James Rodriguez gets his groove back in Copa America

After struggling through a rough season with Real Madrid, Colombia star James Rodriguez has found his groove in the Copa America Centenario tournament.

The summer of 2014 should be forever known as the summer of James Rodriguez. The Colombian midfielder went from unknown talent to world-class superstar in the span of one magical month in Brazil.

Coming off the back of an incredible run in the World Cup with Colombia, James made a big money move to Real Madrid to become one of club president Florentino Perez’s Galacticos. He backed up that move and proved to be worth his fee of roughly €80 million with a string of brilliant performances for Los Blancos.

He was every bit the player he was with Colombia and although he finished with no major trophies that year, he helped Real win the FIFA Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup. Unfortunately things took a sour turn in 2015-16 with the introduction of Rafa Benitez as manager.

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James reportedly did not fit in Benitez’s defensive style and was left out of the team for many of the club’s important games. There were rumors of poor training habits and discontent but they were not solved when Zinedine Zidane replaced Rafa late in the season.

Zidane did his best to put on a public face when speaking about James, but the rumors of discontent dogged him throughout the season.

The attacking midfielder only made 32 appearances in all competitions for Real and did not feature in the dramatic win over Atletico Madrid in the Champions League Final. He was a largely forgotten man at the club but he has come out in the Copa America to remind us what a player he is.

In the opening match against the United States, James was the focal point of the Colombian attack and buried a penalty to put away the hosts for good. He suffered a shoulder injury that may require surgery after the tournament but has been deemed healthy enough to continue.