Real Madrid right winger Rodrygo Goes seems determined to make an even bigger impact in 2020-2021.
Between Rodrygo Goes and Vinicius Junior, Real Madrid have two teenage wide forwards who are playing a key role for the first team and have all the tools to establish themselves as truly world-class players in both La Liga and the Champions League.
Even in his first season with Los Blancos, Rodrygo had three world-class moments for Real in the Champions League. He netted a perfect hat-trick against Galatasaray, scored a wonderful technical goal against Club Brugge, and assisted for Karim Benzema when the team’s backs were to the wall against Manchester City in the second leg of the Round of 16.
But Rodrygo isn’t content with the successes of the 2019-2020 season, his rookie year with Real Madrid. The highly-valued 19-year-old has been working hard in the gym, gaining three kilograms of muscle this offseason.
There’s a myth I want to dispel. The idea that gaining muscle makes a player slower or less explosive is not rooted in fact. Gaining muscle, if anything, should make a player even faster and should make a wide forward even more effective. Real Madrid fans can, for example, look to Cristiano Ronaldo as a player who became even more lethal as a goal-scorer and incisive winger by focusing on getting stronger physically.
Real Madrid will need to lean on Rodrygo Goes next season
Those three kilos of muscle and the strength they create could be crucial for Rodrygo next season. Rodrygo is going to be a vital player for Real Madrid, especially since the club is unable to supplement the attack with any major transfers this summer.
Rodrygo mostly played on the right side last season, but after his performance against Deportivo Alaves on his favored left, we’re wondering if we can get more of Rodrygo on the left in 2020-2021. Madridistas recognizing accomodating Rodrygo at his favored position won’t be easy with Eden Hazard and Vinicius Junior in the squad, but it’s not far-fetched to think Rodrygo can push for minutes on the left on the strength of his play.
Like, literally, on the strength of his play. Could you imagine a stronger, faster, more physically developed Rodrygo driving right at defenders with zeal, putting a move on them, and curling the ball into the corner? Fans won’t forget his debut goal, the second-fastest in Real Madrid history, any time soon. And how did he score it? By driving right at the defense and finding the back of the net after cutting in from the left.
Rodrygo’s increased strength is a sign of a dedication to be the best, and it is, in itself, a useful trait that can help the 19-year-old become an even bigger nightmare for opposition defenders. Real Madrid have reasons to be optimistic next season despite the Champions League exit and lack of transfers, and Rodrygo might just be the biggest reason for optimism.