Who is Sergio Rodríguez?

(Image from cultoro.es)

Sergio Rodríguez, winner of this year’s Copa Chenel certamen, is perhaps the least known of the holders of the competition trophy established in 2021 in memory of Antoñete.

I reported in February, when the Copa Chenel participants for this year were announced, that the 24-year-old from Las Navas del Marqués (Ávila) had only become a matador at Ávila last April, winning three ears, since when he had appeared in just three more corridas, the most successful his most recent at San Bartolomé de Pinares in August, when he cut four ears and a tail.

Prior to his Ávila alternativa, Sergio had had three seasons as a novillero. He debuted with picadores at Lerma (Burgos) in June 2021, winning an ear from each of his bulls, and went on to appear in six more novilladas that year, achieving two-ear faenas at Medina del Campo, San Agustín de Guadalix and Cadalso de los Vidrios.

In 2022, he came third in the escalafón de novilleros with a respectable 25 novilladas to his name, from which he cut 43 ears and two tails - the third highest total of trophies of any novillero that year. He cut an ear in Zaragoza’s Feria del Pilar (his only appearance in a first class plaza), his biggest triumphs occuring at El Álamo, Las Navas del Marqués, Collado Villalba, Robleda de Chavela, Collado Mediano, Arganda del Rey (where he was pronounced triunfador of the town’s feria de novilladas) and a four-bull encerrona at Ávila, when he cut ears from each animal.

He had a similar temporada in terms of numbers (21 novilladas) in 2023, although it began with four contracts in premier plazas - Valencia, Madrid (twice) and Sevilla - that only produced a vuelta at Valencia. He finished fifth in the novillero escalafón, with just 18 ears cut - a disappointing result after the promise of 2022, with just four two-ear faenas witnessed at Las Navas del Marqués, Parentis-en-Born, Robleda de Chavela and Arganda del Rey, where he was the triunfador de la feria for the second year running. He finished fifth in that year’s escalafón.

In 2024, his alternativa already announced, Sergio fought just one novillada, at Las Ventas in April. With the best Los Chospes bull of the afternoon, Rodríguez would have cut an ear but for his swordwork that led to two avisos on both his bulls. At the end of the temporada, the new matador split from Antonio Pedrosa, who had managed him since his sin picadores days in 2018, and, a month later, was taken on by ex-matador Leandro Marcos and Manuel Canorea.

Natural from Sergio Rodríguez (Image from Plaza1)

Presumably, it was they who put him forward for the Copa Chenel, for the series has comprised all his corridas to date this year apart from one at Ávila at the end of May and another at El Espinar earlier this month, when he cut two ears and went out on shoulders alongside Morenito de Aranda. In the certamen, the mano a mano final with Daniel Crespo was his most successful afternoon, Rodríguez winning three ears: in the earlier rounds, his usual tally was a single ear, although he did win one off both his bulls in the second round at Algete. Even after his Copa Chenel triumph, contracts have been hard to come by, Sergio commenting in July, “The daily sacrifice, the discipline, the training, the commitment and putting your life on the line is hard… And it’s harder still these days when triumphs are hardly important and don’t bring rewards.”

One date that does await him, though - his reward for winning the Copa Chenel - is his October 12 confirmación de alternativa in Las Ventas with Garcigrande bulls alongside Morante de la Puebla and Fernando Robleño. A tall man, Sergio performs toreo that is classical in nature and focused on achieving temple. With the sword, he throws himself over the bulls’ horns for dramatic estocadas. October 12 will be an important day for his career; the young matador and his backers will be hoping for a triumph that will put him firmly on the map for the 2026 season.