It took 1,545 days for James Rodríguez to play in a La Liga match again. He had not done so since June 21, 2020, when he was still with Real Madrid. That day, his team beat Real Sociedad 1-2.
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This Monday, the Colombian national team’s ’10’ officially debuted with Rayo Vallecano. He played just 11 minutes and he didn’t have many opportunities to show his worth in the 3-1 victory against Osasuna at home.
James touched the ball four times and showed that his talent is still intact, although he did not participate in any of Rayo’s goal-scoring actions, who were already winning 2-1 when he came on to replace Álvaro García and who did not participate in the action of the third goal, scored by Unai López in the 90+5 minute.
Although he was only on the pitch for a short time, James’ arrival in Vallecas sparked madness among Rayo fans. The Colombian received displays of affection and many of those in attendance already wore his shirt and scarves with his name on them.
James debuted exactly three years after the introduction of his compatriot Radamel Falcao García, who was at the club for three years and left his mark with his commitment to the club, despite not having many minutes in the last year.
This was James’ first night in a Rayo Vallecano match
Rayo Vallecano did not have a squad for this match and so James arrived at Vallecas in his car. After parking, he walked into the locker room and greeted from a distance some of the fans who were already waiting for him and who were cheering him on. Many of these fans came to the field with the Colombian shirt and flag.
It was only when he arrived in the dressing room that James found out that he had been called up and that he would go to the bench. Later, during the warm-up, the Rayo fans did not take their eyes off him.
When coach Íñigo Pérez finally ordered him onto the field, hundreds of cell phones were pointed at him to record the moment.
James Rodríguez celebrated the victory and heard for the first time, hugging his teammates, the ‘Vida pirata’, the famous chant with which the Bukaneros, the fans in the only end of the stadium, celebrate victories and thank the team for their effort to earn the three points.
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