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Jesse Marsch says Leeds United star has the talent to be ‘one of the best players in the world’
Leeds United manager Jesse Marsch says Rodrigo could have become one of the world’s best players if he had worked with him sooner.
Marsch has written an article for the ahead of the World Cup where his native United States of America will face England in the group stage.
He bemoaned the fact that he did not get a chance to work with Rodrigo as a teenager, because he thinks he has the talent to be up there with the best on the planet.
Marsch on Rodrigo
He said: “A big part of uncovering the potential of players is uncovering the potential of the people. You have to get to know players to really unearth the potential of their personality, within what their qualities are as a player.
“And that’s often the fun for me of being a coach. A lot of times with me it’s young players, but that’s not always the case.
“We have Rodrigo at Leeds, and he’s 31 and I’ve even had a conversation with him at one point and said it’s too bad I didn’t know him when he was 18 because I could have helped make him one of the best players in the world — I truly believe that.
“But in the process at Leeds, we’re still uncovering new potentials for him and he’s committed and adapted incredibly well.
“But to do that I’ve had to really get to know Rodrigo as a person and what makes him tick. What are his vulnerabilities? What are his insecurities? What things make him stronger? What are the things he likes?”
This feels like a big claim that even most Leeds fans would raise their eyebrows about.
But it sums up Marsch’s positivity and also his ability to coach improvement out of the players he manages.
Rodrigo has still had a top career; could he have gone to another level if he had worked with Marsch sooner?
That is purely hypothetical but Leeds fans will hope that the Spaniard keeps improving under the Whites boss and help fire them up the table.