It has taken him time to adjust, but now that Minnesota United forward Ángelo Rodriguez is acclimating to life in MLS he is showing flashes of the pace and power that convinced team brass to make him the second Designated Player in club history and has them believing the sky is the limit for the Colombian.
After taking a few weeks to catch up and recover after the end of his season with Deportes Tolima, Rodriguez has made back-to-back starts up top for MNUFC. He is still adapting to MLS, but the first 156 minutes of his Loons career has already given his coaches and teammates reason to believe he is only scratching the surface of his potential as a double-digit goal-scorer.
“Little by little we’re gaining the rhythm that we want,” Rodriguez said, via a translator. “Now I have played two games as well, I hope to be at the high level of my teammates and contribute all of what Angelo Rodriguez has to offer.”
Rodriguez — or “the big guy,” as Head Coach Adrian Heath has referred to him — has shown early on in his MNUFC career that part of what he has to offer is a physical presence in opponents’ halves of the field and an unrelenting work rate. During games, Minnesota measures players’ output in terms of distance covered and high-intensity running and Heath said Rodriguez’s numbers against Los Angeles last weekend were the highest the team has had all season.
“We thought we were getting a big, physical presence and that is what he has proved,” Heath said. “When you see somebody up front working like that, it has a ripple effect on everybody else.”
Rodriguez’s strength grants him tremendous ability to hold the ball up in the attacking half, the ripple effect of which encourages others to go up in support and run ahead of the ball. Rodriguez compliments that with game-breaking speed to break away from, and create a mess for, defenders, which he exhibited on a pair of chances against the Galaxy. His speed and strength wears down defenders, and Assistant Coach Ian Fuller believes that is exactly what MNUFC is going to need to find success on its current road trip and beyond.
“Angelo’s shoulders are the size of a tanker, so it is not an easy task for defenders” Assistant Coach Ian Fuller said. “I think particularly on the road, with the way we are going to have to play, he is going to be massive holding the ball up. That physicality aspect of it is going to be massive for the Loons going forward.
“I think he is getting better and better and stronger and stronger,” he added.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR: A NEW LOOK FOR THE LOONS?
With defender Francisco Calvo and midfielder Collen Warner serving red card and yellow card accumulation suspensions, respectively, Heath will be forced to make at least two changes to Minnesota’s lineup this Saturday against FC Dallas.
“It is what it is and we have to move on,” Heath said. “Francisco is not available and Collen is not available. The guys who have been waiting patiently for an opportunity will get one. Now it is up to them.”
MNUFC has usually opted for a more defensive-oriented approach on the road, slotting defender Eric Miller in at wingback over midfielder Alexi Gomez, but more drastic changes may be needed in the absence of two key defensive cogs. Heath was tight-lipped about his plans for the game, but said maintaining a 3-5-2 formation with like-for-like replacements is one option and left open the possibility of a more drastic change in shape.
The Loons moved to a 3-4-3 look late on last Saturday in Los Angeles, but a return to the 4-2-3-1 they started the season with would be a better bet if Heath opts to change his team’s setup. Such a move would push midfielder Miguel Ibarra and either Gomez or midfielder Romario Ibarra farther up the field.
After coming off the bench to score his first MLS goal last week, Romario is an intriguing option for Minnesota this week — especially with forward Darwin Quintero listed as questionable. Heath said the Ecuador international is “looking fitter” and he could be in line to make his first start since signing in July.
“It was good to get Romario on the score sheet,” Heath said. “He came in and was not as fit as he would have liked. Because he is such an explosive player we have had to take our time in building his fitness up.”
