Football
Jason Davis, U.S. soccer writer 8y

James Rodriguez, MF, Real Madrid & Colombia: #CopaRank: No. 6

Welcome to #CopaRank, a weeklong look at the top 25 players we expect to see at the Copa America Centenario. Over 50 ESPN FC experts and writers from around the globe voted, and we're rolling out the results right up to opening day, U.S. vs. Colombia, on Friday.

Why is James Rodriguez in the top 25?

Rodriguez has all of the tools to be one of the best players in the world, and has shown it on some of the biggest stages the game has to offer. Incredibly agile, technical, and possessing an innate ability to strike the ball, the Colombian burst into the world's consciousness at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil on the back of an incredible goalscoring run. Rodriguez is constantly moving, looking for space, demanding the ball and looking to dictate the pace of the game.

What the experts say about Rodriguez

"For me, talents are those who do things that have nothing to do with their life experience. Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and James Rodriguez -- they do things because they have a certain gift which makes them special." -- Uruguay head coach Oscar Tabarez.

"In my long experience in football, I've had extraordinary footballers in my teams, elite players of a very high technical level. What is most surprising is that, at his young age, he does not have any problem doing things football players take many years to understand." - Colombia head coach Jose Pekerman.

Career highlight:

Rodriguez was one of the stars of 2014 World Cup in Brazil, where he led Colombia to a quarterfinal appearance. He opened the tournament with a one goal, two assist performance against Greece, then went on to score one of the best goals in the history of the tournament in the Round of 16 victory over Uruguay.

Stat of the season:

Rodriguez created 60 chances for Real Madrid this season, second only to Luka Modric's 61.

What next for Rodriguez after the Copa America Centenario?

With his experience in Madrid never as simple as he might have hoped, rumors abound that Rodriguez could be on the move this summer. If he does leave, he'll command an astronomical fee, which limits the numbers of possible destinations.


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