Since the start of 2023, only one footballer has won every competition they have taken part in. On Sunday, Rodrigo Hernandez Cascante — Rodri to the world — has the chance to add to his remarkable record. He has so far won the Premier League, League Cup, FA Cup, Champions League, Club World Cup and the Euros over the last few years. The 2024 Ballon d'Or winner now has the chance to add the sport's ultimate honour to his CV.
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In the Spanish team, Lamine Yamal has the license to thrill. Mikel Oyarzabal is the main goalscorer. Marc Cucurella is tasked with providing width down the left while Unai Simon is entrusted with sweeping because of the high-line they play with. Rodri's task, though, is more fundamental. Like the seconds hand of an analogue clock, he is always working. Even when he's standing still in the middle, he's forever analysing plays and patterns, sequences that won't be immediately obvious. The beating heart.
Some of this is because the midfielder is addicted to football. "It's a drug," he once wrote in the Players Tribune in 2024. He sees everything. It's why Luis de La Fuente called him a computer at the 2024 Euros. "We have Rodri, who is a perfect computer, he administers everything, the emotions, all the moments in a magisterial way -- that's a great help for everyone," the coach had said after Spain's 4-1 last-16 win over Georgia.
Months after his triumph at the Euros, Rodri suffered one of the worst injuries in all of sport. ACL. For nearly a year after that, the midfielder either used to pick up niggles or he was slower than normal. Over the last five weeks though, the 30-year-old has been breathing the rarefied air reserved for the sport's best.
He leads the entire tournament for passes, attempted and successful. But where he has truly made a difference for Spain is his ability to get the ball, recycle it and keep moving. Considering that's he incredibly press resistant and his reading of the game is excellent, he has either put out fires 10 seconds before any visible danger from a Spain perspective or started new ones 10 seconds before the opposition even start sensing danger. Take the example of the second goal Spain scored against France. He was heavily involved in the initial build-up.
It's what he does, he draws players on to him before recycling the ball. He is ever willing to receive in tight areas before giving it off to other players. It makes the opposition wary of pressing him and it also grinds them. No wonder, then, that he leads in lots of metrics heading into the final against Argentina on Sunday.
First for passes attempted (698) and completed (648), 10th for 'defensive pressures directly applied (34)', second for offers to receive (389) and first for player involvements (1459). That player involvements — defined by FIFA as 'the total number of distinct touches or participations a player has during a match, reflecting involvement in play' — number, in a nutshell, describes the midfielder's importance. He's 261 ahead of the next best in that metric.
Another area which suggests that he's back to his best is the amount of grass he has covered in the US and Mexico. In the seven matches he has played so far, he has covered almost 84 kms, another metric in which he's the tournament leader. He's also the leader in high speed running with 1133.
If the Albiceleste are to emerge victorious on Sunday, they will have to find a way to eliminate Rodri out of the game.
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After their 0-0 draw against Cape Verde in their opener, Rodri had invited some criticism. There was -- is -- this perception that he has the tendency to move the ball slowly and there isn't enough verticality. But coach Luis de la Fuente had shut it down. "Rodri is the best player in the world," he had said. "Even at 50 per cent, he is better than most other midfielders. He brings clarity, vision, balance. Rodri is an inspiration for us."
On Sunday, he will lead La Roja onto the field at NYNJ hoping to lead them to a second world title. Argentina may have Messi but the last time Spain lost a competitive game it was March 2023, 37 matches ago.
