Rodri vs. Scotland. It’s not a battle anyone saw coming, but the Manchester City midfielder has somehow built up quite the rivalry with the footballing peoples of the British country.
It all stems back to the qualifier at Hampden Park earlier this year, where the Scots won thanks to a performance full of grit and heart – and more than a little gamesmanship.
Interviewed after the game, Rodri (who is used to winning 99% of games he plays in) couldn’t help but lash out, saying “that was of playing… always wasting time and provoking you, diving, for me that’s not football.”
That understandably infuriated Scottish fans, but after Spain’s 2-0 win in the reverse fixture last night, Rodri was understandably more magnanimous.
He qualified his quote from before, clarifying that he never insulted the Scottish style of football, simply their non-footballing actions like the time wasting and diving. “I always respect the playing style of any team,” he said in quotes picked up by Marca.
That doesn’t sound like it will have solved things entirely, but it’s nice for him to at least have tried…
