“He's a guy who gave me a good welcome, received me very well here and knew the right time to put me in to play and to prepare me.“Now I believe that if I'm playing fine, he has a lot to do with it. National player: Born in January 2001 and raised in the middle-class region of Osasco, Rodrygo had little choice but to enter the footballing fraternity. But my mother also understands a lot. It's my base. At the start of the 2010s, Robinho remained one of the most recognisable faces in world football, even if his headline-grabbing move to Manchester City had not gone the way either he or the newly cash-rich Premier League club had hoped. “My mum - she doesn't show up so much when the story of my life is told, but she is essential, maybe even more than my father. In the football world, it is the fashion to label every extraordinarily talented young player as the newer version of an established star, rather than allowing them to build a reputation of their own.
“Family means everything to me.
It is an unnecessary pressure that ends up being thrown at me. “It is a dream come true. BLESSED with raw talent, Rodrygo Goes is the latest Brazilian sensation that has got football fans talking. I'm just getting started, so making this comparison with him is kind of hard. “It is the club that welcomed me when I was 10, gave me everything until I was 18, and I can only thank Santos.“It is the club that will always be in my heart, not only because I am a fan, but for all that it has done for me and for all my family, for all the support it has given. Robinho, too, began his career at Santos, playing over 100 Serie A games for the Brazilian giants before leaving for Europe as a 21-year-old.A decade later Neymar followed an almost identical path, as he too racked up a century of Santos league matches before swapping Brazil for Barcelona having just turned 21. He helps me a lot every day, talks to me, tells me what I need to improve, extols what I have been doing well.The 19-year-old’s arrival came 12 months on from that of compatriot Vinicius Junior, with the duo then joined by fellow Brazilian Reinier in January as Zidane’s attack of the future begins to take on a samba flavour. Madridistas had a new hero to worship. AS Report Making just his second Champions League start, within 375 seconds of kick-off against Galatasaray the teenager had already got himself on the scoresheet twice.When the Blancos were awarded a penalty in the 14th minute, the opportunity arrived for him to score the fastest hat-trick in the competition’s history. Rodrygo’s coming out party against Galatasaray was followed swiftly by a Brazil debut as he played the final 20 minutes of his country’s 1-0 friendly defeat to Argentina in November.A place in the squad for next summer’s defence of the Copa America is within his grasp if he can rediscover his 2019 form. With the game entering injury time and Madrid 5-0 up, he picked up possession on the left around 40 yards from goal before driving inside.Having played the ball into Karim Benzema he continued his run to latch onto the return pass and poke the ball in for his hat-trick, and a perfect one at that.In doing so he became the first player born in the 21st century to score a treble in Europe’s premier club competition, as well as the second-youngest ever to take home the match ball. “That is the biggest dream of every Brazilian boy, to wear this shirt,” he says as he reflects on his Selecao bow. Santos had their new star attraction. They are idols for me.“I saw Pele play a little [on video], but, according to everything they say, he is the greatest in history, so he is an idol. His celebration? “I know it's a big responsibility, that's why I always have to do things, the right things, because I know that there are people who mirror me, there are people who will sometimes copy me in what I do.
For Rodrygo growing up in Sao Paulo, it was no different. “I always said to avoid these comparisons. Let's see, I still don't know.” The promise of three Brazilian players of the same generation leading the line for Real Madrid has not been lost on those back home.The 2022 World Cup will mark two decades since the Selecao last lifted the most famous trophy of them all, with the last four tournaments returning just a solitary semi-final appearance for a nation who reached the final of the three previous editions. He travelled a lot back and forth, which is natural in a player's life. I will always take this phrase with me, whether here, in the Brazilian national team, wherever I am.“He told me not to be afraid of anything, to play my game, play my football and not to be afraid of anything at all in my life. imago images