While he has not had the best time recently at the club level, James Rodríguez has been able to show the quality he still possesses at the Copa América with Colombia this summer.
Plenty of fans and the media called for James not to be called up for this tournament, but he has so far been one of if not the, best players in the group stage.
The 32-year-old created 11 chances for teammates in the group stage, the most of any player in the tournament, while also laying on three assists.
We will take a deeper look at the performances of the former Real Madrid playmaker in this tactical analysis and James Rodriguez scout report, looking closer at the big impact he has made for his country in this Copa América so far in coach Néstor Lorenzos tactics.
Making an impact with his vision and distribution
We touched briefly on it in the introduction to this analysis, but James has been one of the most influential players in the early stages of this tournament.
While he has the most assists in the tournament with three, the attacking midfielder has also played four key passes, tied for the second most in the Copa América.
The data viz graphic above shows the progressive passes that James has played in the Copa América for Colombia so far, which helps to show just how impactful he has been for his nation in this tournament.
He has played most of his progressive passes from deeper areas in the midfield, with the 32-year-old having a more free-roaming role with Colombia, shown by how his progressive passes have occurred from all areas of the midfield.
