Ricardo Rodriguez: the truth behind his absence in Napoli vs Milan
Ricardo Rodriguez absence from the starting lineup against Napoli caused a lot of noise with many criticizing Montella for this choice. But the truth is a bit different.
In the last Serie A game of the Rossoneri, lost at San Paolo against Napoli 2-1, many eyebrows were raised about the absence of Ricardo Rodriguez in the starting eleven. In player like him would have been definitely useful in such an important game.
The defender was in an extraordinary form as he had secured World Cup qualification with his Switzerland as a protagonist: the decisive goal in the first leg with a penalty kick, and saved a goal on the line in the final minutes of the second leg. His absence at San Paolo apparently was not a technical choice of Vincenzo Montella, but rather a forced one, as Ricardo Rodriguez suffered from a flu. It was AC Milan’s Doctor Melegati to report the problem in a medical update regarding the rossoneri’s fitness: “Rodriguez is now training regularly but i wanted to say that he recovered from a flu which ruled him out in the previous match. But now he’s fully recovered”.
Against Napoli, the Swiss defender was expected to start as one of the three central defenses (Alessio Romagnoli started in his place) or as left midfield where Giacomo Bonaventura played. Jack disappointed, deployed in that position, mostly for two reasons: first because he came back from a long injury, and second because covering the entire flank by himself, going back and forth lead to a high expense of energy and he inevitably lacked lucidity up front.
