Football is simple for complete midfielder Rodri

It’s quite easy, in this modern world, to miss the forest looking for trees. In footballing parlance, this equates to lacking perspective and blindly over-rating goals and assists at the expense of the hidden metrics that make the game tick. It is in this context that Rodri securing the Golden Ball in the FIFA World Cup calls for attention and praise. The Spanish captain, who led La Roja to their second global crown, could’ve easily been overlooked for the glamorous numbers of Lionel Messi (eight goals & four assists) or Kylian Mbappe (10 & four). But the quiet and assured presence the defensive midfielder commanded was enough to make him the first outfield player to win the Best Player award without recording a single goal or assist. Rodri’s genius is not easy to quantify; it lies in his simplicity and positional discipline.