Friday, March 29

“Humility is the basis of success”


Luis del Sol Sports City, Seville. Rodri Sánchez (Talayuela, 2000) has just completed one of his last training sessions with Betis in a season that he will always remember as the first in which he won a professional title. The Extremaduran is simple and, at the same time, very mature, possibly the result of the many experiences that, despite his only 22 years, he has had throughout his time in some of the best quarries on the national scene. This journey ended in 2016 when he arrived at Betis, the club that offered him, after many comings and goings, the stability and confidence that every footballer wants.

Raised both personally and soccer-wise in Talayuela, he started there playing futsal and soccer 7 and then went through the Moralo youth academy. «It is difficult because in Extremadura there are few football outlets and you have to find your tricks a bit. Something better there because it is a bigger town, his team is in the Third Division and there is a bit more level », he comments about his time in Navalmoral.

After passing through Moralo, he ended his journey in the region to seek his luck elsewhere outside the region. His first destination at this stage was Real Madrid –where he spent a trial pre-season–, the first of many before arriving at Real Betis. «My father bet a lot on me because he saw something in me, that’s what he has always told me, and he pushed forward to test me in Madrid. The technicians who were in the tests saw something and said that that year he was going to do the preseason with the Alevín A of Madrid. I did the preseason, they told me it was fine, but they wanted to send me to Canillas (a club closely linked to Real Madrid). The following two years (one at Canillas and another at Atlético), beatings by car because, being so small, there was no residence at Canillas. We were going three days a week, 400 kilometers every day. At the end of the course, Atleti called me first and the following week Madrid. I decided to go to the one that called me first and the one that bet the strongest on me, Atleti. Then at Atleti it was four days and there was no residence either, so another beating, ”says the Talayuelan.

After his experience in the Spanish capital, he went through Espanyol, Barça – where he coincided with Ansu Fati or his current teammate and national team, Juan Miranda – and Deportivo. In La Coruña, despite feeling important, his personal situation was not the best. “When I was at Depor, I was playing everything and I was very well seen there, but I didn’t feel comfortable myself. I didn’t feel good in the city because I was in a student residence. I was a bit lonely in the residence, in a very beautiful city, but not very cheerful because of the weather and the climate. Being a kid with 15 years, you get depressed. I spent six months from Friday to Monday alone in my room, “confesses Rodri.

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Return to Talayuela and arrival at Betis

At that moment, the player, still very young, decided to stop everything and return to his origins, return to Talayuela for a few months. «I decided to go and look for happiness and in the end happiness was going to the town. I was very comfortable with my friends, playing there with them. He rejuvenated me, so to speak ». Shortly after his return to his homeland, Betis knocked on his door. «They already wanted me previous years and told me to come to train. I returned to the town in January and in March I came to train with Betis. That same day they told me to stay there, but I said no more sudden change, that, if they wanted me for the following year, I would be happy to come. And so it was, I signed to start in the next preseason and the truth is that Betis has given me everything. It’s my club and I’m delighted.” Thus began his story with Betis, a team whose proposal made him leave Talayuela again, his town, which he does not forget. «I have a lot of appreciation for Talayuela. When I have days off, I go there to be mostly with my family and friends. When I go I do the same as always. Same friends, same outings, same places. All equal”. Looking ahead, Rodri talks about the present and the future of one of the careers with the most projection in Spanish football and also one of the great hopes of football in Extremadura.

A regular with the Spanish under-21 team, this Friday he started in the win against Northern Ireland (0-6) on the penultimate day of the qualifying phase for the European Championships in Romania and Georgia 2023, which will close on Tuesday in Melilla against Malta .

-He has been in the Betis first team for two seasons: two European qualifications and a title in a club that had not had a good time in recent times…

-The season has been very special because we have won the Cup and our objectives have been met. Individually, I am very happy because I have been a participant until I was injured and I spent 3 or 4 months limping, but everything that I have been available, I have been participating. The two years I’ve been with the first team have been perfect, because last year we got into Europe, which was the main objective. The players, the staff, the coaches and the management have moved very well for everything, they have done a very good job and we have also done ours very well. It has been compensated with last year entering Europe, this year entering Europe via the Cup and via the League. With the achievement of the Cup, after 17 years without achieving it, you also enter the history of this piece of club.

-He was the first academy player to debut with Pellegrini at Betis and, since then, he has given him a lot of confidence. What has Manuel Pellegrini meant for you and your career?

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-Pellegrini is the coach who has given me everything. It is very difficult to bet on a kid from the subsidiary who a year ago was in the Third Division with Betis Deportivo, to go forward with him and have that decision. Last year I was also important, he put me in complicated scenarios playing us a lot of ‘potatoes’. I have always told my family that I am extremely grateful to Manuel and he is the coach who has given me everything because, if he does not throw that decision forward, maybe he would not be here. I have also worked and worked hard to restore that confidence, because, obviously, if I am not at the level that he has to see me, he would not play and would not be in this squad.

-You have also gained the trust of Luis de la Fuente, coach of the sub 21. Do you see yourself one day with the shirt of the absolute?

-The first thing is to do it well, as we are doing with the U-21s. It would be a dream to debut with the senior team of my country. It all starts with the sub 21, which Luis trusts me a lot. Every time I’ve gone he has put me. He has had the courage to put me on and I have returned that trust. It is a dream that, if it is done well in the sub 21, why not?

–How do you manage on a personal level being young and a First Division footballer? Do your older colleagues help you in this regard?

I am a person with my feet on the ground. You can not believe more than anyone. I’m the same kid I was before. It is true that people see you differently, they ask you for photos, they ask you for autographs, but I take it with the same tune. I try to please people and make them feel comfortable. Even if they catch me eating and they ask me for a photo, I have no problem because if I were a child or a fan, I would also like to have a photo or an autograph of a footballer. I take it great because it’s my job and I love what I do. I will never change because nothing can go up, because everything that goes up comes down. You have to maintain that composure because humility is always a bit of the basis of success, because where you come from you never have to lose it. Many companions, being young, help you in many aspects of life. Here is an exceptional group: Germán Pezzella, William Carvalho, Joaquín… they all help me.

-Extremadura exports many footballers, but the teams in the region, as we are currently seeing, have problems surviving, especially in higher categories. What do you think of the current situation of football in Extremadura?

-It is true that they bring out good kids, but in the first teams it is difficult to maintain situations due to money, players… There are few good situations in football and, if there are, they last a year or at most two. We have seen Extremadura or Badajoz, who have been fighting for promotion for three years and, as they have not achieved it, now the situation is complicated. The Extremadura, the same, they stayed and the following year they could no longer and, when you go down, they liquidate you. There are teams like Albacete or Córdoba, for example, that go up and down because they have more partners, they have more history, they are bigger cities, more investors… It’s more attractive. But little by little, you never know. That some investor arrives tomorrow is the only thing that can save it a little. I think one day there will be something in the elite.

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-Betis showed their trust in him by renewing him in January until 2026. How do you see the future of your career and of the club?

-On a personal level, I am very happy here with the coach and the directors, who have given me the opportunity to be here for many years, to show me that confidence by putting me in one of the most attractive and best squads that, for me, has had the Betis. It is a privilege to be there, to have been a participant and to play, because it is one thing to be a participant and not play, but the truth is that they have shown me confidence. I have played, I have been important and that is a luxury. I hope to continue as we are, grow at Betis, if possible, and play many games. I am very happy here and I want to continue advancing and growing. At a collective level, that Betis gets better every day, that every year it climbs a step. We are seeing that in these two years a giant step has been taken and we want to continue like this, because Betis is a historic and great player in Spain.

Detail of the Copa del Rey tattoo on the right leg of Rodri Sánchez. / PACO DIAZ

Rodrigo’s tattoo

«For four or five years I wanted to get a tattoo and I did not do it for fear of needles. I did it all together because I tried it once, it didn’t hurt and I did it all in a matter of 20 days. I have a few, but not many. I don’t plan to do more. I have tattooed some details, some things that mean a lot to me. One of those moments with great meaning for Talayuela was winning the Copa del Rey. Rodri, like some colleagues like Borja Iglesias, Andrés Guardado or Sergio Canales did, tattooed on his right leg the image of the historic Cup won with his team.


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