James Rodríguez seems to be recovering his best form with the Colombian national team, which, thanks in large part to him, is in the semi-finals of the Copa América. He was a key player in the José Pékerman era, but then the two coaches who came, Carlos Queiroz and Reinaldo Rueda, gradually left him aside.
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With the Portuguese, James had a good Copa América in Brazil 2019, in which the team went undefeated and without conceding a goal, but in which they fell in the quarter-finals against Chile, in penalty kicks. He did not score, but provided two assists.
However, Queiroz did not call him up again for the rest of the friendlies in 2019, in which James was trying to adapt to Real Madrid again. Neither did ‘El Tigre’ Radamel Falcao García return to the national team at that time.
He made a comeback after the world was paralyzed by the pandemic, in the qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, but he did not shine and two thrashings left Queiroz out.
Carlos Queiroz
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The next coach of the national team, Reinaldo Rueda, did not take him into account at the beginning either. With the argument that he was coming back from an injury, he left him out of the 2021 Copa América, in which Colombia finished third. That decision generated a controversial live broadcast by James, in which he described himself as a former national team player.
James returned to finish off the tie, but the road was already uphill and Colombia was eliminated from the World Cup. Under Rueda, the ’10’ only scored one goal, a penalty in the last match, against Venezuela.
Néstor Lorenzo filled him with confidence again. He even took all the criticism on himself by calling him up when he had not played for six months, having just signed for Olympiacos after leaving Al Rayyan, where he had a spell to forget. Little by little, James’ best came back.
James has played 18 games with the Argentine, scoring four goals and providing seven assists. And in the Copa America he has been brilliant: he was the star in every game and was reminiscent of the player who shone in Brazil 2014 and was the tournament’s top scorer.
James Rodriguez answers: Is the current one better than the one from 2014?
Who was the best James, the one from now or the one from 2014? The question was put to the footballer himself on the official social networks of the Copa América.
“It’s hard to choose. I’m a bit more mature now and that helps a lot. I’d like to thank my teammates a lot, because without them it wouldn’t be possible.”said the ’10’.
In the 2024 Copa América, James has participated in more than half of the team’s goals: Colombia has 11, of which the Sao Paulo midfielder scored one and set up five.
In Brazil 2014 he was decisive: Colombia scored 12 goals and he scored half of them, and he also made two assists. Which James do you prefer?
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