James Rodriguez – From Galacticos to Toffees
It was the 2014 Fifa World cup, where James made himself known to the entire world by scoring in all the group games and ending as the tournaments golden boot winner with 6 goals. This was when the world saw the potential this 22-year-old possessed. Showing so much potential too early does not always turn out to be good because, for the rest of your career, your talent is not measured by the feats you achieve but compares you to the level everyone thought you could reach. And by the time everyone realizes that you failed to live up to that potential, the opportunities at big clubs are gone and a player ends up at some retirement leagues or with a mediocre club in the big leagues.
James had shown talent while playing at Porto and Monaco before having a sensational World Cup, he impressed Florentino Perez to such an extent that Rodriguez was made the 4th most expensive player at that time at £63 million. Carlo Ancelloti was at the helm of Madrid at that time, and Rodriguez started brilliantly with 13 goals and 13 assists in his first season. The Madrid board and fans all thought that they had a new Galactico. But after that season injuries started to haunt the young man, first a fractured metatarsal required a surgery, which was followed by persistent thigh issues. The next season Ancelloti left, and Rafa Benitez took charge. Rafa was never happy with his work rate as he wanted everyone to contribute in the defensive phase as well.
Ancelloti joined Bayern Munich and got James' signature for a 2-year loan spell. Again his first season at Bayern was impressive with 7 goals and 11 assists. But later, Ancelloti was sacked and once again previous problems started to haunt him. With Bayern Munich not taking the option to buy, he made his return back to the Bernabeu. Zidane never found a place for him in his setup, leading to him making just 18 starts over two seasons. So, finally, it was time for him to accept his fate and go to one of the mediocre clubs, and what would be better than to reunite with Ancelloti once again at Goodison Park to join the Toffees Everton.
Clubs like West Ham and Everton are teams where players who once were believed to have a high potential end up after failing to meet the expectation everyone had from them. Everton already possesses a lot of names who[ have through similar fate, like Theo Walcott, Alex Iwobi, Moise Kean, Lucas Digne, Gylfi Siggurdson, or even Richarlison. Kean and Iwobi might be young (20 and 24) and have time on their side, but their early potential was seen to be very high.
Since getting Ancelloti, Everton has shown signs of higher aims, and have even signed Allan and Doucoure alongside Rodriguez. It might have been a perfect signing for Everton had it not been for his wage bill. With that big amount, Rodriguez cannot afford to fail, because Everton needs this gamble to succeed. It is now time for James Rodriguez to get rid of the dreams from early on in his career and try to become highly relevant in the present.
