Nestor Lorenzo often gets to the guts of the matter. When asked in regards to the mysterious James Rodriguez ahead of an important match against Brazil on Tuesday, Colombia's eloquent coach once more provided his answer.
“Now he runs a little less, but he thinks a little more. That's good for him. He's well surrounded, and that's why he plays well.”
After just three games on the 2024 Copa America, the 32-year-old Rodriguez has created 11 possibilities for his teammates – greater than some other player within the tournament – and provided three assists. Had it not been for the merciless video assistant referee (VAR) line-drawing midway through an exhilarating first half against Brazil last night in Santa Clara, California, he would have had 4.
“I know his love for the jersey and his commitment to the national team,” Lorenzo continued, “and that's why I trusted him.”
Rodriguez's involvement with the Colombian national team has been uncertain lately, missing out on the squad for the 2021 Copa America as his club form continued to say no. Now at Brazilian club Sao Paulo, his fitness and form have allowed him to play just below 700 league minutes in 12 months.
Still, Lorenzo has found a spot for Rodriguez's technical ability to breathe in a 4-3-1-2 system, pulling the strings in a positionally flexible role behind the 2 strikers. Hard-running and hard-nosed tacklers Jefferson Lerma and Richard Rios can do the dirty work in midfield, leaving the No. 10 free to mix with the intelligent Jhon Arias, spot the relentless runs of Luis Diaz, or look out for busy centre-forward Jhon Cordoba within the box.
With the liberty to maneuver into open spaces, Rodriguez reacts to the play in front of him. As we will see within the graphic below, he likes to drop within the build-up phase and snatch the ball from the centre-backs, especially against the aggressive, deep-lying defences of Paraguay and Costa Rica, who worked hard to shut down his preferred spaces in midfield in the primary two group matches.
In the 1-1 draw against Brazil, every little thing was more open, allowing him to penetrate dangerous areas in the suitable half-space, where he moved inside without hesitation and located his teammates. In these areas, his passes were consistently accurate to the centimeter.
One of his final contributions to his lock-picking practice against Brazil was to create the next likelihood for Cordoba from this very space.
With the time beyond regulation Lorenzo mentioned – which comes from running out wide to receive the pass – Rodriguez selects a superbly timed cross that hits the six-yard line, sails over the defenders and lands on his striker's head.
Seven of the 11 possibilities he has created for his teammates this tournament have come from set pieces, and together with his ability to guage the facility of his passes, it's easy to see why. There's something in regards to the way Rodriguez fires the ball home – the virtually leisurely way of sending it looping and turning towards goal, leaving it hanging within the air just long enough to hit the goalkeeper on his line – that makes any cross incredibly easy to attack.
In the disallowed 'equaliser', you may see how close Davinson Sanchez is to the goal when he touches the ball. The ball goes over the defensive position but isn’t too high for the goalkeeper to get to and win the ball.
Even after corner kicks, Rodriguez repeatedly brought the ball to the sting of the six-yard box. This time it was Cordoba who headed the ball over the bar.
The quality and consistency of those crosses is such that he runs to each Colombian set piece, irrespective of where on the pitch, and receives thunderous applause from the Colombian fans in the group.
Rodriguez may also change things up. At the beginning of the primary half against Brazil, he hit the crossbar with a dangerous free kick, the ball flew high and spun over the wall.
He also sent a shot from a square position towards Alisson's near post. He sauntered towards the ball, leaned back, suddenly closed his body and wrapped his foot across the ball, forcing the goalkeeper to step back and fire a spinning shot over the bar.
His left shoe has finesse and firepower.
Whatever Lorenzo's resume suggests, Rodriguez is certainly not a low-intensity player. Only Brazilian defenseman Marquinhos had more touches last night on the San Francisco 49ers' Levi's Stadium, and the 4 tackles he made were bettered only by teammate Daniel Munoz.
Even though he has lost a little bit of pace and is preparing to show 33 in only over per week, Rodriguez's appetite for the national team keeps him moving.
(Winslow Townson/Getty Images)
“He is a player we have to cover closely,” said Brazil midfielder Bruno Guimaraes before the sport, “someone always has to keep an eye on him.”
Colombia is now unbeaten in 26 matches and goes into its quarterfinal against Panama on Saturday in Glendale, Arizona, as clear favorites to increase that tally to 27.
Rodriguez was the beating heart of that historic winning streak and offers the world a final glimpse into his galactic time at Real Madrid.
GO DEEPER
Copa America 2024 quarter-finals: full schedule for knockout phase
image credit : www.nytimes.com