José Rodríguez: "I couldn't believe Mou called me up"

Posted Sunday, July 07, 2013 by Marca.com

José Rodríguez: José Rodríguez, José Mourinho's most famous Real Madrid youngster, looks back on the year which saw him make his debut in every competition.

- Q. It's going to be a big year for you. You're going to be expected to take control of Real Madrid Castilla at the age of 18 and there will be lots of eyes set on you.
- A. It will be tough, because there's pressure on Castilla too, but I think I'm ready for it. I think I did pretty well last year.

- Q. It was a crazy season for you last year. How do you remember it?
- A. Like a dream. I could never have imagined something like that happening to me. I wasn't playing for my team and, all of a sudden, Mou calls me up and I made my debut in the Champions League, the league and the cup.

- Q. But the dream didn't last long. You went back down to Castilla and found it hard to get game time. Was that tough to deal with?
- A. You bet! It wasn't easy and of course it took its toll. To go from playing in the Champions League against Ajax to not playing in the reserves, well it wasn't easy. But I tried to deal with it as best I could and have a good finish to the season. In that sense, it was hard, but unforgettable. It's tough to be at the top in football, playing in the Champions League or La Liga, and then go down to the reserves and struggle to get minutes.

- Q. What did the Castilla coach, Alberto Toril, say to you when you were going through that confusing time?
- A. Toril helped me a lot, because he knows that those are tough times for a player, especially being as young as I was. He went through the same situation when he was a player and his advice really helped me to understand the situation. He calmed me down a little and made it clear my time would come.

-Q. It can't have been easy when you were used in the Mou-Toril war either. Did that controversy affect you – when the Portuguese manager publicly called for you to play more for the reserves?
- A. It's true that I was in the middle of things and that always affects you, but Toril had his team and played the players he thought were best. And I simply knuckled down in training and tried to do as well as possible when I had the chance to play.