Spanish coach is excited about a new role for ex-Santos, guarantees that Palmeiras’ revelation will not be loaned and criticizes the holding of a La Liga game in the USA
Rodrygo’s good performance in the 5-0 defeat of South Korea, in the last FIFA Data, seems to have sensitized the coach of , Xabi Alonso, who was willing to play the striker in new positions, following the path of , commander of the green and yellow team and his predecessor at the Spanish club.
Owner of the right wing under Ancelotti in the merengue team, Rodrygo lost space with Xabi Alonso and only started in two of the ten matches played by the club this season, fighting for space on the left with Vinícius Júnior. In Seoul, the former Santos player scored two goals in a game in which Brazil was excited with an efficient and floating offensive quartet, especially with him, Matheus Cunha and Vini Jr. alternating spaces from center to left.
Xabi Alonso liked what he saw on the pitch. “It’s a possibility we have for the future”, commented Alonso about Rodrygo’s position, at a press conference this Saturday. “I watched the Brazil match (with Rodrygo and Vini Jr.), but we can’t forget Militão either. We were able to use Rodrygo in that position, where he played very well against Korea.”
The Spanish coach was asked about the constant absence of two young promises in the team, Endrick, who has not yet been used since returning from injury five games ago, and Gonzalo García, a starter in one match and with few minutes in five others. Alonso has denied that the pair will leave on loan in January. “At the moment, that’s not in my head. They’re both ready to play in a position with a lot of competition,” he said.
Real coach criticizes La Liga match in Miami
Xabi Alonso also endorsed the criticism for moving the match between Barcelona and Villarreal, in La Liga, to Miami, in the United States, on December 20th. All teams, including the two involved, intend to protest against the duel outside Spain in this round of the competition due to the organization’s lack of transparency.
“We are against the game in Miami because it corrupts the competition. There was no consultation or unanimity”, explained the coach. “The protests (in the round) are positive because they represent the feeling of many clubs. The decisions that need to be taken to prevent this from happening do not depend on us,” he added.
Leader of La Liga at the start of the 9th round, Real Madrid returns to the field this Sunday (19), against Getafe, away from home, at 4pm (Brasília time).
*With information from Estadão Conteúdo
Published by Nícolas Robert
