Four years ago in Brazil, a star was born. Playing for Porto and Monaco, James Rodriguez was far from an unknown player, but he took himself to a completely new level during Colombia's first FIFA World Cup appearance since 1994. James won the Golden Boot, he was named into the tournament's All-Star team and the goal of the tournament was also scored by him. There's just something about the World Cup that gets James going.
James, of course, didn't last long at Monaco when the World Cup was done, as Real Madrid snapped him up for approximately £63 million. He went to have a good debut season for the club, registering 13 goals and 13 assists in La Liga, but his meteoric rise soon stalled. James got going again this season at Bayern, but seven goals and 11 assists are still far from a special achievement in the Bundesliga.
But luckily it's a World Cup year, which means that we'll once again get to see the best of James. He was a surprising no-show in the starting XI in Colombia's opening game against Japan, but the 26-year-old once more shined in the second outing against Poland, finishing with two assists.
Combining Russia 2018 and Brazil 2014, James is in a league of his own and he's developed into an invaluable player for Colombia.
Jose Pekerman's team is in a tight spot ahead of the final round of fixtures in Group H, but they can still drag themselves into the next round. In the knockout stages, everything should be possible for Los Cafeteros, especially with James Rodriguez, who seems to love to FIFA World Cup just as much as his Twitter-loving mother.
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