Teams like Real Madrid always make a point of having the best forwards in the world – in fact, they are proud of it. Only in recent times, themeringues” featured Raúl González, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema. The Frenchman remains the club’s top scorer (he’s scored 341 since joining Madrid from Lyon in 2009), remains one of the best in the world, but at 35 he won’t last forever. , and Real will want to continue their tradition of great strikers. Haaland, Mbappé, Lewandowski, however, none seem to be within reach of “whites”. What if that next big striker was already there?
That’s the hope that surrounds Álvaro Rodríguez, the young striker of Madrid’s Cantera, who made his debut this Saturday to score for Real’s first team, a goal that earned a draw (1-1) in the derby with Atletico. Álvaro, a 1.93m tall striker, was ordered on by Carlo Ancelotti in the 77th minute and, in the 85th minute, he was in the right place, at the back post, to put a ball into the net from a corner scored by Luka Modric. In a gala match in the heart of the Bernabéu, the dream of any football fan came true: a Canterano scoring against his rival and promising more.
ALVARO RODRÍGUEZ ?? 18 years old and makes his debut in a derby ??
???? @LaLiga | @real Madrid 1 x 1 @Atleti#LaLigaELEVEN pic.twitter.com/WA2WdSv9lI
— ELEVEN Portugal (@ElevenSports_PT) February 25, 2023
It was only Álvaro Rodríguez’s third appearance for Real’s first team, in a total of 37 minutes, but it was enough to leave his mark: goal against Atlético this Saturday, assist for an Asensio goal a week ago, in a triumph about Osasuna. It’s enough to guarantee him a full-time place among the grown-ups in the near future, as Ancelotti guaranteed after derby — and the continuity of “Carletto” is not guaranteed, saying that he will already be committed to the Brazilian national team.
“Next season, Álvaro will be in the squad of the first team. The quality he has, few have. His height is important, he handles the ball well, he is formidable with the head. The idea is to have him with the first team. This season he can be with us and with Castilla. We will coordinate with Raúl”, assured the Italian coach, as if to say that Álvaro still has a lot to learn from the former number 7 of Real, one of the best strikers in the history of Spanish football.
soccer player’s son
Álvaro Rodríguez has football in his blood. He is the son of Coquito Rodríguez, a former Uruguayan international striker and twice winner of the Copa Libertadores, with Peñarol de Montevideo, in the 1980s. He was born in Girona, Catalonia, where his father had settled after finishing his career, and went to local clubs which started to show. Barcelona scouts are said to have flagged him as a potential La Masia resident, but the Catalan giants have not moved forward. Who had no doubts was Real Madrid, who “kidnapped” him in 2020 to “La Fabrica”, in Valdebebas.
And this is where Raúl González arrives, who has been training with Real Madrid since 2018. First, Álvaro’s qualities penetrated through his eyes. “I was watching a Juveniles B game, I saw a cross and I saw Álvaro shooting like I haven’t seen anyone from the cantera shooting for a long time. I sent him to train with me two levels higher, in Castilla, one, two weeks, and I saw that he didn’t out of tune. He did all the things I thought he could do. And I stayed with him,” he said, quoted by the country.
Álvaro was conquering his space in Castilla and began to be called up to the youth teams in Spain, but that situation quickly changed. He wanted to be like his father, capped by Uruguay, and switched national teams. And it was for the Uruguayan under-20s, in the recent South American championship of the category, played in Bolivia, that the young man captured the attention of the football world – Uruguay was runner-up and the “merengue” striker scored five goals.
?? Álvaro: “I’m very happy. To score with the best team in the world and in this stadium is a dream I’ve had since I was little”.#RealMadridAtleti pic.twitter.com/5So5CZOBja
— Real Madrid CF (@realmadrid) February 25, 2023
Back in Valdebebas, Álvaro was already signaled by Ancelotti and, with the lack of options for the position — after Benzema, there is Mariano, who has not scored a goal for over a year —, the youngster entered the rotation. After making his debut with a few minutes in the King’s Cup, he made the assist for Asensio and later traveled with the team to Anfield – in that game, there was no need to enter because Vinícius and Benzema took care of the matter.
This Saturday, he scored his debut at the age of 18, not much older than Raúl when he made his debut for the Merengues in 1994, then led by Jorge Valdano. Raúl was also a “canterano” who came from Castilla and the former Argentine striker gave him the title. Raúl was left blank, but Valdano didn’t give up on him. And Raúl didn’t give up on himself. The following week, he scored his debut against Atlético Madrid and his legend began. Perhaps February 25, 2023 was the beginning of another.