Marcel Duarte: “For Rodrygo, the sky’s the limit”

Rodrygo Goes is on everyone’s lips. The Brazilian ended May as Real Madrid’s top scorer with six goals scored, including braces in the Copa del Rey final against Osasuna and Sevilla in LaLiga. One of the people who knows the man from Osasco best is Marcel Duarte, his physical trainer for the last 10 years and largely responsible for the phenomenal moment the player is going through. Duarte sat down to talk to AS at the Gran Hotel Attica21 in Las Rozas, which kindly offered to provide its facilities to carry out the interview and the photographic report.

How long have you been working with Rodrygo?

I knew Rodrygo through his father, Eric. I had a clinic in Brazil where I worked with players - treating and physically prepared them and consulting work. I met his father through that because he was a player. We worked together for two months. One day, during the pre-season, he called me and said: “Marcel, Rodrygo is 12-13 years old, I have a match to play. I would like you to look after him because I have a plan in mind. We are going to do it and I trust your work.” I told him he could count on me. We began to assess him and see what he needed...

How has his evolution been since then?

His father and I talked a lot. He conveyed to me what he thought, what he wanted. We plan together every year, until we reach a very high level. We weren’t in a hurry because Rodrygo was very young and we didn’t want to change anything he already had and thus improve until today, as we do. This is how we did it and we do it today; year after year we sit down, discuss, draw up plans…

His first big break was when he was promoted to Santos’ first team. How did that come about?

One day we were going to work. We went to his house and the coach called him, and said: “Come over. You are going to train with the professional team. We’re going to develop some homegrown players and you are one of the ones we’ve chosen to stay here with us”. For us it was a very happy moment, because we had a work plan according to the category he was in and we climbed two in one go. We thought: “What do we do? Nothing. We won’t anything. It’s done. So we’ll just carry on.

His next step was to join Real Madrid…

Yeah. That happened very fast. When he joined Santos’ first team we were very happy, but already after his first games, people were speaking very highly of him. He rose to the first team very quickly and showed a lot of quality. He became a very important player and the big teams quickly took notice of him. One day his father called me: “Marcel, I have a proposal for you. We have to talk.” I told him sure, whenever he wanted. Nothing was going through my head. He told me: “Marcel, Rodrygo is going to Real Madrid. Do you want to come with us?” I said: “My goodness, of course I do!” It was something that happened so fast because Rodrygo has such great quality: he is a very dedicated boy. He knows what he wants. When he wants something there is nothing to take it off his mind. Now we are here so that he can give his best performances. Rodrigo is a genius.

How was the transition from Brazilian soccer to Spanish soccer?

We worked with a margin of about 30 days, as I recall. We created a plan to structure it as well as possible. His father had already spoken with the club that we were going to work together. Until the day he came, which was June 4, we went to Osasco, his hometown, and did a lot of training. That was when that stage came to an end.

How is your work plan during a week when there is a game?

We have daily communication with the club. From the beginning of the season we have everything planned, but then, as we see, we distribute the work during week. Sometimes we have one game, sometimes we have two. With that in mind, we plan everything we are going to do with him - working on strength, speed, whatever...

How was your job during the pandemic? On his return he looked much stronger

The start of the pandemic was a crazy time for everyone, because nobody knew when it was going to end. Of course, we were in constant communication with the club. They didn’t know what was going to happen either, but we had everything planned. And we both decided to carry out a very specific training, very directed for him. All the players continued with their own personal preparation because it was no one knew when they had to be ready.

What about recovery work after a game?

We already have a recovery protocol agreed with the club since he left the game to speed up his recovery. I will receive the information (data) and we will already be discussing what is best to do with him, in conjunction with Pintus’ team. We distribute the information to all departments. We draw up the recovery protocol until the next game.

One of those protocols I imagine is how many hours of rest, of sleep he needs. I’ve seen that he has a ring that controls his sleep: it sends data to find out how he has rested and based on that, what work needs to be focused on more than others...

Yes, that’s right. We have some important valuations that we do. And through those results we map out what we are going to do. That’s why we monitor his sleep. The food is already all prepared depending on the amount of exertion in each game. When we have all the protocols, a report is sent to each department and this report has to have a daily adjustment. I am responsible for Rodrygo to be calm and ready for training, matches, etc...

Now the holidays are coming, will Rodrygo be doing specific work to maintain his fitness or will he be given more freedom?

We can’t just stop like that because he is a professional footballer, he’s an athlete and we have to be very careful. After coming from playing with Brazil, he will take some vacations, he needs that - he’s a human being after all. We have to leave his head free, let him disconnect and relax because he is a human being and he has to have time off. Before returning to Madrid, we will begin our own pre-season program, obviously in accordance with the club’s guidelines. We already have everything planned and he will arrive fully adapted to it.

Why do you have so few injuries?

There are two factors I think - first, his dedication. Rodrygo is very dedicated, he is a very responsible player. Rodrygo knows that every exercise we do is very good for him. The second is having total communication with the club. We can’t do anything if we don’t have data. And with the data that is passed to us, we work. We have very good communication with the club. And this is key to having some prevention against injuries.

Has Rodrygo peaked?

No. He is nowhere near his ceiling yet because he’s barely 22 years old. Players are usually 28 years old when they reach 100 percent in their profession. We have a plan already up to that age (28 years). Something always changes because seasons are different. But we already have an idea and until he hits 28, we still have a lot to achieve. Can we bring parts of that plan forward? No. We are going to go little by little, because one season demands one thing, the next one, something else... But the most important thing is communication with the club. We have great communication with Pintus…

What’s it like working with him?

Antonio is a great trainer. I am always delighted to talk to him. He has a very large team. He’s very fond of us. Our communication is the key that Rodrygo will reach 28 years at 100 percent.

Did you know Pintus previously?

I knew of him from the newspapers, from all his experience, from all of what he has achieved at Madrid. For me, he is a person who, just by meeting him, transmitted a very good impression to me. When I finally had the opportunity to talk to him properly in person, I was very delighted because he is someone who has a lot of knowledge, but is very humble. He is always attentive. We speak every day and always with great humility. And we have a lot to thank him for everything he does do with us and for the communication we enjoy.

Vinicius and Militão also have physical trainers. Do you talk to them to discuss and share their work?

We have a great friendship. Get get together every so often for a chat and to exchange information…