James Rodríguez turns 33 and is experiencing a new youth with the Colombian National Team in the Copa América

James Rodriguez He turns 33 this Friday, but he seems younger, he seems 10 years younger, at least with the skill and brilliance he had when he was 23, with that ability so typical of him to turn his left leg into a pen, the one with which he draws goal passes and writes heroic battles on the green canvas, like the one Colombia fought against Uruguay in the Copa América semi-final, with him as captain, with him wondering who he will be at 33, who he will be after Sunday’s final.

Maybe James’ outlook has changed somewhat over the years, he is now somewhat more defiant, and his appearance is different, less youthful than when he started being James, even his leadership is more exaggerated, with that captain’s armband tight on his arm, because now he is a James made of blows and triumphs, a James who has endured hatred and now enjoys applause, a respected James, who his teammates admire and his rivals avoid. Because nobody knows what that ’10’ is going to invent when he raises his jaw and readies his left foot.

James has also changed his way of moving on the court, he no longer runs to touch every ball, now he is more brain than lung, because it is the ball that seeks him out, attracted, and he receives it, looks up with elegance, senses where his teammates are, or knows before receiving it, and then applies the necessary force so that the pass is perfect, that’s how he carries it. six assists in the Copa Americabecause the ball in his left shoe looks alive.

James, at 33

This James, who is reaching 33 years of age, has many battles, many matches, many comings and goings, falls and rises, blows and celebrations, criticism and praise; this James has been at the top, he has touched the sky with a bicycle kick, he has been a winged, heroic James, who one day created his fame as a great James, made his name universal, and like every great human, he also fell off the cliff once or twice in the midst of the mists of his career: he also created a dark reputation, but James always gets up, especially when he puts on the yellow, blue and red armor, to show that his left foot sometimes gets hurt, but he does not lose his memory.

James is turning 33, an age conducive to crying, if tears have an age. When Colombia defeated Uruguay in the semi-final, James dropped to his knees on the hallowed grass, not like a giant collapsing in defeat but like a giant resting after an epic victory. His teammates came to meet him, surrounded him, hugged him, held him as if James were already a statue they wanted to install in that stadium, all gathered in a meeting of joy and tears.

Then James wanted to speak to the country, he wanted to put into words what the National Team does on the field, but his voice trailed off, it wouldn’t come out, he was overwhelmed with the feeling of finally being a Copa America finalist, as if he couldn’t believe it, so he managed to stammer… “for me…” he said and his voice trailed off. He took a breath, snorted, as if he were facing the penalty he scored against Panama, and with teary eyes he finished: “I’ve been here almost 13 years… wanting this… We’re happy…” he said, with a smile that hid or contained his tears, like someone who realizes that victory seen through tears looks different.

History, which has been busy with other brilliant left-handers, now turns to James, as in 2014 when he was the star of the World Cup. Now it is a James who seemed to have collapsed and who has been brilliant in the Copa América, a James who prefers to be a weapon than a wound, a James 10 times better, a James who is a ship, sea and wind for the National Team, who not only performs miracles but repeats them, a James who is the brain and heart of the team, a James who plays the flute so that all his teammates follow him, although when faced with his music, rival orchestras can only remain silent.

James turns 33, but his achievements are not measured in time, they are measured in skills, in his ability to maneuver on the court, to make his passes, those crosses that anticipate the celebrations. When this James lifts the ball, the fans shudder, those who are sitting stand up, those who are standing bow down, the rival players fear, the Colombians go to meet a ball that travels as if it were tied by an umbilical cord: in case it fails, it returns to its foot.

James’s wish

What will James think today in front of the cake, in front of the 33 candles, there in the middle of the National Team and in the run-up to the Copa America final? What will be his wish? Will he ask for health for his left leg? Will he ask that his left-footed boot wake up inspired in the final? Will he ask that his cotton or cloud foot not age, that it be a lucid foot? Will he ask to be the figure of the match again as he almost always is in this Cup? Will he ask that in the most adverse moments he can make the pass that will end in a goal? Will he ask to score the goal of the title? Will it be a personal wish, something like at 33 I want to join such and such a team, at 33 I want to shine again in a club, at 33 I want to show that I am still James? We don’t know, but we suspect that his wish in front of the cake, while the National Team sings to him to have a happy birthday and the country sings to him to have a happy birthday, will not be an individual wish, it will be a collective wish, a wish that seems obvious before a final, but that it is James who makes the wish.

On Sunday, it will be a James who is well surrounded, supported by a coach who believes in him blindly and sends him to the front line as the most capable, accompanied by 10 players who enjoy their own talents, encouraged by a fan base that, if it ever doubted his miracles, now lights candles for him, a James who will be narrated by a press that was unbridled in his turbulence and now celebrates his exploits, because that is the history between the press and sports idols.

James and his left foot are turning 33 and that lucid instep is already dressed up, the toes are stretching for the function, the elastic knee stretches and takes the momentum, the definitive pass is already born in the mind of the ’10’ or in his previous dreams, that of receiving, looking, giving the blessing to the ball and throwing it to its destination, that is how James wants to take Colombia to glory, that which only poets and champions have access to. When the final is over, James will be able to ask himself: and after all this, who am I at 33?

PAUL ROMERO

Sports Editor

@PabloRomeroET

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