Football Slovan Bratislava brought in the only significant reinforcement in the winter period. However, Gerson Rodrigues has repaid the trust from the start, scoring five goals in the first five games. On the field, the Luxembourg forward does everything to drown out the media coverage of the problems that drag on with him in his personal life.
Twenty-eight-year-old Rodrigues was born in Portugal, but since 2017 he also has Luxembourg citizenship. Slovan is already his fifteenth place of work.
In addition to Tiraspol, Dynamo Kyiv or involvement in the Arab club Al-Wehda, he tried the French league for Troyes and the Turkish league for Sivasspor.
In the Whites’ jersey, he scored in the first league match against Žilina. In the playoffs of the Conference League, he was the only scorer for Slovan in a double-header with Sturm Graz, he added two goals against Zlatý Moravče and lastly one strike against Trenčín.
“We couldn’t have asked for a better entry from him. I call him Funny Boy, he likes life. That’s part of football, I like players like that,” coach Vladimír Weiss Sr. described the reinforcement.
“He came with a label, but I’m more or less not interested in that. I have no problem with him in terms of discipline. He trains excellently,” he added to the address of the dreadlocked forward with excellent technical skills.
Said label refers to Rodrigues’ wild personal life.
An investigation is still ongoing in Luxembourg, where Rodrigues faces three assault charges. He faces up to two years in prison.
He can play football only because the charges have not yet been confirmed in court and the process will continue.
Five years ago, Rodrigues allegedly got into a fight with a man who then underwent three facial surgeries. Three years later, in another fight, the victim had a tooth knocked out.
The most disputed case in the media was the alleged attack on the friend of Emilie Bolandová, Miss Luxembourg 2020. She accused Rodrigues of physical and psychological abuse.
“This is ‘I love you’ by Gerson Rodrigues,” she captioned a photo with a visibly swollen mouth on social media in fall 2022. “I’m tired of being silent. Girls, if you’re not respected in a relationship, run away,” she added.
Rodrigues has a son, Gerson Jr., from a previous relationship with former Ukrainian tennis player Olga Yanchuk.
“He makes crazy moves on the field, it allows him to score spectacular goals. At the same time, he is a moody player, sometimes he is described as unmanageable. The coach has to treat him in a special way,” said Luxembourg journalist Thomas Holzer to Slovak website Sportnet.
Gerson Rodrigues and Juraj Kucka in the European Championship 2024 qualification match. | Photo: Reuters
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2024-02-27 12:35:06
#Slovan #star #dark #responsible #attacking #Luxembourg
