James Rodríguez and Luis Díaz: Colombia's great hope for the Copa América

James Rodriguez you don't need to look, you sense where it is Luis Diaz. He throws the ball with the precision of the artist he is, with the certainty that his partner will receive it and wreak havoc with a huge fake, hare-like speed and a lethal cross.

This is how they created the goal that Colombia scored against Spain in the recent preparation match in London. Daniel Muñoz It was the author with a brilliant stunt, but those who invented the action were them, that explosive couple that would envy any selection. With them, Colombia is stronger. With them, Colombia he is excited for the next one America Cup.

Of highs and lows

James and Díaz have their ups and downs, their good days and their not so good days, like any player. Each one lives with his own daily affairs: James trying to try in Sao Paulo that remains valid, that is still different and unique, trying to convince the skeptics who no longer believe him.

Díaz faces the daily demands of playing in the Liverpool, where it is not enough for him to play well, he must play extraordinary. And he almost always does. They both live in their different worlds. James with his usual anger, with his physical discomfort, with his apparent distractions. He has been without stability for several years now, facing controversies and injuries. Sometimes it seems like the best James is already history, and suddenly he is back to who he is. Díaz lives a stable present, the only thing that shakes his surroundings are the rumors about a possible new destination.

Otherwise, he plays almost always, he makes assists, he scores goals, he doesn't fight with the coach or anyone, in fact he is one of Jürgen Klopp's darlings. His daily challenge is with himself, to improve himself, to be better than he is.

The common questions with James are about whether he has a new love, if he got another tattoo, if he has any appearances on social networks, if his businesses are going well… With Luis Díaz the most controversial thing is his dad's rockstar life, the endearing Mane, but no more. Lucho's private life is really private. That's how James and Díaz are, so different, each in their own way, but when they are in the Colombian National Team, their talents flow, and when they come together, they make the team grow. They excite him.

The soul of the National Team

If James was the best Colombian player a few years ago (like when he was the goalscorer of the Brazil World Cup 2014), Díaz is today. Their demands are different, until the phone rings, they answer, it is Néstor Lorenzo who speaks to them with his calm, Argentine voice, 'you are summoned', he says, and they feel enormous joy, as if it were the first time. They answer the call, put on the national team's clothing and strive to be the best. And on the recent Fifa date, in the matches against Spain (1-0) and Romania (3-2) –with victories that extended the undefeated Nestor Lorenzo to 18 games –, demonstrated that they are necessary for the dreams that the National Team has in the next Copa América.

The arrival of both is also different. James arrives at the National Team like someone who arrives at a warm home after a long journey through a terrible winter, then he finds a fireplace, warmth, dinner, family. Everything he misses. In the National Team he is welcomed, loved and highly respected. James is another James. The best. Because he almost always leaves his dramas at the entrance door of the National Team and transforms into the b
est James.

Diaz is something else. If with James there is a doubt as to whether or not he will be in the squad, due to how little he plays for his club, with Díaz there is only one question: is he going to play like he did in Liverpool?

Then they arrive, James and Díaz see each other, they greet each other, they throw some complicit passes at each other in training to remember their affinity, they smile, they make jokes, until it's time for the next game. Díaz is enrolled in the starting lineup. Nobody imagines the madness of playing without it. And the opposite happens to him than to James, sometimes he doesn't do as well with the National Team as he does with his team, sometimes he doesn't achieve that brilliance that is expected. He has normal games, not bad, but normal.

The country demands more from him, that he perform more, that he be the same guy that plays in the Premier League. Sometimes he even receives merciless attacks. But he will always be the starter. In these last games Lucho did not score a goal, at times he went out as a result of the suffocating rival brand, but a moment, a space, is enough for him to launch one of his adventures. Even now there was a novelty. Lorenzo received him with the captain's armband, he gave it to Lucho so that Lucho could assume the leadership that the entire country demands of him. The clear thing is that Colombia has a stellar player.

With James there is no longer the certainty of his ownership. He now goes to the substitute bench, and that would seem strange in other times, not today, when Lorenzo is looking for his ideal eleven for the Copa América. But having James there is a joy. Few coaches can look at the bench and find such a lefty waiting. Against Spain he was a substitute, but when he came on, football flowed in the National Team, the connections, the attacks, the genius. James took out his '10' repertoire and put the team to play. Díaz admitted it: “James' entry was vital because we had more game.”

The Spanish press surrendered to this explosive couple. The main newspapers praised Colombia and its two symbols. “Luis Díaz shines and James revolutionizes,” said Marca newspaper. “James and Luis Díaz devour Spain,” said As. “James tuned the coffee growers, Luis Díaz put the Spanish defense in check,” said Sport.

That same James who is sometimes cornered by criticism was the one who was applauded against Romania – when he started – and the one who convinced Lorenzo after the exhibition against Spain: “James is a great player, he is a different player, he is looking for his better form and we thought that the ideal was for him to perform for the team in the second half, he did very well. I feel that he has shown that he has a lot to give to the National Team,” said the coach. And James, seasoned and experienced, knows what all this is for. “These matches are important for the final goal, which is the Copa América,” he said.

The best conclusion of these friendlies is that Colombia has, in addition to a team consolidated and focused on victory, two star players who, when they come together, encourage the dream of fighting seriously in the Copa América: with that James who becomes the Selection and when he sets his mind to it he dazzles and makes others grow, and with that Díaz who is capable of destroying any defense in the blink of an eye. James doesn't need to look, he throws the pass and Diaz will be waiting. Together they excite the National Team.