How is Colombia still getting the best from veteran star James Rodriguez?

“We know that he will get his fitness back, because this national team makes him feel a special kind of way,” said Colombia head coach Nestor Lorenzo, over two years ago.

Though a lot has changed for James Rodriguez in the time since, that assessment from his manager is just as fitting now as it was back then.

Approaching his 35th birthday, Rodriguez arrived into this World Cup with just 275 minutes of domestic football in his legs this calendar year.

Following a brief but brilliant spell in the Premier League at Everton, he has played a scattering of games in Qatar, Greece, Brazil, Spain and Mexico, before crossing the border to join Minnesota in February. He has not truly made his mark at any of those clubs on his twilight tour.

But just as he has throughout his enigmatic career, Rodriguez still, improbably, shines bright for his country. Across three group-stage wins, he has been instrumental to Colombia’s sweeping attacking play, demanding the ball and swinging cross-field passes left and right as if he had never been away. If he starts Colombia’s knockout tie with Ghana this evening, he could surpass the game-time he has managed across the last eight months of his club career at this summer’s tournament alone.

“Now he runs a little less, but he thinks a little more,” said Lorenzo in 2024 in another prophetic observation. “He is well-surrounded, and that is what’s making him play well.”

The names and the faces are different but the process is the same under Lorenzo’s watch; pass, move and run to give Rodriguez options on the ball.

---

On paper, Rodriguez starts as the right-sided winger at the top of a 4-3-3, but that doesn’t do justice to the fluidity of his role. He will frequently drift into central areas, often aiming to drop outside of the opposition shape, away from pressure, before searching for floated passes over the top.

Here against DR Congo, for example, we see a typical build-up structure from Colombia — anchoring midfielder Jefferson Lerma tucks between the centre-backs, allowing full-backs Daniel Munoz and Johan Mojica to push on. Midfielders Gustavo Puerta and Jhon Arias are busy looking for space in midfield, while the right-winger Rodriguez… has wandered half-way across the pitch to pick up the ball.

He receives the pass in plenty of space, while immediate runs from forward players Luis Diaz and Luis Suarez give him an option to lift the ball over the defence and in-behind.

Width from the full-backs is a crucial part of Colombia’s approach. They have strength in depth on both sides, with Santiago Arias and Deiver Machado coming into the starting XI against Portugal, offering similar intensity with their forward runs.

Below we can see a similar set-up; as Portugal press man-for-man, Puerta and Arias are once again on the move in midfield, while Rodriguez is now in a more conventional starting position with the full-backs hugging the touchline.

Rodriguez drops into midfield, while Portugal left-back Nuno Mendes is visibly confused, gesturing towards the bench to see whether he should follow.

It means Rodriguez has time and space to turn on the ball and search for a pass. Further ahead, Diaz and Jhon Cordoba are quick to make runs inside, dragging defenders away from the opposite flank and clearing the path for a switch to the opposite full-back Machado.

Such freedom to drift into pockets of space means that Rodriguez is on-hand to affect most phases of play. It speaks to ideas of relational play, as players move towards the ball and combine, rather than occupy strict positions on the pitch.

For Rodriguez in particular, the most technically-gifted player in the squad, it means a variety of movements all over the pitch, as we can see from the visualisation below.

His role is to combine with his teammates, create spontaneous overloads, and drag the opposition around the pitch to create spaces for others to arrive into with late forward runs.

Such surges of movement are why Rodriguez’s cross-field passes to his full-backs are so effective, and seemingly always an option.

In another example against Portugal, Lorenzo’s team move forward in their familiar shape, with full-back Santiago Arias pushing on down the line and midfielder Jhon Arias moving close to Rodriguez to combine.

As the pair exchange passes, note how the opposition shape has been pulled to one side of the pitch, with six Portuguese players shuffling over to keep an eye on the swirling rotations and passes.

That naturally creates space on the underloaded side, and as Rodriguez looks across, the synchronised movement begins; Jhon Arias takes away Vitinha, centre-forward Cordoba attempts to shake off Ruben Dias, while Puerta keeps Diogo Dalot occupied with a forward run, opening up the passing lane for the long ball.

With six switches of play, no player has completed more than Rodriguez at the World Cup so far. Such co-ordinated off-ball movement makes it possible every time.

Puerta has been an inspired addition to the Colombia midfield this summer; hungry, dynamic and secure on the ball.

Still just 22 years old, he is often the player to run in-behind down the right when Rodriguez drops into midfield, bringing balance to the side and ensuring build-up play isn’t all ball-to-feet.

“The coach always demands a lot of mobility from me,” said Puerta after the Portugal draw. “He wants me to receive the ball between the lines and to play forward.”

We can see exactly what he is about again Uzbekistan in the clip below, spinning away from pressure and continuing his run to drag another defender away from Rodriguez. As always, both full-backs are an option, and the midfielder shifts the ball onto his left and curls a pass out to Mojica in space.

Remarkably, Rodriguez isn’t the only blast-from-the-past Colombia playmaker thriving with the movement around him at the World Cup. Juan Fernando Quintero has made an impact off the bench, threading several eye-of-the-needle passes through the defence from a similarly free role.

Look at the number of darting runs in behind once the 33-year-old receives the ball in midfield, as three players drive at the Portuguese back four and full-back Machado creeps forward down the left.

Colombia’s fluidity on the ball is the product of over four-years work by Lorenzo, in which time they have reached a Copa America final, where their eventual defeat to Argentina snapped a 28-game unbeaten run. They are a serious side, who could make a real dent this summer as the knockout phase progresses.

Almost as encouraging as the performances is the atmosphere surrounding the team. The football is slick and the vibes are good, with throwback No 10s thriving in an era where technical ability can be stifled by rigid tactical systems.

“Rodriguez is doing well,” said Lorenzo. “He is getting better physically and his talent means that he change things without running as much as the others. He gives us clarity to our game.”

No player in the Colombia squad has created more chances or broken more defensive lines with his passing than Rodriguez this summer.

So far, the manager’s faith in pure footballing ability is paying off.