James Rodriguez continues to be the big surprise of the current Copa America 2024 that is being held on American soil, and the brilliance of the Colombian national team is partly thanks to the great performance of the former Real Madrid player on the field of play.
Colombia has now gone 27 consecutive games without losing, and after the victory against Panama, the Colombians secured their ticket to the semifinals of the continental tournament, where they will face the Uruguayan national team coached by Marcelo Bielsa. With James’s help, Colombia is only two games away from making history.
In 2001, the only and last time that the Colombian national team was crowned champion of the Copa America in its entire history was in the form of a 23-year drought, which James is determined to put an end to completely. The ’10’ of the tricolor team has become the team’s leader and is the player with the best and most impressive performance on the field, which has led to him being selected as the Most Valuable Player after great performances in matches against Paraguay, Brazil, and Panama.
In his role as a winger, James has already accumulated a total of 5 assists, has scored one goal, and is currently the top assist provider in the continental competition.
Better than Messi and Valverde
After his performance against Panama, according to the SofaScore website, Rodriguez obtained a rating of 9.2 points and has an average of 8.48 points on average, above players like Lionel Messi of Argentina, Federico Valverde of Uruguay, who share an average of 7.73 points between all the games they have played to date.
“I had set myself the goal of having a very nice Cup, helping my teammates to go far. We have a very good team in which everyone is dedicated to the objective and we will see what comes next for us in the semi-finals. Let’s hope we can reach that good final that we all want. We are going through a good moment and that is good,” confessed a confident and focused James Rodriguez at the end of the match against Paraguay.
An unexpected resurrection
After times when he simply did not seem to adapt and adjust to the requirements of the clubs he spent time with after leaving Everton in the Premier League, it was felt that the Colombian had lost his magic and retirement was much closer and more forceful than ever.
After a successful stint in Qatar defending the colors of Al-Rayyan, he was out of the spotlight and it was thought that that would be the destination where he would hang up his boots. However, he returned to Europe with Olympiacos of Greece and was able to score 5 goals and give 6 assists in 23 games played, acceptable numbers that kept him active and in the eye of public opinion and much more in the sporting world.
As in its heyday
He headed to Brazil to sign for one of the biggest clubs in the country, Sao Paulo, where he has been playing since December. He has not exactly shone with the Brazilian team, not recording good numbers and unfortunately, James suffered an injury that kept him off the pitch for two months, but this did not prevent him from regaining confidence in himself and returning to the level that once kept Real Madrid fans happy and with high expectations. In fact, there are even rumors that point to a possible return to Europe, which would make much more sense and weight if Colombia manages to win the Copa America.
A new destination on the horizon?
According to rumors, mainly in Turkey, James Rodriguez’s future could be with the Besiktas club, a team that, although not part of the elite of European football, is one that would allow him to shine again in club football in Europe and the chance to compete in the major championships on that continent.
James is shining again at the Copa America and is fully focused and concentrated on winning the title for his country. Only two games separate him from the ultimate glory for America, so expectations for the semi-final match against Uruguay are quite high.
