Barcelona manager Hansi Flick did not know it at the time, but he could easily have been describing Rodri in April when he spoke about what his side needs to get even better.
"We need players with leadership on the pitch," Flick, who has guided Barça to back-to-back LaLiga titles in his two years with the club, said. "This is important in the [key] moments. It's about speaking or telling a teammate 'One or two meters left or right, or press.' This is what we need on the pitch, to speak more."
Rodri, described as the "computer who makes Spain tick" by 2026 World Cup-winning coach Luis de la Fuente, fits that description to a tee. One example among many came when Spain were behind against Georgia in the Euro 2024 round of 16: Rodri literally stopped in the middle of the pitch, the ball at his feet, and told his teammates what to do. Spain won that game 4-1, and later won the tournament, too.
"At that moment, I thought that was what I had to do," Rodri told ESPN after the game. "It was a little bit mad; 10 minutes where we lost control. Sometimes, 20 or 30 seconds of saying to people 'Calm down' is more productive than going on the attack."