PThe years go by but the quality of the ’10’ remains intact. Today marks ten years since that iconic goal against Uruguay, which was scored by James Rodríguez and found Fernando Muslera’s net to pave the way to the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Brazil.
Colombia is preparing for its match against Costa Rica for the second round of group D this afternoon. Meanwhile, it is a special anniversary for both James Rodríguez and the national team. For the second time, the date of a Copa América match this year coincides with one played by the Colombian National Team in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil in which the ’10’ was a figure. The first coincided with the match against Japan in which James scored a dream goal and the second coincided with the match against Uruguay that raised him to the top of world football.
James Rodriguez’s fantasy goal
On June 28, 2014, James Rodríguez, after a brilliant time in the group stage as a figure of the national team, established himself as a reference for one of the best generations to have worn the tricolor shirt.
It was the date on which Colombia would try to mark its best performance in a World Cup by qualifying for the quarter-finals. They faced Uruguay in a stadium that has a lot of history for the Uruguayan team: the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro. However, this time, history was on the side of the tricolor. Far from that triumph of 1950 in the ‘Maracanazo’Colombia defied the predictions and James Rodríguez shone and showed the world the quality he had been demonstrating since the previous matches.
After a ball rejection and a header pass from Abel Aguilar, James stared at the ball while standing on his chest and in a quality move, while he was going down, he turned around to face Fernando Muslera’s goal. Without taking his eyes off the ‘brazuca’, he took a strong shot from outside the area and surprised the goalkeeper who not even had his 1.90 m height to prevent the Colombian from scoring a goal that made him a star.
A decade later, the ’10’ remains intact
After that goal, came the golden age of the midfielder, he was signed by Real Madrid, he was the World Cup scorer, a candidate for the Golden Ball and won the Puskas award for the best goal of the year.. Today, after his career and various situations that made him earn criticism as a footballer, he continues to show that the Colombian National Team shirt does not weigh on him.
Everyone remembers the goal, several accounts on social networks commemorated the anniversary of the score. Among them, the one from the Fifa World Cup that accompanied it with the text “warm in loop.”
In the current Copa América he has played one game and was a starter, Néstor Lorenzo’s trust in James bore fruit and he signed a victory in which he was a figure and gave the two assists of the match. Now, against Costa Rica he will also be a starter and will reaffirm, more and more, that although the years go by, the quality in his feet remains intact and that when he puts on the Colombian National Team shirt, there is no other player who proves to deserve it more.
