He was the golden boy of the 2014 World Cup, but after a decade of disappointment at club level and at the age of 33, James Rodríguez is back and starring again on the international stage. The Colombian ‘number ten’ has been fundamental in his team’s journey to the Copa América final, where ‘Los Cafeteros’ will face world champions Argentina for the title. Ten years ago in Brazil, Rodriguez scored six goals in Colombia’s run to the World Cup quarter-finals, including a stunning strike against Uruguay that won the FIFA Puskas Award for goal of the year.
Rodriguez’s impact on the tournament was such that when Lionel Messi received the Ballon d’Or for best player at the World Cup, his Argentine counterpart Diego Maradona said the award should have gone to Rodriguez.
The midfielder’s displays earned him a lucrative move to Spanish giants Real Madrid for a fee believed to be around €80 million, at the time the fourth most expensive transfer in the world.
He was given Real’s famous number ten shirt and touted as the club’s next big star, but he failed to live up to these high expectations and his club career, which had shown so much promise with Porto and Monaco, never truly recovered.
He was loaned to Bayern Munich and in 2020 moved to English club Everton on a free transfer before finding himself at Al-Rayyan in Qatar, Olympiacos in Greece and, last year, São Paulo in Brazil, when a promising career was lost.
This season in Brazil, Rodriguez made just eight appearances for the club, but none of that seemed to worry Colombia coach Nestor Lorenzo.
The Argentine has seen enough of Rodriguez in a national team shirt to give him a central role in the World Cup and has been rewarded with performances that have defied his decline at the club.
“Since I took over the national team, I followed him and whenever he played (for his clubs) he did interesting things, but we needed him to play,” said Lorenzo.
Rodriguez rewarded Lorenzo with a tournament record six assists and one goal and performances that made the best of the team’s attacking prowess.
“The chance for a great player to play and earn minutes gives him the opportunity to show what he can do. If he plays less, he will have fewer chances,” Lorenzo added.
The key is that Rodriguez can play with Colombia in his preferred role, floating behind the attackers, dictating the game, opening up the defense with intelligent passes in constant search of an opening.
He is a classic ‘number ten’, a role that has gone out of fashion in many clubs and leagues, but which Lorenzo seems to understand is essential to getting the best out of Rodriguez.
His teammates certainly appreciate the “second wind” of his career.
Liverpool winger Luis Diaz, whose electric pace poses one of Argentina’s biggest threats on Sunday, speaks of his teammate in the language of a fan.
“He was always my idol along with (Radamel) Falcao and (Juan Guillermo) Cuadrado, who I watched on television when I was a child. I always tell James, ‘You’re a superstar! and you deserve it'”, the winger told DirecTV.
Diaz also made sure fans were aware of his appreciation when Rodriguez scored from the penalty spot in the 5-0 quarter-final win over Panama. Diaz ran over to his teammate and gestured for a crown to be placed on his head.
“He deserves it, this Cup is his, without a doubt… We know what he went through, what he suffered. Football is for moments like this and it gave him revenge,” he said.
While Argentina are looking for a third consecutive title at the Hard Rock Stadium and a record 16th Copa América, for Colombia and Rodriguez this is the chance to win just their second title after the 2001 World Cup.
Rodriguez did not go into detail about the contrast between his club’s form and his country’s, but perhaps the desire to provide his football-mad country with a rare piece of silverware is explanation enough.
“When I play for Colombia I try to help my teammates. Everyone knows I give everything for this shirt,” she said.
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