IN the absence of Radamel Falcao, the spotlight turns to midfield maestro James Rodriguez to lead Colombia brilliantly into the knockout stage in Brazil with three goals thus far.
After a slow start to life at Monaco, Rodriguez shone in his first season in France, where he was named to the Ligue 1 team of the season following his tally of nine goals and 12 assists that helped the principality club to a second-place finish.
Nicknamed ‘El Nuevo Pibe’ (the new kid), a nod to the original ‘El Pibe’ Carlos Valderrama, there are in truth few similarities between the two, neither in playing style nor appearance, but the more direct and forward-thinking Rodriguez has definitely emerged as one of Colombia’s star performers.
Published in Dawn, June 28th, 2014
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