The World Cup greatly weakened the image of James Rodríguez in the Colombia National Team. His performance was not as expected, he was far from what he showed in the last Copa América and his continuity is a debated topic that raises concerns.
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James, with the future up in the air
The Cucuteño, who turned 35 on July 12, played all five matches for the Colombia National Team as a starter in the World Cup, despite his performance not being optimal for the competitive level. In some matches, he was seen walking and left the global event without goals or assists.
James Rodríguez arrived at the World Cup without football rhythm. He went to the United States to seek minutes at Minnesota United in the MLS, he was never favored by coach Cameron Knowles and barely passed 200 minutes of play in six months.
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After the World Cup, he is a free agent after leaving Minnesota. His name is barely heard in the transfer market and, with the next FIFA date on the horizon, the question is: should James be called up for the friendlies in September and October?
Pinto, straightforward
Jorge Luis Pinto, who was Colombia’s coach over a decade ago, answered bluntly in an interview with the newspaper El País from Cali, stating that he has not done enough to be called up. He even said that continuing to believe in his football is “absurd.”
“Continuing to believe in James Rodríguez is absurd for those of us who follow football, because they can consider him for a while or some time, but not to sustain him as if he were the primary and main player of the team. No way,” said the coach.
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“He has not done enough, at least not recently like he did 8 or 10 years ago, but now he hasn’t and does not have enough merits even to be captain of Colombia, because there are people with better performance and willingness,” added the strategist from Santander.
Pinto also analyzed the continuity of Néstor Lorenzo as national team coach and explained that the biggest mistake he made in the last World Cup was not making the necessary adjustments for the team to have game intensity, something that the champion Spain did have.
“Until today he is not good, I would say average, but not bad either. If he wants to continue he has to improve many concepts, especially what is called the science of tactical training which I talk about a lot,” said Pinto.
“We have been in the ‘patria boba’ for 12 years, since professor José Pékerman, who has the same model and style of work as Lorenzo, in which modern playing styles like those of Spain, Japan, Morocco, like Norway positioning itself as it did against Brazil, are not employed, and that comes from training,” he added.
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