The teenager showed his manager exactly what he’s capable of on Sunday with a stunning free-kick, and revealed that he is set for a new attacking role
Zinedine Zidane intends to use Rodrgyo Goes in a central position at Real Madrid, the teenager revealed after marking his debut for the club with a goal on Sunday.
Rodrygo was one of four Madrid debutants in the International Champions Cup defeat to Bayern Munich, along with Eden Hazard, Luka Jovic and Ferland Mendy, and he scored a superb late free-kick as Zidane’s men fell to a 3-1 defeat in Houston.
The teenager got his chance to show Zidane exactly what he can do in a Real shirt after Sven Ulreich was sent off six minutes from time, curling the resulting set-piece into the top-right corner of the net from 20 yards.
After the game, the former Santos forward revealed that his boss knows exactly where to deploy him, telling Marca: “Zidane wants me to play more down the middle.
“I am typically more used to operating on the wings, but that is what the coach wants. It’s a position in which I am comfortable and enjoy.”
Still only 18, Rodrygo is unsure whether he will see regular first team action in his first season in Spain, having joined Los Blancos from Santos this summer after originally agreeing a deal with the La Liga giants in June 2018.
Rodrygo netted eight league goals in 35 games for his former club in 2018 as he was largely deployed on the left-wing, but he admitted that the choice of whether he plays and where he is used is out of his hands.
“I am not sure whether I will be playing in the first team yet. It is up to Zidane and his staff to decide where best to utilise me,” added the €45 million (£40m/$50m) man.
Discussing his superb debut goal, Rodrygo said: “I always used to take free-kicks at Santos, that is why I asked to take it.”
Real Madrid’s next pre-season fixture takes them to the FedExField on Tuesday evening, where they will face Unai Emery’s Arsenal in search of their first win following Sunday’s defeat to Bayern.
The Gunners currently sit top of the table in the International Champions Cup, having beat the Bavarians 2-1 in their opening game before defeating Fiorentina 3-0 on Saturday.
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