Rodri is Spain's leader through heavy storms - he was immaculate against Georgia (2024)

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Spain were looking their most shaky so far at this European Championship when Rodri stepped up.

Georgia had gone ahead 18 minutes into their round of 16 match in Cologne through a Robin Le Normand own goal. Luis de la Fuente’s side were nervously looking for an equaliser — while the tournament debutants were finding more chances on the break than they could have expected.

But that changed when Le Normand and Marc Cucurella ended a Georgian counter-attack in the 31st minute. As Spain played out from the back, Rodri did something that inspired confidence in his team-mates.

Instead of rushing another attack, the Manchester City midfielder collected possession on the halfway line, turned around and looked at his colleagues. Then he brought his hands down while shouting, “Calma, calma!”. He paused, told the other players to return to their roles and, once everyone was settled, launched the next attacking sequence.

Eight minutes later, Rodri himself put an end to any kind of uncertainty with an expertly-crafted equaliser.

The 28-year-old received a cutback from Nico Williams at the edge of the box, created space with a fine first touch and arrowed a low finish into the bottom right corner of Giorgi Mamardashvili’s goal. It was more a pass into the back of the net than a shot — but it showed the simplicity and effectiveness of Rodri’s game.

“The biggest virtue a leader must have is to remain calm when there’s a heavy storm,” Rodri said before Spain’s opening game of the tournament against Croatia just over two weeks ago, “trying to guide the team and show them the light when your team-mates struggle to find the right option. This is a good leader.”

Spain weathered the Georgian storm, with an eventual 4-1 comeback win completed thanks to another starring performance from the 16-year-old Lamine Yamal, Williams scoring a world-class solo goal and Fabian Ruiz enjoying the form of his life. But Rodri was the man of the match — deservedly so.

He had more touches of the ball than anyone else (129), attempted the most passes (117) with a 93 per cent accuracy rate and won all of his six duels. You can add five accurate long balls to that, plus three completed tackles and that goal, which came from his only shot on target.

Some would say this was just another day at the office for arguably the best holding midfielder in the world. City fans have become used to that consistency from a player who has made himself so crucial to Pep Guardiola’s plans that the coach does not even have a suitable backup for him, let alone a replacement.

But until now, it has been a different story with Spain. Bizarrely, this is the first major international tournament where Rodri has been an established starter for his country in his preferred position.

The main reason for that is Sergio Busquets. The man with the claim to being the greatest defensive midfielder of all time retired from Spain duty after the 2022 World Cup — a tournament where Rodri played as a centre-back due to then coach Luis Enrique’s limited options in that position.

Rodri has been in his country’s squad for 73 games but only played in 53 of them, 40 as a starter and 13 from the bench. When De la Fuente took over from Luis Enrique immediately after that World Cup 18 months ago, he was determined to give him a starring role as a player who had been his trusted lieutenant for Spain Under-19s.

Rodri was also promoted to vice-captain, behind Alvaro Morata — and he rose to the challenge. He was named man of the match in the 2023 Nations League final, where Spain beat Croatia on penalties to lift their first trophy since the all-conquering era of Busquets, Xavi, Andres Iniesta and company more than a decade before.

The goal against Georgia last night was the most important of Rodri’s international career. It showed why he is the backbone of this new generation — and why he is the complete modern midfielder.

There was tactical awareness in every move, sharpness in every pass and an impressive physical condition that allowed him to win duels and be decisive at both ends of the pitch. Because while dynamic wingers Yamal and Williams have stolen the headlines at this tournament, Spain playing with such an open structure could be naive were it not for the balance provided by Rodri.

“We are here to win, not to play well or play in a certain style,” Rodri said.

He is enjoying leading by example.

During the March international break, Spain faced Brazil in a friendly at the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid. It was seen as a way for the team to make a statement before the summer, even if it was a non-competitive game.

Rodri was going through a tough time — his grandfather died the day before the match and the Spanish football federation released him from international duty. He joined his family in mourning ahead of the game, but decided to honour his grandad by playing. Morata gave him the armband that day and the midfielder scored twice in a 3-3 draw.

Every member of the squad left that Spain camp stunned by the level of dedication shown by Rodri. The support he received strengthened the harmony in De la Fuente’s team.

They will face their toughest test yet against the hosts Germany in the quarter-finals on Friday. Not that Rodri seems too bothered.

“Germany are going to make themselves strong playing at home, but we are not afraid of anyone here,” he said. “We have our weapons and whichever team wins, they’ll need to play a fantastic game.”

Whatever happens, Spain will be looking to Rodri once again.

(Top photo: Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images)

Pol joined The Athletic in 2021, initially moving to Manchester to assist us with our Manchester City, Manchester United and Spanish reporting. Since 2015 he has been an English football correspondent for multiple Spanish media, such as Diario Sport and RAC1 radio station. He has also worked for The Times. In 2019, he co-wrote the book Pep’s City: The Making of a Superteam. He will now move back to Spain, covering FC Barcelona for The Athletic. Follow Pol on Twitter @polballus