Bentancur Rodrigo
Rodrigo Bentancur Colmán is an Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for the Uruguay national team. He started his career in the youth system of Argentine side Boca Juniors in 2009. He was promoted to the senior squad in 2015, and won two Primera División titles and a Copa Argentina with the team. He was signed by Italian club Juventus in 2017, where he won two consecutive Serie A titles, among other trophies. At international level, he was a member of the Uruguay U20 squad that won the 2017 South American U-20 Championship. He also made his senior debut for Uruguay in 2017, and later took part at the 2018 FIFA World Cup and the 2019 Copa América.
Did you Know?
Rodrigo Bentancur formally became a player of Juventus on 1 July 2017, after the club activated the option to sign him in April 2017, in a deal which would keep him at the club until 2022. The first option to sign Bentancur was bought as part of Carlos Tévez’s deal in July 2015. He made his club debut on 26 August 2017, coming on as a substitute in a 4–2 away win over Genoa in Serie A. On 6 October 2018, Bentancur scored his first goal for the club in a 2–0 away win over Udinese in Serie A.
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This shirt was worn by Rodrigo Bentancur during the 2017-2018 Serie A’s prize-giving celebration which took place in Torino on May 19th 2018 after the team home game against Verona. This game was Gianluigi Buffon’s last game with Juventus F.C. so the team played with the special #UN1CO badge on sleeve to celebrate the goalkeeper. There is a curious story behind this shirt. It was given by Bentancur to a Juventus’s fan while the team was greeting the crowd showing the cup. Bentancur saw a fan waving an Uruguay’s flag, citizenship of the player, so he asked him to have the flag. The fan asked Bentancur to swap the flag against his shirt and the player agreed. The same fan is the source whom we got this shirt from. See below some pictures from game’s footage showing fan Instagram’s picture thanking Bentancur for the gift holding the shirt in his hand and Bentancur without the shirt…but with Uruguayan flag in his hands.
Did you Know?
Bentancur was a member of Uruguayan national under-20 team, winning 2017 South American U-20 Championship. The squad also finished as the fourth in 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup. In September 2017, Bentancur received his first senior call-up to the Uruguayan national team by manager Óscar Tabárez for the team’s upcoming 2018 World Cup qualifiers against Venezuela and Bolivia in October. He made his international debut on 5 October, coming on as a substitute in Uruguay’s 0–0 away draw against Venezuela. He was named in the squad for the China Cup in March 2018. In May 2018, Bentancur was named in Uruguay’s provisional 26-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. He was later included in the team’s final 23-man squad for the tournament. He appeared in Uruguay’s opening match of the tournament on 15 June, a 1–0 victory over Egypt at the Yekaterinburg Arena. In the Round of 16 match against Portugal on 30 June, he set-up Edinson Cavani’s second goal in an eventual 2–1 victory. Uruguay were eliminated from the tournament following a 2–0 defeat to eventual champions France in the quarter-finals on 6 July. In March 2019, Tabárez included Bentancur in the final 23-man Uruguay squad for the 2019 Copa América in Brazil. In the quarter-finals against Peru on 29 June, a 0–0 draw after regulation time saw the match go to a penalty shoot-out; although Bentancur was able to score his kick, Uruguay lost the shoot-out 4–5 and were eliminated from the competition.
Did you Know?
A dynamic, hard-working, tenacious, skilful, elegant, and tactically versatile midfielder, who is comfortable using either foot, Bentancur has been described as a tall and “physically strong” player, who is capable of playing in any midfield position, including as a defensive midfielder, as a central midfielder, as a winger on either flank, in a box-to-box role, or even as a mezzala, or as an attacking midfielder behind the forwards, due to his ability to make attacking runs from behind. He also possesses good close control, technique, and quick footwork, which enable him to get past opponents when in possession, while his vision, intelligence, personality, and incisive passing also allow him to set the tempo of his team’s play in a more creative role as a regista deep in midfield, and create goalscoring opportunities for his teammates after winning back the ball. His height and strong frame also enable him to act as a “target man” in an advanced midfield role; he has even played as a second striker on occasion. Although his acceleration is not particularly impressive, he is also a mobile player, who is capable of pressing opponents further up the pitch. Moreover, he has also drawn praise in the media for his composure and quick-thinking both with and without the ball. Due to his precociousness, talent, maturity, and wide range of skills, he is considered to be a highly promising young player in the media.
