The abuse flew into Rodrigo De Paul's social media over the first few weeks of the 2022 World Cup. Argentina, among the favorites to win the tournament, had endured a rocky start to the competition. The fans needed a scapegoat. And in De Paul, they had a perfect archetype. Here was a dirty work player, the kind of guy who runs a lot, tackles a lot, but doesn't offer loads when it comes to the actual kicking of a ball. Argentina, as a team, were struggling defensively and lost 2-1 to Saudi Arabia. Blame the player who is usually quite good at defending.
What happened next was a pretty good example of how fickle football fans can be. He starred in a 2-0 win over Poland to close out the group stage, and was suddenly everyone's favorite footballer. Once a waste of space, his teammates were taking to social media to praise El Motorcito (translation: the little engine).
The nickname stuck, and has stayed with him in the three years since - so much so that Inter Miami announced his signing with a video, captioned "the engine is on."
It remains an appropriate moniker for De Paul, who is at his best when he is on the move. The 31-year-old is, in other words, a perfect fit for Miami. That seems to have been forgotten amid the furor and vitriol of the way the Herons have navigated MLS salary cap restrictions. What we have here, clever monetary policy notwithstanding, is an elite defensive midfielder, signing for a team that badly needs legs in the midfield. Throw in the fact that he would perhaps actually physically destroy someone for Lionel Messi, and this is a wonderful piece of business for Miami, who have increased their chances of winning MLS Cup immensely - and set themselves up for the post Sergio Busquets era in style.
