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Y James Rodriguez look back, nine years ago, you will see yourself in your 20s, with an excited look, the one that only has dreams to fulfill, without knowing if you will fulfill them. That look of the one who had not yet played a World Cup for seniors or two, but who wanted to; the look of the one who had not shaken the Maracana with an unreal goal, but wanted to; of the one who did not think that he was really going to reach Real Madrid, although he intended to do so; of which he was neither the ’10’ of the Colombian National Team nor its most important player. Nine years later, when James looks back, he realizes that all of this has been real, in the blink of an eye, just as he surely dreamed it.
The 9 years of the ’10’ in the Colombian National Team are celebrated this Sunday, October 11. An 11 like when James wore jersey number 5. It was 2011 and James, 20, was the player of hope, the one with a promising future for the national team, for the country. His brushstrokes in the youth team already illustrated a sketch of his good future.
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It was against Bolivia, in La Paz, on the first day of that tie against Brazil, when coach Leonel Álvarez gave him his support, watched him train, was dazzled and made him start against all odds and all risks. But there was no risk, not with him, who just needed that confidence. James pulled on the oversized shirt and it fit him perfectly. He played the 90 minutes of that game that Colombia won 1-2, and he spread personality and talent on the field, as if he had always been part of that team to which he came to stay, as if he had been born to lead the Colombian National Team.
“I decided on James because of what he showed me, his character, his personality, he was always one of the best, if not the best in training,” Leonel later recalled in an interview on Win Sports. Leonel only lasted two more games in office, but he finished his most important work: giving Colombia the debut of a different, unique footballer.
In his second game, against Venezuela, James already had the number 10 jersey, the legendary one, the one defended by ‘Pibe’ Valderrama. James assumed that carat weight and became that different player that every coach wants to have, and every striker, because with James on the court everything is easier for them, for Falcao and company. But James is not only able to anticipate the plays that end in goal, from the beginning he showed that the goal was also in his plans.
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He scored his first goal against Peru, in Lima, in 2012, when he was already a preponderant player in the team, when he already looked different, with more experience, with more leadership, although with the same conviction. “I dream of winning a Ballon d’Or,” he told EL TIEMPO a year after his debut in the National Team, and it did not seem like a box phrase, it was rather a phrase that came from his soul, a haughty and resonant phrase.
Its peak in Brazil
Colombia reached the 2014 World Cup in Brazil thanks to goals from Falcao, Yepes ‘captaincy, Pékerman’s strategy and James’ dose of magic. And what James experienced in that World Cup was unique, it was part of the goal he had set for himself, that of wanting to be the best in the world. It was his peak, his highest point of performance so far. He came as a promise and came out bathed in gold, with the scorer’s shoe, with six unforgettable goals, with the best goal of the World Cup, against Uruguay. Colombia finished in fifth place after losing to Brazil, and James, the one bathed in gold, also came out bathed in tears and thus moved even the locals who admired his effort and courage.
“The referee didn’t help much, but we dropped everything and that’s why we’re calm. We wanted to continue … Men also cry … So many cracs hugging me makes me happy ”, were James’s words when that terrible defeat was consummated.
With that World Cup, James became the most important footballer in Colombia, the most recognized. He rose to prominence, because from there he went to Real Madrid, which paid 80 million euros to put him to play at the Santiago Bernabéu. He became a neo-galactic, the dream of millions was his. He lived it, he enjoyed it, he suffered it. There he won, there he lost.
In 2015 he played his first Copa América, that of Chile, and in it he put on the captain’s armband for the first time, succeeding Mario Yepes, and since then he has alternated that main role with Falcao. In that Cup, Colombia reached the second phase and was out against Argentina.
James, the excited young man who dreamed big, was already seen with respect by the entire team, by the coach, by the entire fans. His appearance was changing, his gaze became more tanned, he was filled with confidence and tattoos. He also played the Copa América Centenario, in which he scored two goals, against the United States and against Paraguay. A Selection could no longer be conceived without him, and that he was absent several times.
He assumed the World Cup qualifier in Russia as the main axis, as the one in charge of assembling the ideas. He was no longer the excited little boy; It was the consolidated crash. In fact, he was in charge of scoring the qualifying goal, against Peru and in Lima, a goal that was not clear as his own or spectacular as his, but which was very important, defining in the middle of Falcao and Zapata, the scorers who cleared the way for him to be, once again, the hero.
Russia, a bitter taste
The whole country was hurt to see James on the grass, slumped, his face bitter, disconcerted, while a muscle injury gradually took away his idea of shining in the World Cup in Russia. It was in the third game of the group stage, against Senegal. James could barely spend 30 minutes on the court. A couple of blows to the grass reflected his helplessness, his anger. In the first game he was not a starter against Japan and with great effort he played against Poland, with two assists that returned his smile. That was the good memory that the World Cup left him. In the second round he had to suffer from the stands and watch from there his teammates, led by Yerry Mina, fight their most terrible battle on the pitch, against England, that match of back and forth, of coming and going, of joys and sadness, the one who got lost on penalties while James kicked them and saved them from the stands. Thus he said goodbye to his second World Cup.
James, in these nine years, has had ups and downs, like any player; has had injuries, like anyone; he has had substitutions, very painful. But whenever he returned to the national team, he let off steam with football. It was as if all that talent was repressed when he did not play for his club and came to sprout with Colombia.
His last year was not good. He suffered a lot in his second cycle at Real Madrid, from where he was scrapped. And waste was reborn at Everton, he got up not like someone who gets up halfway to see what happens, no! it would like to come out through the seams to spread over the grass. This is what happens when talent accumulates, one day it has to come out, and it explodes.
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He has two qualifiers, two World Cups, three America Cups, he is the top scorer of the National Team in official matches, with 17 goals. And there is James for a while. Last Friday he led the victory against Venezuela 3-0 at the beginning of the road to the World Cup in Qatar. Colombia played at their own pace.
Today it was James, James Rodríguez, James David Rodríguez Rubio, the ’10’ who celebrates nine years defending the shirt of the Colombian National Team, which was first number 5 and then 10, as if to multiply its unique importance court.
Pablo Romero
Editor of EL TIEMPO
@PabloRomeroET
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