Ángel Rodado: "We've created a close-knit group and it shows on the pitch"
Ángel Rodado has been wearing a turban on his head during training this week. The striker from Mallorca has been doing so to protect the stitches he received on his forehead on Sunday against Pontevedra. Despite the knock (which is not his first he received since he started playing for Ibiza), the forward is inspired by the prospect of scoring more goals and, as a result, is more than happy to be the team's player that accumulates the most hits and bruises as long as the squad's dynamics remain as positive as they currently are. That's how he, jokingly, presented himself at today's press conference held at Can Misses: «When you get hit and you start bleeding, you know that you have to leave the field and put a turban on your head. We're really satisfied with our start to the season. The squad is fully focused on Saturday's match. We know that we will be playing at a difficult ground. It will be our first match on natural grass against an opponent [Coruxo] that has won the last two games without conceding a goal».
Rayo Majadahonda, Sanse and Pontevedra. Three matches, three goals. Rodado wants to keep helping the team with more goals, but he is not obsessed with the numbers or statistics. «Of course I want to add to my goal tally! The other day I mentioned to someone: it's been a while since I scored in three consecutive matches. Hopefully, this weekend can be the fourth. At the end, though, football is like this. Either you're in a really good spell and keep scoring or you don't even come close for several matches on end. We will try to extend our winning streak», said the number ‘9’ of Ibiza. Rodado is also happy about having a new teammate upfront. The chemistry with the club's latest signing is evident and has already been on display on the pitch: «Diego Mendoza is an exceptional teammate. I get along really well with him. He is a player with many years of experience in the Argentine first division. It's a healthy level of competition, the same as it is in other positions in the team«.
A close-knit unit and the support from the stands
Ángel Rodado has been with the club for «one year and one month» and sees Ibiza as both a place and a club where he feels «really comfortable and very valued». For the young footballer of 22 years of age, it's the human factor which is the reason behind the team's current good run of form, both the unity within the dressing room («you can really tell how valuable our preseason camp was. We became a really close-knit group and it shows on the pitch«) as well as the support the squad received from the stands («on Sunday we had a phase where we didn't play well at all and we could feel the fans' support. They were right behind us and pushed us on to victory. We're really appreciative of that. Let's hope that more people will still become club members this season and that Can Misses is packed at every home game«) .
