Ancelotti's shoulder, Eric and Denise's "mental calm" and the help of a coach: this is how Rodrygo Goes' drought ended

Between August 12 and October 24, 73 days passed and 11 matches were played by Real Madrid. 11 games, with 90 minutes in each, in which Rodrygo Goes failed to score a single goal. In another season this figure would have been just another statistic, but this summer the reality of the white team and the Brazilian forward has changed.. Rodrygo is no longer that promising young man who accompanied Benzema, Vinicius or Asensio. It is, after the departures of the Frenchman and the Spaniard and the injuries of his compatriot, the beginning and end of the attack of the 14-time European champion. A responsibility that, at just 22 years old, the former Santos player has had to manage as best he could, weathering the storm, relying on his people and breaking out of his shell when there were the most doubts about him.

There are five goals and four assists in the last three games, just at the most difficult moment for Madrid, pressured by the injuries of Vinicius, Camavinga, Tchouaméni, Güler, Militao, Courtois and Kepa and pending the discomfort in Bellingham's shoulder. “Rodrygo is going to score more goals than Jude,” Ancelotti warned a few weeks ago, in the midst of the Englishman's scoring effervescence and in the middle of the Brazilian's drought.. And the Italian's trust in the attacker is one of the reasons for his latest explosion. “He has always told him not to worry, that with his football everything would happen,” they say from Valdebebas.

In the summer, the coach assumed that the solution to Benzema's 'goodbye' was the arrival of Bellingham, a change of system that would enhance the virtues of his midfield and a forward that would give minutes for the consecration of Vinicius and the definitive explosion of Rodrygo, key in the roadmap of the Bernabéu technical direction. Not in vain, Madrid left almost 100 million between the two when they had barely debuted in professional football. “The man of this season is Rodrygo,” he said in the sports city in the summer months.

“All the love in the world”

Rodrygo had been capital in the Champions League, where he is already the fourth top scorer in the club's history (17) behind Cristiano, Benzema and Raúl, but in the League he had not finished being completely regular. In Europe, his performances and goals against Chelsea and City put Madrid on track for 14th place, but in the national competition he barely accumulated 16 goals in four seasons.. Did it make sense to put Madrid's goals on your shoulders?

Without Benzema, waiting eternally for Mbappé, the signing of Kane was rejected and other options of less quality and more price were ruled out, Ancelotti focused on strengthening his young people. But things didn't work out at some points at the beginning of the season.. Neither Vinicius nor Rodrygo, but Bellingham's appearance overshadowed almost everything. The doubts, as always, came when no victories were achieved. After the 3-1 of the Madrid derby at the Metropolitano, after the 1-1 at Pizjuán and after the 0-0 against Rayo.

“We give Rodrygo all the love in the world,” Ancelotti insisted while the Brazilian accumulated a goal in the League and another in the Champions League.. Already at the end of October, he was the player in the five major leagues who had taken the most shots without scoring. He scored in Braga, almost on the rebound, but still with a small black cloud.

“Calm of mind”

At that moment, under pressure from the Real Madrid environment, Rodrygo found peace at home. «His greatest supporters are his parents, Eric and Denise. “They are always with him,” explain those who know him best.. In them, which he had as a teenager, he goes to have “mental calm” in happy moments but also in the most worrying ones.. And it hasn't been just any year for Rodrygo. In sports, he has signed an important renewal until 2028 and personally, he became the father of twins at the end of 2022, the result of a relationship with a Brazilian influencer with whom he now shares custody.

To help him manage his career, Rodrygo, advised by his father, hired a famous Brazilian mental coach a few months ago, Joel Jota, who had already collaborated with other footballers such as Gilberto Silva and who has 3 million followers on social networks and 5 million books sold. But yes, the best coach is in Valdebebas: «Ancelotti has insisted that he did not want a number of goals, but his imagination and association in the last meters.. The rest would arrive,” explain sources close to the white locker room, where they once again put the Italian as the 'father' of all the young people in the squad.

The renewal with Madrid has also come at an interesting time for the Brazilian's entourage, who are in the midst of searching for a new representation agency.. Its market value, 100 million, makes it a treasure.