James Rodríguez led Colombia out to warm up before the start of his last dance at a tournament that will forever define him.
What happened in 2014?
He manufactured one of the greatest individual World Cup campaigns in history back in Brazil 2014, leading Colombia to its best ever tournament result.
Colombia won all three of its group stage games with Rodríguez bagging two assists and scoring another three, including a spectacular goal against Japan.
The impact of James Rodríguez
Rodríguez became a superstar almost overnight, but what happened next turned him into a World Cup legend, with his volley at the Maracanã winning the Puskás Award later that year.
Twenty-eight minutes into Colombia’s round of 16 matchup against Uruguay, Rodríguez struck a rocket of a volley on the half-turn that hit the crossbar beyond the reach of Fernando Muslera and bounced into the back of the net.
The current World Cup
In his third career World Cup, Rodríguez wore the captain’s armband for the first time and couldn’t hold back tears as the thousands of Colombian supporters belted out a powerful rendition of the national anthem.
What followed was not vintage Rodríguez, but there wasn’t that spark of magic in the 72 minutes he spent on the pitch, and he was substituted to thunderous applause.
The legacy of James Rodríguez
Rodríguez doubtlessly holds a special place in Colombian hearts, and for good reason, with his eight goal involvements in the 2014 World Cup igniting the nation’s maiden voyage to the tournament quarterfinals.
Radamel Falcao’s devastating knee injury saw many count out Colombia’s ability to make a deep run in 2014, but Rodríguez was ready to introduce the planet to his generational talent, and Colombia finished with its best ever tournament result.