Has James Rodriguez lived up to his immense potential since 2014?

The Columbia midfielder was the breakout star of the last World Cup in Rio but 4 years on, has James Rodriguez reached the heights many predicted he would?

Rodriguez and Columbia reached the quarterfinals in Brazil, losing 2-1 against the hosts but winning many new fans along their way to the latter stages of the tournament.

James spearheaded the side, scoring 6 times and in each of Columbia’s five games – including a magnificent volley against Uruguay in the last 16 which ended up winning goal of the tournament.

At the time he played his club football in Ligue 1 for AS Monaco and aged just 22 was already a young player that many clubs in Europe were keeping tabs on.

His performances in Rio propelled him into the stratosphere, as Spanish giants Real Madrid came calling just 3 weeks after Columbia’s World Cup ended and he joined the club for a whopping €63 million – the third highest fee in their history.

James had the dream move that most players can only dream of, he was going to be part of a team of galacticos at the famous Santiago Bernabeu, playing at the very top end of European Football.

From hero to zero

Unfortunately, the dream soon turned sour for the Columbian star as he quickly found himself unable to stand out in a side containing world class players such as Ronaldo, Bale, Kroos and Benzema.

He spent 3 seasons in and out of the team, unable to hold down a consistent place in the starting XI and plagued by niggly injuries that disrupted any momentum he gathered during more promising spells.

By the end of Madrid’s 2017 season – during which they retained the Champions League – James requested a move in the search of regular playing time and the club obliged him, shipping him off to Germany with Bayern Munich on a two-year loan deal.

His first season in the Bundesliga – despite a start hampered by another injury – he managed 7 goals and 11 assists in 23 league appearances, as Bayern won the domestic title for the 6th consecutive year.

James even scored against his parent club in their semi-final second leg clash in Spain, refusing to celebrate out of respect and possibly indicating that he believes he has unfinished business at Real.

Although his spell with Bayern has been positive so far, I highly doubt that either he or Real Madrid had expected his development to have gone so slowly up to this point, as his stock is arguably lower now than it was when he left France in 2014.

International magician

One thing that hasn’t changed, however, is the fact that he saves his best performances for the national side. James scored 6 goals in their World Cup qualifying fixtures, including the vital goal in the 1-1 draw against Peru which booked their place in Russia.

It seems that he thrives being the big fish in a pond, as the key man who dictates the play and leads by example for his teammates.

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Columbia builds their team around him and looks to him as the key to unlock opposition defences, whereas at club level he is simply one of many highly skilled players and just another cog in a well-oiled machine.

Opportunity on the world stage?

Russia 2018 could represent a new start for the 26-year-old, as he came into the tournament fresh and hungry to re-discover the magic of Rio as Columbia bid to go deep into the competition once again.

So far that scenario has failed to materialise, as they succumbed to a shock 2-1 defeat in their opening game against Japan, with James left out of the starting line up due to a calf injury.

The incident is typical of Rodriguez last few years in the game, with yet another injury stopping his progress dead in its tracks and delaying his return to the limelight.

Columbia will hope James will be back to 100% fitness by Sunday, for their next game against Poland which is now a make or break occasion for the South Americans.

All being well, if he can then reach the high levels of quality we all know he is capable of, then Columbia still have a fantastic chance of reaching the next round.

James is approaching the prime of his career and is still talented and skillful enough to realise his potential in the coming years.

He may not yet be in the position people hoped and expected him to be in – but the special player we all saw in Rio is still in there and he is more than capable of shining on the world stage once again.

Next: Arsenal and Tottenham set to battle for Liverpool star

Do you think the World Cup will be fruitful for James Rodriguez and his countrymen?