Rodrigo

[danielneeds]

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/footb...tenham-transfer-news-benfica-striker-1927998?

Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas sizing up move for £10m-rated Benfica and Spain striker Rodrigo

The Brazil-born Spanish youngster would fill the 'rising star' slot in AVB's master plan which sees him bring two strikers to the Lane

Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas is eyeing a deal for Benfica striker Rodrigo.
Spain under-21 striker Rodrigo, 22, is valued around £10m, with Spurs desperate to sign at least two strikers this summer.

Villas-Boas has had his scouts watching Rodrigo and believes he has got potential so Spurs are keeping close tabs.
Rodrigo was born in Brazil but moved to Spain as a youngster and now has a Spanish passport. He began his career at Real Madrid but also had a spell on loan at Bolton.

Spurs are looking at various strikers including Barcelona’s David Villa and Brazil star Leandro Damiao. But Villas-Boas also wants to bring in a rising star as well as an established striker.​

 

[not_tenth-again]

I'm all for this. Sign him up and then tell him his role at the club is to relentlessly tap up his cousins (Thiago and Rafinha at Barcelona) until pre season starts.

Midfielder, attacking midfielder and striker, all sorted in one swoop. Happy days

 

[Gbspurs]

Money, age and profile seems to fit. No idea on ability though!

 

[8Gazza]

He turns out great at Fifa!

 

[Dharmabum]

One of potential strikers I had on my " wish list" for the coming season. But, must admit I haven't seen enough of him to vouch for a move to Spurs. Anyway, to get it "right" with a striker most be the most difficult of all the spots to get "right"; so many top strikers have flopped or just turn into "ordinaries" (Torres, Shevchenko, Robinho etc.) but sooner or later one must take a risk and Rodrigo wouldn't be a bad choice (and he's more proven than, say, Cornelius - but yes, their different types of players).
And, as pointed out, if he could bring his cousin at Barca, Thiago, with him....that would be an extra added bonus



http://inbedwithmaradona.com/the-100-for-2012/2012/12/8/rodrigo-moreno.html

December 2012
RODRIGO MORENO
Rodrigo Moreno 21 Striker Benfica
Rodrigo Moreno Machado was extremely close to not being on this list. Despite a prolific scoring streak as a youth team player with Celta Vigo and an impressive haul of strikes at junior international level, we were unconvinced by the Brazil born forward as 2011 drew to a close.
We weren’t the only ones. Despite being snatched from Celta by Real Madrid in 2010 and ascending rapidly through the ranks at the Santiago Bernabéu, Real were more than happy to accept Benfica’s €6m offer for a teenage striker just one year after acquiring his services. A series of assurances from ‘in the know’ types in Spain meant we took something of a leap of faith when publishing this list in December 2011 by including the boy Rodrigo. It’s a good job we listened.
While the fee set by Madrid appeared excessive, Benfica were exceptionally keen. Glorioso had tracked the player during his time at Celta, were keen to purchase when Real first stepped in and were pleased to finally land the Spanish Under 19 international at the second time of asking. Interested to see how Rodrigo fared elsewhere over the coming years, Madrid retained an option to buy their former player back at a future date, a clause that was later removed as part of the deal that took Fábio Coentrão to the Bernabéu.
Benfica knew what they were doing. Keeping their player back until fully ready, Rodrigo was offered on loan to a number of European sides, with a spell of toughening up in the English Premier League at Bolton Wanderers the preferred destination for player and club.
A total of nineteen appearances under Owen Coyle, predominantly as a substitute, offered Rodrigo the chance to try something different and he was clearly adapting to the unforgiving Premier League style of play during his stay in the North West. A request for a further loan period at Bolton in the 2011-12 season was rejected by Benfica as they readied their young striker for regular selection in Portugal’s top flight.
During the last year Moreno has performed well, very well actually, and the faith that Benfica maintained in their young striker has been rewarded. From a mixture of starts and substitute appearances over the last eighteen months, Rodrigo has managed a goal every 124 minutes for his current employer, an excellent return for any striker. Goals are continuing to arrive in more frequent bursts and Rodrigo is starting to look the finished article as a top class finisher in a strong division. If we are going to draw comparisons here, we see lot of Guiseppe Rossi, the injury prone Italian front man who also possesses a knack of being in the right place at the right time.
International level has been a pleasant hunting ground too, and Rodrigo’s superb record for the Spanish under 21’s (11 strikes from 7 starts) suggest that it will not be too long before the Rio born hitman finds himself in Vicente del Bosque’s plans….especially if Brazil consider exercising their right to make a call.
"For such a youthful player he's got lovely fluid movement, and his finishing is deadly. Only problem at the moment is he can't into the team ahead of Lima & Cardozo. He will though, massive long contract and buyout clause." - Ben Shave (PortuGOAL)
C+ More than just a poacher, but goalscoring looks so easy. Could be a major player for years to come

 

[Mediocrates]

I wanted him last summer. I'd be very keen on this although the fee looks low at £10 million. He's got a touch of the Van Persie's about him, Rodrigo does. It's a shame this only from the Mirror.

 

[The Scarecrow]

Rodrigo would be great signing. He's a bit like PEA, with his physique being his main strength, and he can also play on the wing.

 

[Hoopspur]

I take it this is the guy that was talked up as the Spanish wonderkid striker? From what I've seen of him he's a proper striker that maybe has a touch of Torres about him. A good bit of business I reckon if we could get him for a decent price.

 

[Snarfalicious]

I personally am more intrigued by Rodrigo's talent than Damiao's. I've watched him quite a bit as ESPN3 often features Benfica and while he doesn't get a ton of playing time due to Cardozo, he still often comes on and makes a quick impact. He's definitely a very impressive player.

 

[andyp8080]

Well based on the video he has a bit of everything...... Lets sign him

 

[Syn_13]

So a quick wiki tells me this kid has a goal rate for Benfica of 29 goals in 71 games over the past couple of seasons for Benfica. An average of pretty much 1 goal per 2.44 games. This is pretty decent, and it's better than Ade's average of 2.65 over the last 2 seasons, and Defoe's average of 2.53 (Defoe has a Spurs career total of 2.56 games per goal average, including pre-Portsmouth - not that amazing for an out-and-out goalscorer, to be fair).

Rodrigo manages decent stats whilst playing 2nd (or 3rd) fiddle behind Lima and Cardozo, who are utter goal machines for Benfica, so his tally is pretty good when you take that into account. However, what really strikes me is that he plays for one of the best youth squads in the world in the Spain U21s and has a brilliant 14 goals in 12 games tally. Now that is impressive, bearing in mind the kind of competition for that spot.

He really does look a good prospect and one we should seriously consider.

 

[ecce_tottenham]

He turns out great at Fifa!

I bought him summer 2013, an he's currently half way through his first season with stats of 86.

Computer games don't lie!

 

[CJMurray]

Starting up front for Spain u21's today

 

[bceej]

Starting up front for Spain u21's today

Hasn't really seen much of the ball, Spain's style of play hasn't really brought him into the game, they're attacking from the wings with Tello and Muniain, the latter of which has not lived up to the years of hype, seems to be panicking a fair bit when attacking the box.

 

[RJ1882]

Isco, Tello, Munian, Rodrigo all playing. Thiago too. Can't say they look like a bunch of players that would cost probably £80m to buy.

 

[danielneeds]

Watched a bit of him against Germany U21s. Looked OK, pacey and tricky, but didn't really see that much of the ball. Was playing as a right forward.

 

[rabbikeane]

I'd sign him if it was to help Thiago settle

 

[voxy28]

Sign him and use the rest of the funds for Bernard...

 

[Barry Mead]

Personally if we want a young Spanish striker I think we should be after Alvaro Morata from Real, he's pretty frustrated at lack of first team playing time

 

[EJWTartanSpur]

Hey guys, thought I'd pass on some reports from a Spanish friend of mine who lives in Lisbon and attends Benfica games regularly.......

From last year

Rodrigo (ESP) - Benfica - Forward - 21 years-old - Approx fee: €30M
Already mentioned him elsewhere. Enormous potential, will definitely be one of the top 5 strikers in the world in some years, in my opinion. Has amazing pace and dribbling skills. Finishes off moves in a perfect way. Is able to drift around the pitch looking for spaces to cut in. Has very good technique when striking the ball. Is very hard-working. Will still develop his heading skills, which aren't great, but has the physical presence to clash defenders in the air. Most of all, his electric pace and exquisite dribbles really put defences never knowing what to expect from him.

ha..Rodrigo.. Our little secret...

Don't mean to sound cocky or something, but mark my words guys: Rodrigo will be one of the top strikers in the world, in two or three years.

Rodrigo was born in Brasil, but came to Spain with 12 years old. The great brasilian former player Mazinho (father of Barça's Thiago) brought them both to Spain. Thiago went to Barça, Rodrigo went to Celta and later Real Madrid. He was starting to show great ability and was about to be handed an opportunity in Madrid's pre-season, along with making extraordinary exhibitions with the Spain U-19 and U-20 squads.

But in came Benfica and he was bought in the beginning of the 2010/11 season for €6M. He was instantly loaned to Bolton, where i believe he grew in terms of strength, even though he didn't play much (as a consequence of Bolton's style of play..). In the original transfer to Benfica, Madrid had agreed a clause for beeing able to buy him back for €12M. Such clause was agreed to be dropped by both clubs when Coentrão signed from Benfica to Madrid the subsequent year (and THAT's a real shame, in my opinion..another one that gets away...). Anyway..Madrid no longer has any clause to buy him back and he's now solely a Benfica player.

He has done a wonderful debut season. Scored 16 goals alongside Cardozo, stealing Saviola's starting spot...

He's tremendously fast and an exquisite dribbler. His technique is something very special. Fantastic ability to make first-time shots. Very good movement, disrupting defences and creating opportunities for himself and others. Benfica play a very fluid kind of game, with a very intense attacking vibe. He fits in greatly, with his movement and his ability to score goals from all areas of the attack. Like i said, he has mostly featured alongside Cardozo, but he has played on his own upfront too, or diverting inside from the right side of the wing, like a forward. Being left-footed, he strikes them really well, coming from the right side. He's very very fast and already a very good striker.

He totally has the physique to succeed. In any league. And the technique to go with it! Plus, he's a very balanced person, with his feet in the ground. Works very hard for the team, too - very good work ethic.

Will definitely be one of the top strikers in the world in a couple of year

This year

Rodrigo has been developing extremely well, under Benfica's guidance. Last season was the "inital impact" season, and he made a fantastic rise to prominence. This year, his equally good season was somewhat overshadowed by the emergence of another great striker, 29 year-old Lima, who scored 30 official goals this season for Benfica (Cardozo scored 33). Lima's amazing form meant that Rodrigo made less starting appearances and more irregular starts and sub appearances, as Euan mentioned.

He did, nevertheless, score 11 official goals and, most of all, he lent the team his very good versatility in attack, making Benfica a very menacing and unpredictable attacking force. He's developing fast and accordingly to the great expectations there is on him.

He can play in any of the three attacking slots in a 4-3-3, or be a great mobile partner for a more target striker, in a front duo.

He's also the all-time top scorer for Spain U-21.
That price, however, is not at all right, i believe... I'd say that it would be twice that value... I'm not sure Benfica are prepared to let him leave, though. And his Release Clause is €45M...