Rodrygo's roller coaster

Life in Madrid for the youngest is difficult. Or at least, Zidane's hand, is full of surprises. The French coach was in love with Rodrygo's game in the fall. The young Brazilian, signed from Santos for 40 million euros, reached the highest point of his particular roller coaster on November 6. It was his second Champions match with Madrid. Before the Galatasaray, in the Bernabéu, he became the youngest player to score a hat-trick Perfect (right, left and head) in the competition. The sorpasso Vinicius (Flamengo, 45 million euros) was a fact. A week earlier, Zidane had also opted for Rodrygo for the starting eleven in Istanbul, in a key Champions League game in which Madrid played whether or not it was in the competition (0-1).

Two months later the harsh winter has blurred Rodrygo. his sorpasso Vinicius has turned around like a sock and has disappeared, at a stroke, from Zidane's calls without anyone finding a reason for it.

This weekend Rodrygo returns to the scene after the sanction of a game that cost him to respond to a provocation by the goalkeeper of San Sebastián de los Reyes. Raul must give today the call for the meeting of his team against Coruxo (tomorrow, 7:00 p.m.). If Zidane is not going to count on him before Betis, he should enter that list, as happened before the San Sebastián de los Reyes. As for Zidane, it would be strange to call him after he disappeared from his last four calls.

“His control is the host, it's half a goal,” Zidane surrendered simply to the goal Rodrygo scored for Osasuna, the first in a series of seven with Madrid in 12 games. “When I met Zidane I started to shake,” the young Brazilian conceded in an interview in his country. Now, it seems that this idyll has been left in the background. With the template almost completely healthy (only Hazard and Asensio are missing), Rodrygo has a difficult fit. Even more now that Mariano once again made himself known with his goal in the Classic.

But the sanction of a match has already passed and Rodrygo returns to the scene. With Zidane, you never know. The statistics continue to speak very well of Rodrygo with respect to Vinicius: he has scored seven goals with 18 shots that of Santos, by four goals after 29 shots by his compatriot. But this one has depth and overflow. And that, today, in a Madrid that feels flat, is gold …