Rodri, whose real name is Rodrigo Hernández Cascante, occupies a central position for the English club Manchester City. In 2024, he was honored with the Ballon d’Or as the best player in the world. His role at Manchester City is unrivaled. Not only does he have the ability to control the pace of the game, but his intelligence on the field helps him understand every phase of the game.
The role of the holding midfielder in Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City is not one of 11 different roles on the field. It is the basis of all 11 roles. Rodri is one of the best modern examples of this role. In 2026, fans will follow the Premier League on sites like Melbet. This allows them to see how an athlete can influence the outcome of matches in their team’s favor in various ways.
The Positional Framework
Guardiola demands more from his holding midfielder than just breaking up play; he wants them to be equally adept at building attacks and ensuring the team keeps hold of the ball. Rodri, thanks to his spatial awareness and exceptional timing, ticks these boxes too. Indeed, follow his movements in any game—via the Melbet Myanmar app, for instance—and you’ll see how regularly his heat map alters.
Rodri frequently positions himself between the center-backs or slightly deeper to support in building play from the back. This results in a makeshift back three, allowing the full-backs to advance up the field and the goalkeeper an extra outlet. Rodri also sets up camp between the opposition midfield and forward line, at times. He receives the ball at his feet and spins to progress it upfield.
He is one of the best players in the world at resisting pressure in tight spaces. EPL1.net pointed out that he completed 89 passes against Liverpool on 94 touches (94.7%) and had 14 progressive passes with an assist in that game.
What Rodri Does That Others Cannot
It is the full combination of his abilities that makes Rodri irreplaceable for Manchester City. Other midfielders may share some of these qualities, but no other midfielder in the Premier League brings all of them together at the same level that Rodri does. Several key qualities make Rodri stand out from the others:
- Resistance to Pressure: Rodri can absorb intense pressing in central areas of the pitch without losing the ball to opponents.
- Progressive Passing: His passes are designed to stretch the opposition midfield and feed the attackers in dangerous areas of the pitch.
- Defensive Reading: He is able to cut off passing lanes before opponents even consider using them as an option.
- Positional Discipline: He stays in the correct area to prevent counterattacks from breaking through the middle of the pitch.
- Late Runs: He times his runs into the box to punish any defensive lapses by the opponents.
His goal that defined the 2023 Champions League final against Inter Milan is a good example of this last point: an unmarked late run into space, because no Inter defender in his right mind would have spent the previous 90 minutes expecting a holding midfielder to turn up in that area of the pitch at that juncture of the game.
One thing that makes Rodri different from other midfielders in his position is the speed at which he processes information on the pitch. While other midfielders usually need an extra touch to settle the ball before they decide what to do, Rodri scans the field before the pass even reaches him.
By the time the ball arrives at his feet, he already knows what he wants to do – whether it is to release the ball quickly to a winger, switch the play to the opposite flank, or carry the ball forward into space himself. Guardiola has often praised this habit of Rodri in press conferences, and he has called pre-scanning the most underrated skill in modern midfield play.
Rodri’s influence also extends into training, where teammates say he helps organize the press and corrects positioning in real time, almost like an on-field coach.
The Defensive Screen
When Manchester City loses possession of the ball, Rodri does not chase the ball without a plan. Instead, what Rodri does is block the most direct route to the goal by positioning himself between the opponent and the goal. Goalkeeper Ederson, along with defenders Rúben Dias and Nathan Aké, have all spoken about how important and how demanding this job actually is. By forcing the opponents to play sideways instead of forward, Rodri gives Manchester City’s attackers the time they need to regroup and press again.
Guardiola often adjusts the shape of the team around Rodri, especially in matches against stronger opposition teams. The standard 4-3-3 formation can shift into a 4-1-4-1 formation, with Rodri sitting as the single pivot in the middle of the midfield. This setup closes the space in front of the defense and also limits what dangerous opponents can do in central areas of the pitch.
This role also requires patience from the player. Rather than diving into challenges and risking yellow cards from the referee, Rodri delays the attackers just long enough for his defenders to recover their shape behind him. He also uses his body angle to force opponents wide, away from the central zones of the pitch where most goals are usually scored.
The System Without Him
During the 2024/25 season, the absence of Rodri made his importance very obvious to everyone at the club. Without Rodri in the side, City lost 14 of 48 league matches, compared to just 8 defeats in 111 matches with Rodri in the side since the 2021/22 season. Guardiola experimented with using Mateo Kovačić and Nico González in the holding midfielder role. Both of them performed at a reasonable level, but neither of them could fully replicate Rodri’s combination of composure on the ball, defensive awareness, and forward thinking in the same match.
Real Madrid has reportedly kept an eye on the developments at City, as they’ve missed a deep-lying playmaking midfielder since Toni Kroos hung up his boots. It is of utmost importance for Manchester City to tie Rodri down to a long-term deal. The holding midfielder’s spot in a Guardiola side is not just like any other role on the pitch; it is a linchpin in how the entire team operates on the football field. And Rodri, right now, is the man who makes that happen for Manchester City.
