Go to the competition website of the European football tournament from this link.
Spanish midfielder Rodri bagged the European Football Championship’s best player award after Sunday’s final match.
He marched onto the stage through the walk of honor formed by the Spanish team, while other players bowed in the quarterback’s direction.
Rodri had to come off the field at halftime, probably due to some kind of injury. That didn’t stop Spain from scoring two goals to defeat England in the final and capture the fourth European Championship in their history.
– We wanted to play with the ball like a big team and without the ball like a small team. We have been working in silence for years, and there were no results. However, we showed heart and did not give up. Now we made history. We beat four world champion countries, so we can be proud, said Rodri after the final.
For Rodri, the championship is the second in the men’s national team. He was involved last year when Spain won the Nations League title. In 2015, he participated in winning the under-19 European Championship.
– We spent 45 demanding days here after a long season. I’m speechless. We will hardly realize this for a few more years. This achievement lives forever. However, we are not going to stop, but we will come back to it again next time. First, however, we have to celebrate, Rodri promised.
Recently, Rodri has accumulated an incredible amount of experience in victory celebrations. Manchester City, which he represents in the English Premier League, has gone from victory to victory, so the 28-year-old has accumulated a lopsided pile of trophies.
Since the beginning of 2023, Rodri has won no fewer than eight trophies. Even more incredible is that in the same period he has lost a total of only four matches in the jersey of his national and club teams.
“He’s incredible”
In this summer’s team, Rodri was always described as the most important piece and even the best player in the world in his position.
– Great player. The best of its place in the whole world. Deserved attention. He plays in the world’s best club team, and now also, if not in the world’s best national team, then at least very close to the best, Urheilu’s expert Erkka V. Lehtola said Rodri as he picked up the trophy.
Rodri played every match except one in the EC tournament. He scored one goal, but he shone in midfield, pacing Spain’s play.
– Everything goes both ways through Rodri. When Spain was in the lead (in the semi-final) against France, they froze the game specifically by holding the ball. It is not done unless the engine room is in top condition, Urheilu’s expert Miika Nuutinen said during the semi-finals.
– Rodri is Spain’s undisputed playing backbone, who in my papers is perhaps the best player of these games, Nuutinen predicted already at that time.
In the last year or so, Manchester City has won the Premier League championship trophy twice, as well as the FA Cup, the Champions League, the Club World Cup and the UEFA Super Cup once.
– Players in his position don’t get the same attention as, for example, attackers. Highlights are compiled from other players, City’s head coach Pep Guardiola said at the beginning of the year.
– He is incredible, and at the moment the best midfielder in the world, because he can do everything. He controls the tempo, shows the necessary character and can make all kinds of passes. It’s hard to imagine how we would have achieved all of this in the past few years without him.
Rodri was also awarded as the best player of the Champions League in the 2022-2023 season, after the winning goal as the best player of the Champions League final, as the best player of the Nations League finals and as the best player of the World Cup tournament for club teams.
Rodri is originally from Madrid, but made his professional debut at Villarreal. He then played one season at Atlético Madrid before a €70 million move to City in 2019. He made his debut for the Spanish national team in 2018.
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