickly swooped in. The report adds that Rodriguez has always been a fan of the Merengues and had his eyes set only on a move to the Spanish capital club after learning of their interest.
There were some concerns about the youngster and whether he was suited to playing as a left-winger, a position he used to feature in during his youth days.
But, gradually, under the eyes of the coaches at the club, the Uruguayan youth international has been polished and developed carefully. The report states that Castilla boss Raul Gonzalez has taken a special liking to the 18-year-old and has shown great belief and faith in the youngster.
As for his prospects with the first team, Cortegana writes that Carlo Ancelotti and his staff really like Alvaro Rodriguez. However, a decision over a permanent promotion to the senior team for the striker for the next season is yet to be made.
It is stated that Rodriguez could continue with Castilla for another year, especially if Raul’s side earn promotion to La Liga 2, while he will be called up to train with the seniors as and when needed.
Real Madrid are blessed to have the services and loyalty of Luka Modric and Toni Kroos. The duo have run the show in the Merengues’ midfield for close to a decade and continue to deliver flawless performances to date.
Of the two, however, it is the Croatian who deserves the higher credit. The veteran is now 37 years of age, yet dominates the middle of the park with grace and poise like none other.
Stephen Estuaqio, an FC Porto player and Canada International, spoke earlier this week about why he considered Luka Modric to be a special player and compared him with Kevin de Bruyne to support his stance.
“I played against De Bruyne, but I ran behind Modrić. I couldn’t play against him. It’s crazy how he dictates the game and controls everything. It was a lesson for me,” he said on The 90th minute on Youtube.
With his contract running out next season, Real Madrid are looking to renew his deal by one year come June. Yet, it is difficult to see him continue beyond next season and his imminent departure will mark the end of an era at the club.
Thus, Modric could be an altered role come next season. With a young midfielder, possibly Jude Bellingham set to arrive, the veteran could move into a mentorship role with the occasional appearance in big games.
This season, however, Carlo Ancelotti will continue to use him as one of the backbones of the side and deploy the maestro in the must-win fixtures coming up later this month.
At 37 years of age, Modric has started 16 La Liga games over 24 appearances this season in the competition. He has scored four goals and provided three assists in that process in addition to creating eight big chances with an average of 1.8 key passes per game.
