James Rodriguez: An unfulfilled career and fall of the number 10

James was the star of the 2014 World Cup

I grew up in a time when Zinedine Zidane captured the imagination of the fans with his feathery touches on the ball that reminisced a painter stroking his brush on the canvas with utmost delicacy and mathematic precision.

I grew up in a time when Ronaldinho danced with the ball like a prom king does with his queen; so elegant that it mesmerised the minds of the one who had the privilege to witness it. I grew up in a time when Michael Laudrup found passing channels through the defence like a hawk finds a piece of needle in a haystack.

I grew up in a time when the central attacking midfielders – the number 10s – were adored. Now, I am getting old in a time when the number 10 no longer exists in many teams, it is a dying breed and there is nothing we can do to save it.

The life of James

James Rodriguez was the golden boy of the World Cup 2014

As Bayern Munich announced the signing of James Rodriguez on a two-year loan with an option to purchase him for €35 million by the end of it, it stunned many given that his loan fee over the two years would be €10 million, taking the overall value of the deal at €45 million.

Three years ago, after a Golden Boot winning World Cup campaign, Real Madrid bought the Colombian for a whopping €80 million. He was not a necessary signing back then – three years later, he is not a necessary player at the club.

This was bound to happen. When Real Madrid signed him, the club were already deploying a 4-3-3 – a formation that has no place for the natural 10. So there was no place for the former Porto star from the very beginning itself.

And yet, he managed to score 28 goals and assist 27 times in the league while playing in 77 games over the last 3 seasons, out of which only 59 were starts. Comparing his numbers against minutes gives one a better outlook.

In the last 3 seasons, he played 4988 minutes in La Liga and played a direct hand in 55 goals – which is 90.7 minutes-per-goal-or-assist. Mind you, he rarely got to play in his natural number 10 position, almost always playing as the left-sided central midfielder or on the wings.

Considering all of this, it could be claimed that the former Monaco man is a world class player by all means. In a market where limited footballers like Romelu Lukaku attract around €100 million, it seems absurd that a game-changer like James can’t squeeze in even €50 million.

The fall of the number 10

The contrasting stories of two number 10s

Herein lies the quandary of being a number 10 – no club wants a number 10 simply because they are no longer a crux for any team, rather just a luxury player. With the rise of the 4-3-3 and the resurgence of the 4-4-2, the number 10 position has been dissolved at most clubs.

While both Chelsea and Manchester United – the two clubs that showed interest in him – often use formations that, on paper, seemingly need a number 10 as an obligation, the truth is anything but. The ‘number 10’ in both Conte and Mourinho’s system are players that can defend the full-back when the possession of the ball is lost – something that a natural number 10 doesn’t, and something that cost James his place with the Whites.

Isco is a number 10 too, but the former Malaga man was preferred over the Colombian simply because he could defend the full-back when Real Madrid didn’t have possession.

It is for this reason that no club were willing to pay even €50 million for the man that took the previous World Cup by storm. It’s not that he isn’t worth it – he is worth every penny for up to at least €80 million in this market – it is just that there is no place for him anywhere.

Not even at his new club, Bayern Munich.

The unfulfilled potential

James played his best football under Ancelotti

The Bavarians’ best midfield was the trio of Xabi Alonso, Arturo Vidal and Thiago Alcantara. With these three on the pitch, there was no place for a number 10. However, with the retirement of Alonso, there is an opening in midfield – but James is not the kind of player that could replace the former Real Madrid man.

The signing of Corentin Tolisso was precisely done with the intention to succeed the former Liverpool man. So in order to play James, Carlo Ancelotti must mostly opt for a double pivot with James further forward in front of them and just behind the striker, or play him out of position on the wings or central midfield.

In any case, it is unlikely that James will get an elongated run in his preferred position at Bayern, especially with Tolisso signing for such a big amount. This gives one the impression that the Colombian might just never find home at any club that he plays – he would just be an alternate option to provide tactical diversity.

Despite the fact that he will be playing under Carlo Ancelotti, the manager who brought the best out of him at Real, it would be naïve to expect the Italian to not play his best system in a bid to accommodate the Colombian. He did that in the 2014-15 season and look how that turned out – and lightning generally doesn’t strike twice in the same place.

This brings me to the conclusion that the player that I once thought would win the Ballon d’Or post-Messi-Cristiano era is unlikely to play at his optimum best for a prolonged period because that can only happen at the expense of the team’s best system – something no manager can afford to do.  

It is very likely that James Rodriguez – the young kid that had the world at his feet in 2014 – will have an unfulfilled career. And that will be a pretty damn sad sight, something that will make young kids think more than twice about aspiring to be a number 10.