You will be forgiven if you hadn t heard of Colombia s James Rodriguez before this World Cup. The 22 year old attacker plays his club football for AS Monaco a team that plays in the French first division which is a league that isn t televised very often in the U.S. Now that he s made his debut on the world stage though you re going to hear a lot more about him.
Here are seven reasons he s been the breakout star of the World Cup.
1. He s been absolutely brilliant.First there are the stats. Rodriguez has scored five goals and has two assists in four games. Those are jaw dropping numbers of course but they don t tell the whole story.
Rodriguez has been the attacking maestro for Colombia filling in the gap behind the striker and reminding everyone what a rare and gorgeous thing a true Number 10 is to watch.
Rodriguez scores goals and provides assists but he also dictates the play for Colombia sets the attacking tone and gets his teammates to play the game he wants to play. He is their workhorse as well as their artist.
2. He stepped up when Falcao went down.AP Photo
When Colombian star Falcao was ruled out of the World Cup a lot of pundits (including me) didn t think Colombia would have the firepower to make a deep run in the tournament.
We were wrong. I was wrong. Rodriguez has provided all the firepower needed. Colombia needed someone to step up and lead with Falcao out. Rodriguez provided that leadership.
My favorite moment of his this tournament was after his second goal against Uruguay which was set up by a brilliant header by his teammate Cuadrado. Instead of celebrating the goal himself Rodriguez sprinted to find Cuadrado and pointed at him over and over again telling his teammate (and the world) That was your goal. You made that happen.
AP Photo
That s the sort of thing that endears you to teammates. These guys seem to love Rodriguez and look like they want to play with and for him. That s rare in a star.
3. His name is really really fun to say.Reuters
His name is James but you don t pronounce it like Americans pronounce James. The J is soft and said with an H sound so you would phonetically pronounce it Hah mays. This is one of the funnest things to say in the world.
4. He doesn t just score he creates goals as well.AP Photo
The five goals in four games is mind boggling. The fact that he s also had two assists in those four games is even harder to comprehend.
Colombia has scored 11 goals in this World Cup. Rodriguez has been involved with 7 of them.
Another way of looking at it Greece scored three goals this World Cup. Rodriguez has assisted or scored on more than double that.
5. He s 22 years old.AP Photo
He was born in 1991. He turns 23 the day before the World Cup Final. He s just getting started as a player.
6. He s a handsome dude.AP Photo
Not that his looks should have anything to do with why/how he s appreciated but it certainly doesn t hurt anything.
7. He scored one of the most beautiful goals of the year against Uruguay.Watch it. Soak it in.
It ll be a long time before you see a goal that beautiful.
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