Reynoso: “Jonathan Rodríguez is fulfilling everything he promised”
Cruz Azul coach Juan Reynoso praised the 27-year-old striker who scored in the 4-1 victory against Querétaro in matchday 4 of the 2021 Guardianes tournament.
Jonathan Rodríguez has been the best striker for Cruz Azul since he arrived in 2019. Last season, the 27-year-old striker tied for the league's top scorer with 13 goals in 17 games. Unfortunately his tenure at ‘La Maquina’ was close to coming to an end because he violated the coronavirus protocols a few weeks ago.
On 16 January, a video surfaced on Twitter of the Uruguayan striker at a party with Cruz Azul attire and violating the coronavirus protocols imposed by the club. The video went viral and several media outlets were reporting that Cruz Azul had a $6 million offer on the table from a Chinese team to part ways with Rodríguez.
A change of mentality
Since he is such a talented striker, newly appointed head coach, Juan Reynoso, didn’t want to let him go and he was only suspended for one game. Rodríguez returned to the starting XI last weekend against Querétaro and scored the third goal of the game in Cruz Azul’s 4-1 victory.
“We will not talk about what happened in the past with Jonathan because emotionally he was feeling bad after the video surfaced on Twitter. He apologized to everyone including the rest of the team and the coaching staff. So far he is fulfilling everything he promised that day and his performance against Querétaro is a clear example of his compromise with the club,” said Reynoso during an interview with ESPN.