James Rodriguez has become the third-least used player under Zinedine Zidane at Real Madrid and their relationship is severely weakening. Once again, the Colombian was an unused sub for the 2-1 victory over Sporting CP in the Champions League. Only Fabio Coentrao, Casemiro, and Mariano have played less than Rodriguez this season, of which the former duo have respectively been missing through injury, with Mariano and Coentrao less prominent in the manager's plans. Communication between Rodriguez and Zidane has hit an all-time low with the Frenchman failing to see a big enough change in the former Monaco star's application in training with Real Madrid's No. 10 downhearted at the lack of change in the boss' views of him.
Rodriguez didn't feature in the Champions League final victory over Atletico Madrid in summer, and Zidane promised to remedy the situation. However, despite injuries to the likes of Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and Casemiro, nothing has changed. The Real Madrid hierarchy are reluctant to let 70 million euro-rated Rodriguez go, with serious fears he would find top form elsewhere if he left. They are still hopeful Zidane will find a place for him in the team. His talent is undoubted and, should he leave Spain, he would be unlikely to find the space to perform at his highest levels in other top European leagues. However, in his native Colombia, they hope their star will leave the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu so he can play more regularly and help his country in their bid to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.
Zidane appears to be in no rush to give James Rodriguez a proper runout in his Real Madrid team, with the attacking midfielder stuck on the bench in both domestic and European duties. A total of seven minutes came the way of the Colombian in the big games against Atletico Madrid and Sporting CP this past week, showing just how far down the pecking order he's fallen. Offered a late cameo with the game gone at the Estadio Vicente Calderon, Rodriguez failed to appear at all in Lisbon and Marco Asensio was favoured to replace an injured Gareth Bale during the 2-1 win. This comes off the back of injuries to midfield colleagues Toni Kroos and Casemiro, along with the fact that Zidane decided against deploying James in big games throughout his tenure, namely the Clasico towards the end of last season and the Champions League final.
Comments
Post a Comment