Marcos Rojo image 16

Marcos Rojo Argentina flag

2014-15 Performances


View full 2014-15 profile

6.0 Season Average Rating
Appearances
26
Clean sheets
8
Goals
1
Assists
0
Yellow cards
6
Seems like a really genuine guy who genuinely loves being at the club and being with the other players.

He'll become a fan favorite I feel.
 
Should move to CB once shaw is back to full fitness. Good in the air, comfortable on the ball. I guess he can be a huge success for us now.

Shame blackett might lose his place but reckon he will still get his chance as the season progress.
 
Having only seen him at LB and never at CB, this article is pretty damming on his ability to play CB.
 
Having only seen him at LB and never at CB, this article is pretty damming on his ability to play CB.
Apparently he's come on leaps and bounds at CB, especially last season @Sly can confirm?

I'd say up until that point, he was a bit akin to a young Rio - subject to brain farts or lapses in concentration. The physique, technique and pace are all there to be a top CB. So let's hope he continues his improvement as a CB at United.

But it's probably fair to say that he's a bit more accomplished as a fullback, at this stage of his career. That's not to say he can't become a class CB.
 
People are very quick to praise him, he looked quite good last week end but made 2 or 3 mistakes. I'll wait & see him perform at CB before judging him. Love his passion & aggression though.
 


Horrible article from a clueless blogger. I already read some pieces from this clown Gonçalo Lopes and they were equally bad. Do english newspapers give article space to persons with no real references and indepth knowledge, just because they are portuguese? One of the biggest mistakes on the article is this part:

"But to do a great job at centre back, he has to have an excellent covering defender at his side. Here in Portugal he did well because he played with a great partner, Mauricio - they conceded 19 goals in 29 games, the fewest in the Primeira Liga - who had more experience in that position."

Wrong. Totally and utterly wrong (and unfortunately has been proved by our defensive performance this year). The part about our defence being the best in Portugal is correct and due to three factors: First, our former manager Leonardo Jardim who is a very good defensive and tactical manager, who´s best asset is to setting up good defensive schemes (something we lacked in the previous years, was our achilles heel)

Second was William Carvalho´s beast mode year. Carvalho´s excellent performances gave stability to our defensive midfield and complemented our center backs very well, specially Rojo.

Third, it was Rojo´s obvious improvement from last year. This can be explained for many reasons. First a good defensive tactical setup, second the unbreakable Jardim´s trust (he used to say Rojo´s name was the first on the team sheet) on Rojo that gave him alot of confidence and finally the fact that Rojo was leading the line and proving himself in one steady position, the center back position.

You can ask any rival and they will say that Rojo was obviously our best defender. To prove my point you just have to watch how horrible our defence has been this year. It´s true that we changed our manager since Jardim went to Mónaco, but besides the purchase of Sarr, our defense is still the same with Cedric, Maurício and Jefferson. Maurício (the supposed defender who is hailed by this clown Gonçalo Lopes) has been the worst of the bunch. You just have to see his error against Maribor in the Champions League to realize that. Our media has been unanimous, i repeat Unanimous, in the declaring that Maurício has been missing Rojo´s influence and ability to cover him. Our messageboard has also been unanimous in wanting Maurício dropped from the lineup. Manuel Fernandes (a former Sporting glory and top scorer) said yesterday that Rojo was the only top class defender we had last year and his departure is having a negative effect on our defence.

Finally to finish my post, i never disputed the fact that for Argentina, Rojo played well as LB. He clearly has the trust of the Argentine managers for that position. At Sporting, he was always better as CB period. I know that it´s different circunstancies but Rojo was our best defender as center back. The stability of our defence depended on that. I still mantain my opinion, Rojo is clearly better as CB and has all the tools to become a world class player there. He just needs continuity and stability in the team to achieve that. If you keep changing his position and routines, of course he is prone to mistakes.
 
People are very quick to praise him, he looked quite good last week end but made 2 or 3 mistakes. I'll wait & see him perform at CB before judging him. Love his passion & aggression though.
Nah he didn't make any mistakes that I can remember.
 
Nah he didn't make any mistakes that I can remember.

Had 2 mixups one with Blackett and one with De Gea though on both occasions you could say he was at little fault compared to De Gea or Blackett.

But he did get caught under a ball on one occasion setting Hoilett free on the right which Rafael bailed him out of intercepting the cross pretty well.
 
Had 2 mixups one with Blackett and one with De Gea though on both occasions you could say he was at little fault compared to De Gea or Blackett.

But he did get caught under a ball on one occasion setting Hoilett free on the right which Rafael bailed him out of intercepting the cross pretty well.
Ah yes, the Rafael bailout was certainly his error. The first 2 weren't his, IMO.
 
He´s playing for the first time in a new team, with new teammates and under a new manager. Training aside, i´d be very surprised if he didn´t do some mistakes on his debut. You just need to remember Evra and Vidic´s debut to understand that.
 
Horrible article from a clueless blogger. I already read some pieces from this clown Gonçalo Lopes and they were equally bad. Do english newspapers give article space to persons with no real references and indepth knowledge, just because they are portuguese? One of the biggest mistakes on the article is this part:

"But to do a great job at centre back, he has to have an excellent covering defender at his side. Here in Portugal he did well because he played with a great partner, Mauricio - they conceded 19 goals in 29 games, the fewest in the Primeira Liga - who had more experience in that position."

Wrong. Totally and utterly wrong (and unfortunately has been proved by our defensive performance this year). The part about our defence being the best in Portugal is correct and due to three factors: First, our former manager Leonardo Jardim who is a very good defensive and tactical manager, who´s best asset is to setting up good defensive schemes (something we lacked in the previous years, was our achilles heel)

Second was William Carvalho´s beast mode year. Carvalho´s excellent performances gave stability to our defensive midfield and complemented our center backs very well, specially Rojo.

Third, it was Rojo´s obvious improvement from last year. This can be explained for many reasons. First a good defensive tactical setup, second the unbreakable Jardim´s trust (he used to say Rojo´s name was the first on the team sheet) on Rojo that gave him alot of confidence and finally the fact that Rojo was leading the line and proving himself in one steady position, the center back position.

You can ask any rival and they will say that Rojo was obviously our best defender. To prove my point you just have to watch how horrible our defence has been this year. It´s true that we changed our manager since Jardim went to Mónaco, but besides the purchase of Sarr, our defense is still the same with Cedric, Maurício and Jefferson. Maurício (the supposed defender who is hailed by this clown Gonçalo Lopes) has been the worst of the bunch. You just have to see his error against Maribor in the Champions League to realize that. Our media has been unanimous, i repeat Unanimous, in the declaring that Maurício has been missing Rojo´s influence and ability to cover him. Our messageboard has also been unanimous in wanting Maurício dropped from the lineup. Manuel Fernandes (a former Sporting glory and top scorer) said yesterday that Rojo was the only top class defender we had last year and his departure is having a negative effect on our defence.

Finally to finish my post, i never disputed the fact that for Argentina, Rojo played well as LB. He clearly has the trust of the Argentine managers for that position. At Sporting, he was always better as CB period. I know that it´s different circunstancies but Rojo was our best defender as center back. The stability of our defence depended on that. I still mantain my opinion, Rojo is clearly better as CB and has all the tools to become a world class player there. He just needs continuity and stability in the team to achieve that. If you keep changing his position and routines, of course he is prone to mistakes.

Well you've just shit all over that Daily Mail douche. Insightful post mate, cheers.
 
Well you've just shit all over that Daily Mail douche. Insightful post mate, cheers.

Im actually surprised a big (although crap) english newspaper would give article space to a blogger. What are his references? In Portugal, the newspapers give article space to people with actual knowledge and references. People like former players, managers or specialist journalists. Of course you can still find the occasional Lawro and Merson but their articles are much better and insightful. Kinda like Eurosport copying my opinion from the site. You guys know that i´m a Sporting fan and a season ticket owner but what stops me from typing BS like this Gonçalo Lopes fella? Do they even check facts before posting stuff? I know it´s just the Daily Mail but it´s perplexing to me.
 
Stopped reading the article as soon as it said "Rojo struggles in the air". They clearly didn't watch the QPR game.
 
Stopped reading the article as soon as it said "Rojo struggles in the air". They clearly didn't watch the QPR game.

It´s only one of his best assets.

You can further see how clueless he is here:

Gonçalo Lopes: "He can still do it but not with the same effectiveness as in his favourite position of left back"

Here´s what Marcos Rojo said when he signed for Sporting http://www.rtp.pt/noticias/index.php?article=572213&tm=27&layout=158&visual=49 :

"O internacional argentino, que se assume como "um jogador aguerrido e de pensamento positivo", adiantou preferir jogar a central, "mas se o treinador precisar de mim na esquerda não há problema".

Quickly translating: " The argentinian international assumes that he is an "aggressive player with positive mentality". He said that prefers to play as center back "but if the manager needs me on the left, there´s no problem".

As admited by him he prefers to play as CB not LB.

Gonçalo Lopes doesn´t know what he is talking about.
 
@Sly comprehensively takes apart Gonçalo Lopes. You should write a proper rebuttal to Lopes' piece on Rojo and send it to the Daily Mail. Who knows? They might come knocking on your door for a column next time around. ;)
 
@Sly comprehensively takes apart Gonçalo Lopes. You should write a proper rebuttal to Lopes' piece on Rojo and send it to the Daily Mail. Who knows? They might come knocking on your door for a column next time around. ;)

I doubt they would take a leftie as myself :lol: I don´t really care about the Mail. It just amazes me, they post that kind of inaccurate crap. I don´t expect that clown to watch all Sporting matches like myself but a quick google search or a visit to our forum and he would see Rojo´s prefered position and the evaluation from Sporting fans (and we are a nasty bunch in what concerns criticizing our own players, something typical of Sporting fans). If it was the Guardian or the Independent, i would consider it eventually. What i earn by the hour as Lawyer would be hard to cover as well :lol: (just kidding)
 
@Sly I've come across your posts in the past up til now, and I have to say you and the rest of the Portugeezas, are a credit to your nation. Eloquent, impartial and knowledgeable. The Spanish fans are almost as good too ;)
 
Thanks for the kind words gents. The reality is that this forum and the people on it, motivate you to exchange points of views. Like Arruda said portuguese messageboards (besides Forum SCP in my biased opinion) are too radical and aggressive. No real banter or rival club supporters allowed. Interaction is minimal. The way british people in general live and discuss football is a big credit to your nations and a big evolution from an eventful past.
 
I want to see him and Smalling play together as the CB pairing tomorrow. Insane pace, aerial dominance, and two great players in not letting the opponent past in a one-on-ones with a forward.
 
I want to see him and Smalling play together as the CB pairing tomorrow. Insane pace, aerial dominance, and two great players in not letting the opponent past in a one-on-ones with a forward.

We play sunday mate but yeah would like to see them 2 partnered together at some point
 
I really hope he plays tomorrow, I was impressed by his debut for us and would love to see him as a CB now. It's going to be tricky for LVG if we, hopefully, stick to the 4-4-2 diamond now. Smalling, Blacket, Rojo, Evans up for two spots with Shaw being back(?) to play LB. It's pretty harsh to drop Blackett as he's been our best defender thus far but I suppose that it's how it will end.
 
Leicester 5:3 Man Utd
Been awful and looking uncomfortable with the pace of the game at LB.
 
I'm unsure about this lads positioning, twice today he has tucked in far too close to play and left a massive hole which has nearly cost us, both times he was essentially watching the game instead of keeping an eye on his winger.
 
Struggled today both in defence and attack. Should never of let Vardy get that ball over for the goal. His crossing hasn't been good either and that shot was poor. Had a massive chance with the header, which he should of buried.
 
Want to see Shaw at LB and Rojo to compete for one of the CB spots.
 
Has been pretty unconvincing. It reminds me of some perfomances as LB for Sporting. Let´s face it, one thing is to play a tournament as LB, another is to play a whole campaign in that position. I reiterate that i think it´s a waste of potencial to play him as LB. It can be a stop-gap solution but nothing more than that. The CB position is where he takes full advantage of his caractheristics.
 
Seems too keen to bomb forward. Ends up taking up taking a far too advanced a position for a fullback. His position is perfect for a wingback but not an FB in a backline of 4 players. Also getting targetted by Leicester too, they're doubling up on him too as Di Maria isn't really providing much cover.

Basically he's playing like a wingback rather than a fullback and Leicester are make the most of it
 
Been terrible today, but he's not a natural left back. Still, his positional intelligence and awareness leaves a lot to be desired at times.
 
Been terrible today, but he's not a natural left back. Still, his positional intelligence and awareness leaves a lot to be desired at times.

See, this scares me, how can your natural position be centre half when you lack positional intelligence and awareness?

Terrible signing, said it at the time, we lost Rio and Vidic and this is the pile of shit we get in?
 
Not impressed at all thus far. Also culpable for the fourth goal, the pass he gave Mata was impossible to do anything with. Not to mention he's all over the place positionally. 16 million and a free Nani seems like a very bad deal.
 
See, this scares me, how can your natural position be centre half when you lack positional intelligence and awareness?

Perhaps his lack of positional intelligence and awareness comes from the fact that he doesn´t have the routines to play in that position? Like i said (and unfortunately for you guys) he isn´t a LB. He´s a CB. Playing as LB is a stop gap solution. Not surprising that two years ago after he played a couple of games as LB our managers always put him as CB. I warned that the first real test would be an away fixture.
 
He looks like he doesn't give a shit out there today. How Shaw isn't getting a game is beyond me.