DOG ON THE TYNE’S.. ALL MINE.. ALL MINE
But ‘The Beast’ Rondon is big softie off the pitch
SALOMON RONDON enjoys being called by his nickname, The Beast.
“I like it,” said the striker. “This is what I try to be on the pitch. I open my arms, look big, get my body in the way and try to control the ball for my team.”
Off the pitch, he is easy-going and gentle.
He has just spent an hour playing dodgeball with primary school kids (right), including tying the lace of a child in danger of tripping.
Away from St James’ Park he plays with his own kids and walks his dog – a breed that complements his stature as Newcastle’s latest tough-guy No.9. “I’ve got a Great Dane! He’s called Rusa. He is also a beast. Er, also a chihuahua! Truffa. Well, really it’s my wife’s!”
Strolling in Northumberland with his dogs, Rondon often contemplates his long journey from Venezuela to Tyneside.
“People now see the famous person. They never see what led up to it,” he said. “It all makes you stronger and to overcome hurdles as you go.”
He was born in Catia, a poor suburb in Venezuela’s capital Caracas. His dad worked long hours as a chemistry teacher and spotted his footballing potential early.
“First it was a hobby, to be healthy, but soon my dad said, ‘You will be a professional’. He knew,” added Rondon.
“He never played football, but helped me shoot with the left and right and play, play, play kicking the ball off a wall.” By 16, Rondon was leaving home for Las Palmas in the Canary Islands and a career which would take him to Malaga, Rubin Kazan, St Petersburg, West Brom and now Newcastle.
“Leaving my family was the hardest thing. I wanted to play in Europe. My mum said, ‘Go!’ My mum was crying. I cried too, of course. I was just 16.
“I knew nothing! How to clean my clothes, how to cook. I was always on Skype saying, ‘Mum, how can I cook the pasta?’
“My grandma was like, ‘Put the water in the pan’!” It was at
Malaga where his “Beast” nickname emerged.
“We played with two towers up front. My job was to battle, but also to score,” he explained.
Big-money moves to Russia followed and his goals ratio remained high.
But at St Petersburg, where the fans wanted local strikers, he suffered racial abuse.
Rondon, 29, added: “It is horrible. But you have to remain focused on the pitch. Some people try to offend, but they are not intelligent people. I am not interested in them.
“I never let it get to me or shy away of it. I am proud. This is my colour, this is my skin. I come from South America. All the people in the world are equal.” West Brom invested £12million to sign him in 2015 and he scored 24 goals in 108 games.
“I learned a lot. Especially the intensity of the Premier League. Tony Pulis was manager.
“He gave me my chance in the Premier League, taught me how to fight and play for the team.
“I was happy and settled there, but we got relegated last season.”
But he ranks his worst moment in football as the day his tackle broke the leg of Everton’s James McCarthy in January.
“I never saw in my life anything like that. I felt really bad, sick, for him. I sent a message after the injury.
“After that I thought he’d want to be alone for his recovery. Difficult for everyone.”
Now at Newcastle, he wants to be a huge part of the building job his boss Rafa Benitez (right) hopes to do. Rondon knows the club has huge untapped potential and said: “The club has sometimes played in the Champions League. Why not again?
“Football is unpredictable. You can rise again. We had a bad start this season against big teams first five six games.
“The last three games we have won and collected some points. We are on the way.
“At that moment we knew Rafa was important for the team. Last season, 10th, but a tough season too.
“There is nothing between eighth and 19th really.
“Some teams spend a lot of money and have a chance to do better.
“In Newcastle we are thinking, win some games at home and move up.”