13 months ago, Rodrigo Ely saw his Nottingham Forest contract terminated before he’d even played a single game for the two-time European champions.
And even the most unsympathetic Forest supporter would struggle not to raise a smile as the much-travelled centre-half put all those injury issues behind him on a thrilling Sunday afternoon at the Power Horse Stadium; all those hours on the treatment table fading into insignificance as Ely dragged Almeria to a famous 1-0 win over runaway La Liga leaders Barcelona.
Simply put, it’s moments like this that makes it all worthwhile.
“I didn’t know that. My goodness,” Ely tells Cadena Ser when it was put to him that he completed a remarkable 13 clearances against Xavi’s Blaugrana side; keeping Robert Lewandowski at arms’ length throughout.
“A lot of work was done this week before the game against Barcelona. There were things we needed to correct. We have taken a very important step against a great team like Barca.
“There is a lot of work behind us. We must continue in the same way.”
Former Nottingham Forest misfit Rodrigo Ely flying in La Liga
Just one week earlier, Almeria lost 6-2 to Girona. What a response this was, then; Ely marshalling a backline which went from rock bottom to cloud nine in a matter of days.
No one in La Liga averages more clearances than Ely’s 5.4 per game this season (WhoScored). And the fact that Barcelona barely mustered a shot at goal after El Bilal Toure’s early opener is testament to just how brilliantly Ely and co performed from the first minute to the last.
The visitors mustered 13 shots throughout. Only one of those hit the target. Almeria, meanwhile, are now up to 15th place.
Nottingham Forest could have done with a centre-half as iron-clad and as resilient as him while West Ham and Danny Ings were running riot at the London Stadium; a 4-0 battering which left Steve Cooper infuriated threatening to drag Forest back into relegation contention.
“(Ely and fellow centre-back) Srdan Babic have been colossal,” beams Almeria coach Rubi. “They have cleared more than 40 crosses.
“We suffered more for the result than what you saw on the field of play.”
Few, meanwhile, have ‘suffered’ more than Rodrigo Ely.
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