Under intense booing, while Spain dominated the ball but could not find Mamardashvili’s goal, Rodri stood in front of the ball for a few seconds. He waved his arms. He asked his teammates to calm down. Surprise had taken over the match in Cologne and the dream of the Georgian fans – they had a flag that read “Believe” in the middle of the stands – threatened to become a reality. But not for Rodri. The football leader Luis de la Fuente had other plans for La Roja and they were not the same as those of the Georgian fans. Rodri won, that is, patience won.
4
Unai Simon, Cucurella (Grimaldo, min. 66), Dani Carvajal (Jesus Navas, min. 80), Le Normand, Laporte, Pedri (Dani Olmo, min. 52), Fabian (Merino, min. 81), Rodrigo, Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams and Morata (Oyarzabal, min. 66)
1
Mamardashvili, Luka Lochoshvili (Heorhii Tsitaishvili, min. 63), Kashia, Dvali, Giorgi Gvelesiani, Kakabadze, Giorgi Chakvetadze (Zuriko Davitashvili, min. 63), Giorgi Kochorashvili, Otar Kiteishvili, Georges Mikautadze (Budu Zivzivadze, min. 79) and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
Goals 0-1 min. 17: Le Normand (pp). 1-1 min. 38: Rodrigo. 2-1 min. 51: Fabian. 3-1 min. 75: Nico Williams. 4-1 min. 83: Dani Olmo.
Referee François Letexier
Yellow cards Morata (min. 43) and Zuriko Davitashvili (min. 70)
After the victory against Albania, with Georgia already on the calendar, Luis de la Fuente repeated a phrase at Spain’s base camp in Donaueschingen: “I don’t want a long match.” The coach sought to impress upon his players that Georgia had to be crushed. And it had to be done from the first minute, without mercy and much less memory: there was no need to think about the 10-2 aggregate he had given Willy Sagnol’s team in the qualifying phase for the European Championship in Germany (1-7 in Tbilisi and 3-1 in Valladolid). “We have to press and press. The goal has to come quickly,” insisted the Spanish coach to his players before the round of 16 match. But it was not to be. And the key was held by Rodri, the MVP of the match.
La Roja found themselves with the first line of five in defense in the Euro Cup. But, also, with a team that did not take a minute to corner themselves in front of the door of Mamardashvili, one of the most reliable goalkeepers in the Euros. Traffic in the interior, also on the sidelines, the Georgians doubled down to stop Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal. In the 18th minute, when Spain dominated the ball 85% of the time and had already attempted eight shots, a counterattack by Georgia ended with the ball in the net of Unai Simón’s goal. He hadn’t even managed to touch the Kvaratskhelia ball. The job for Georgia had been clarified by good luck, bad for Le Normand, who scored an own goal. The game, of course, did not change after Georgia’s goal. Not even Sagnol’s team sharpened the defense. It was almost impossible to turn back any further. Spain, then, had to resort to another weapon. An old recipe that he had used in the past: patience. And for that formula, few players are smarter than Rodri.
The Office of the 16th
Rodri learned the job of defending with Diego Simeone and attacking with Pep Guardiola, few lessons that combined can be better in modern football. But the jump from the intense Metropolitano to the lyrical Etihad Stadium was not easy for the Madrid pivot. It was not until the second season in the Manchester team when Rodri found his place in the eleven. He basically had to learn to have the same thing that he asked of his teammates against Georgia: patience. “Pep gives you a toolbox that you can use on the field,” remembers Rodri. Furthermore, the midfielder trained in the red and white youth team usually highlights that one of the most revealing lessons learned under Guardiola’s command is to remain calm in games.
Last season, when City could not find the bridges to overcome the tough defense of Nottingham Forest, one of the teams that fought against relegation in the Premier, Rodri shouted to his teammates that they should not lose their cool. City won 0-2. A few months later, in Cologne, the pivot asked the same thing to his teammates. He did not want the anxiety, especially that of the youngest, the two pearls of the Red on the wings (Lamine and Nico), to make Spain desperate. And it was precisely Rodri who brought peace to Spain. He scored the tie that ended in the win and the ticket to the quarterfinals. Germany waits, but Rodri does not despair.
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