Brazil vs Argentina: Rodrygo set for Selecao debut against Lionel Messi after overtaking Vinicius Jr at Real Madrid

New kid on the block: Rodrygo
REUTERS
Ben Hayward15 November 2019

It does not take long for a young player to be hyped at Real Madrid.

Since hitting a superb hat-trick in Madrid's 6-0 win over Galatasaray in the Champions League earlier this month, Brazilian Rodrygo has been compared to fellow Santos graduate Pele, to Raul and to Lionel Messi.

The 18-year-old's treble in Europe was the youngest by any player since Raul in 1995. And after a poll on Spanish sports show El Chiringuito asked whether the young Brazilian or Barcelona's Ansu Fati was the more talented player, one indignant pundit declared that, from now on, he must only be compared to Messi.

That is Real Madrid. Not so long ago, Jese Rodriguez was tipped in the local media as a future Ballon d'Or winner and described by one prominent journalist as a better player than Neymar. "Time will put each of them in their place," Tomas Roncero said. It did.

None of that is helpful to Rodrygo and coach Zinedine Zidane has sought to protect his young star from the hype and expectation generated at the Santiago Bernabeu. It is, however, an impossible task.

Last season, Vinicius Junior was the player being bigged up by the Madrid media. And although the former Flamengo youngster was indeed a bright spot in a troubled season, he remained raw and far from the finished article. It was too much, too young. And too soon.

This term, Vinicius has struggled to make an impact. In fact, he has not been the same player since his injury in Real Madrid's Champions League loss and elimination against Ajax last March.

Although he continues to look lively, the 19-year-old's shooting is still extremely erratic and technically, he has much to improve.

"What Vinicius lacks is not easy to achieve or to learn," former Real Madrid coach Jorge Valdano said recently. "And it can't be got from one day to the next."

In Pictures | Real Madrid vs Galatasaray | 06/11/2019

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Vinicius has been overtaken by Rodrygo at Real and also with Brazil, with only the latter named in Tite's squad for the friendlies against Argentina and South Korea this week.

"I have spoken to Rodrygo and I told him he should be very proud of his behaviour," Tite said ahead of Friday's friendly in Riyadh. "He can be proud of his personality and his attitude."

With Neymar out, the 18-year-old looks set to make his debut and will face Messi for the first time, after last month's scheduled Clasico clash between Barcelona and Real Madrid was postponed until December.

After starting the season in Real's youth team, it is a remarkable rise by the teenage forward and this time, the hype looks justified -- even if comparing him to Pele and Messi remains unhelpful.

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