Inside the change of attitude that the players of UD Las Palmas are experiencing During the last weeks, there is one in the midfield that is standing out with his own light, sponsored by the game system brushed by Xavi García Pimienta since the arrival of the coach at the yellow booth, and it is none other than Kirian Rodríguez. The man from Tenerife, accommodated in the interior position and away from the wild card role with which he has been carrying since he rose to the first team three seasons ago, is sweet.
The exhibition of the 20 last Monday against Leganés confirms him as one of the heavyweights in the construction zone of the UD. His combinative spirit has found his ideal habitat to take his right ankle out for a walk with which he dictates hierarchy in his zone of influence on the grass.
With Enzo Loiodice injured for the remainder of the season, Kirian has taken over the interior of the Garcia Pimienta’s 4-3-3 scheme. Freed from the responsibilities that were presented to him in the two previous seasons in which he was experimented with by placing him in the double pivot position, now Aimar de Candelaria’s vision is only focused on gaining yards with the ball while combining with Jonathan Viera or Alberto Moleiro, your best partners on the pitch.
With Enzo Loiodice’s injury, the door to the interior zone was opened for him and he left the band functions
From there, in the middle zone, the man from Tenerife got his doctorate against the cucumber team on the last day. 73 passes in 89 minutes, he was only substituted when Pimi introduced Fabio González to leave his lung in extra time.
Not only was he the player with the most passes during the match against Leganés, but he was also key with his direct intervention in the second yellow goal. García Pimienta’s laboratory prepared a clarification for Rodríguez, ordered the headers to concentrate their presence in the small area and on the 20th he waited for the ball on the balcony of the area to redraw the same hit he perpetrated on January 2 to beat the Tenerife.
“They put a lot of cane into me and they hesitate a lot. I always look for the long stick in games and in training I do the opposite: I look for the short stick. They told me all week to close the ankle and I closed it », he recounted at the time to explain his goal in the regional derby. Against Leganés he remembered the same hesitation of his teammates and closed the ankle again. Another goal for the gallery.
The most prolific season
With the one from the derby and the one from Leganés, in addition to his header to equalize at the new Carlos Tartiere stadium in December, Kirian has scored three goals this season. In his entire previous career as a professional at UD he had two celebrations. Two seasons ago, when he scored against Badajoz in the Cup and against Extremadura in the last league game in a yellow win (5-1).
As if that were not enough, this year is also being the year of his confirmation as a reliable assistant. To date, Rodríguez has four goal passes, as many as he accumulated in his previous years as yellow.
With three goals this season, the ’20’ adds more goals than in his entire stage in yellow
Exquisite was the assistance in Amorebieta for Alberto Moleiro to make it 1-1 in Urritxe. Another demonstration of the plasticity of his ankle, capable of turning almost 180 degrees and directing a 30-meter pass to leave his compatriot from Tenerife alone in front of the goalkeeper and certify the tie.
Caviar also the one he left in another of the assists when with another subtle touch with his toe he enabled Jonathan Viera in a messy play in the Almería area so that the one from the Fair opened the can with the Andalusian team. Everything always makes sense.
Actions reserved for the talented, that type of player referred to by García Pimienta who meet the profile that he needs to unfold his idea of the game, although now he has results after introducing the nuance of verticality over touch and horizontal touch.
But to shine these numbers that elevate him as one of the relevant pieces of the UD squad this season, Kirian has had to fight from the beginning of it, because in the first stage of the championship he was part of the second unit of players and against which he rebelled in Donosti after playing against Real Sociedad B.
«That thing about the second line is for the people; when those who are supposed to start are not there, it seems that we are always going to lose. But here we are, we keep working. Our mission is to press so that they are well. A few words that he pronounced after the visit to the Reale Arena after six games in which he did not play a minute between matchdays 6 and 11 –Burgos, Ponferradina, Cartagena, Almería and Lugo, without calling up; and Tenerife, on the bench–.
Kirian knew how to reverse his situation and earn a place in the starting eleven, both with Mel in the second third of the season, and now with Pimienta, who has not stopped counting on him except against Girona for medical reasons that weighed down the midfielder.
Contract ends June 30
With the step forward that Kirian Rodríguez has taken, especially in the second third of the season, and after the arrival of Xavi García Pimienta, he is another of the players who conclude their contract once June 30 arrives and is completely separated from yellow discipline. At the moment he is free to negotiate with any team, since since January he can maintain contacts with suitors who want to take over his services for next season, an issue that is on hold for the moment. Therefore, although with Sunday’s clash against Ponferradina on the horizon and another eight days remaining to reach kilometer 42, the figure of Kirian is gaining more weight with each game in which he stands out and the sports management of the island club with Luis Helguera At the helm, he must assess whether he is a possible asset for the 2022-23 campaign. From the club they keep the negotiations with the players who conclude their contracts in the summer frozen for the moment, since the conclusion of the league is prioritized to decide. | DRP
