James Rodríguez, one of the footballers with the most wasted qualities that we can remember, signed for Rayo Vallecano yesterday for a season and brought his career back to life. He has just turned 33 and has just added his third consecutive dismissal: Sao Paulo this summer, preceded by the termination of Olympiakos in 2023 and that of Al-Rayyan of Qatar in 2022. He was without a club when Colombia recruited him to play in the Copa América last June. The number ten clung to his left-footed shot, made six magnificent crosses that ended in goals, scored a penalty against Costa Rica, and although he lost the final against Argentina, CONMEBOL named him MVP of the tournament. Surrendered to his magnificent appearances, the club chaired by Martín Presa gave him a helping hand. His contract is already registered. If his coach, Iñigo Pérez, decides, James could make his debut against Barcelona in Vallecas this Tuesday (9:30 p.m., DAZN).
“Returning to La Liga is a great joy,” he said in an official Rayo video. “It’s incredible to return to a historic club like this. I dream of being able to perform at a high level and be able to show that I want to do things well for the club in the year of its centenary.”
James did extraordinary things at the 2014 World Cup. He scored six goals in five games and led Colombia to the quarter-finals. In two long weeks he showed that he knew how to dictate the timing of the midfield, he thought quickly, he worked generously when his team lost the ball and he never stopped showing up to offer solutions to his teammates. He was light, tough and passionate about competing. Florentino Perez, the president of Madrid, was attracted by the phenomenon. He paid 80 million for his transfer from Monaco and Jorge Mendes, his agent, polished his stable in the summer when his representation empire reached its peak. That was when the decline began.
James played well at Madrid, but he played very little. Less and less often. It was Zinedine Zidane who stopped calling him up by technical decision. Club sources indicate that the player did not take care of himself as a professional should. Without considering scandalous episodes, such as the day when the National Police chased him to Valdebebas for driving at 200 kilometres per hour and disobeying orders to stop, the reports that were in the technical office attest to an unbridled social life. After separating from his wife, Daniela Ospina, in 2016, the footballer made every night a reason to celebrate in various clubs in Madrid. He slept little and trained less, as he claimed to have pain on a recurring basis and this postponed him to the infirmary or the gym. In order not to sell him for a loss, in 2017 Madrid loaned him to Bayern, where he remained for two seasons with ups and downs. His great qualities did not end up being expressed consistently. One day yes, another no.
Everton signed him on a free transfer when his contract in Madrid expired. But after a few months of glory, he faded again. A year after signing him, the English club transferred him for eight million euros to Ak-Rayyan in the Qatari league. Until now, no player had been known to make the journey back and forth from Qatar to prolong his career in a major European competition. James managed to do so after stumbling through Greece and Brazil. He was the first thanks, in part, to the ingenuity of Jorge Mendes, and in part to the redemptive effect of the Colombian national team.
Before the start of the Copa América last June, James had barely played 265 minutes of competition in 2024 with Sao Paulo. He was a substitute. The story of his life since he passed through the Bernabéu. No player of his reputation has played fewer minutes of competition so far this century. At 33 years old, James has accumulated 31,400 minutes of action for his clubs. Figures typical of any footballer. Kroos, who retired at 34, has accumulated 57,000. Neymar, who did not take care of himself and has suffered chronic injuries for four seasons, has accumulated more than 48,000 minutes at 32 years old. Gareth Bale, proverbial among the indolent little-used players, retired at 33 years old and 41,000 minutes of competition.
Colombia rescued him. In the heat of the short tournament, in the Copa America that was played in the United States, the genius blossomed once again. He gave two assists against Paraguay, another against Costa Rica, two more against Panama, and two against Uruguay in a display of lucid and decisive decisions that recalled old times. The magic ended against the shrewd Argentine defense.
James lost the Copa America in extra time. Along the way, he regained some of the professional credibility squandered during ten years of dissipation. His redemption came with Colombia, where he has already played more than one hundred games. Ten years after the World Cup in Brazil in which he was crowned top scorer, the Colombians still move to the rhythm of their number ten, now accompanied by Luis Díaz, the Liverpool winger who has not hidden his admiration for the captain, five years older. James has always felt supported in the yellow shirt.
Néstor Lorenzo’s team is going through a sweet moment. It is the only one that has not lost in the first six rounds of the South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup in North America, in which it even had the luxury of beating Brazil in Barranquilla (2-1). In the Copa América he confirmed that great moment, with a rejuvenated James in stellar form. Half of Colombia’s 12 goals came from his passes, and another was his. The tricolor only surrendered to world champion Argentina, with a solitary goal from Lautaro Martínez in extra time of the final.
James returns to the League through the door of Vallecas. He is preceded by legend and the reality of an undoubted talent. His story is an unsolved enigma. But with little he does, he will help the team and enjoy the gratitude of a fan base that is full of affection.
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