Not too much of a surprise here, but James Rodriguez has opened up about his freedom on the pitch and playing for club vs country.
According to James, he has much more freedom to roam and create with Colombia than he does with Real Madrid. It’s no surprise, considering he is the superstar on the Colombian team, while he’s on a Real Madrid side that features Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, and Luka Modric.
“I have to be open to everything. At Madrid I play a little bit further back. Here I can play more as a ‘ten’, more as a playmaker. I have more freedom,” Rodriguez told Spanish outfit AS.
With Colombia set to face the United States on Friday in London, the man who earned his Real Madrid move thanks to a stunning World Cup campaign will again be a threat to an opposing back line. His ability to run, create, and score was on display for all to see in Brazil, where he earned the Golden Boot for most goals scored despite only making the quarterfinals before falling to Brazil.
The Brazilian team controversially shut down Rodriguez in their quarterfinal match by implementing the hack-a-Shaq strategy and fouling him at every opportunity to cut down any chances he would have created in the space allowed. It backfired when Neymar was struck back with a hard retaliation foul and fractured his a vertebrae.
Despite being allowed fewer freedom of movement, Rodriguez has settled in with Real Madrid quite well. He has four goals and four assists as well, including a brace against Granada on the first of the month. He has appeared in every single match for the club so far this season, starting in 16 of the 18 matches across all competitions while playing the full 90 in seven of 11 league matches and two of four Champions League ties.