Real Madrid: Setting expectations for Rodrygo in 2019-2020

In Rodrygo Goes, Real Madrid have one of the world’s most promising young forwards. But what can Los Blancos fans realistically expect from the player in his inaugural season with the first team?

Zinedine Zidane gave Rodrygo Goes a few minutes to shine against Osasuna last month, and the Brazilian sensation made good on that chance. He scored the second-fastest debut goal in Real Madrid history, behind only legendary No. 9 Ronaldo, and did so in spectacular fashion. Rodrygo secured a long pass from Casemiro with a sublime first touch, absolutely burned his defender with a cut inside, and curled the ball gently past the onrushing keeper.

In a short space of time, Rodrygo showed Real Madrid fans everything he’s capable of. The vision, technical quality, pace, and finishing were all clear to see, and Rodrygo proceeded to make several brilliant runs off the ball later in the game to remind fans that his genius without the ball at his feet is just as impressive as his genius with it.

Real, however, don’t want to rush Rodrygo. He played for Castilla after that masterclass against Osasuna, as Real did not call him up again for a rivalry match at the Wanda. Rodrygo hasn’t featured in the first time since, but his strong work at Castilla, combined with his insane goal vs. Osasuna, make it plausible for him to get more playing time before 2019 ends.

In fact, it’s not out of the question for Real to play Rodrygo on Saturday at Mallorca. Gareth Bale will miss some time with an injury he suffered over the international break, while Lucas Vazquez is also reportedly out against Mallorca.

Vinicius Junior needs his playing time, too, especially after he showed his quality both last season and with his own wondergoal against Osasuna this season. Game time has been hard to come by for the more experienced Vinicius, as Eden Hazard has the left wing position locked down after a nine-figure transfer from Chelsea. And since Vinicius is ahead of Rodrygo in the pecking order on the left, it means that the former Santos man’s path to the starting XI is that much more difficult, unless he can show additional versatility to Zidane.

That means Real Madrid fans can’t expect gaudy statistics or even much game time in general for Rodrygo. This season is more about showing flashes, refining his skills, settling into Madrid, tearing it up at Castilla, and slowly working his way into the first team for 2020 and beyond.

But it’s hard to shake off the fact that Rodrygo was so good against Osasuna. He looked like a legitimate first-team player, and it’s telling that FIFA named him to the “Golden Boy” shortlist. Yes, these awards have bias towards traditional powers like Real and Barcelona, whose Ansu Fati also made it in. Objectively, neither should have been included over Villarreal’s Samuel Chukwueze, but the point remains that Rodrygo has made an impression to a mainstream audience.

The quality is undeniable, to the point where we may wonder if he shouldn’t already be an option in the rotation. After all, it’s hard to see him being a worse option than Vazquez, in spite of the latter’s familiarity and defensive presence.

Rodrygo is worth keeping an eye on before Saturday’s game against Mallorca, in case he makes another appearance off the bench for Hazard, Vinicius, or someone else. Perhaps it’s too much to wonder if he’d even start against a relegation side like Mallorca, but it’s not out of the realm of possibilities either.

If Rodrygo seizes yet another opportunity off the bench, it may be hard for Zidane to play things as slowly as he wants. It’ll be important to manage Rodrygo more carefully than the club did Vinicius during last season’s promising campaign, but plenty of 19-year-olds, such as Jadon Sancho and Kai Havertz last season, have shown that they can play at a world-class level for Champions League-qualifying sides.

So if Rodrygo shows he’s ready, the “kid gloves” can come off, even if due caution should still be exercised. A few more goals and highlight-reels moments could be on their way in 2019-2020.