10 years ago today he made his debut with the Seleccion. Things have not gone the way I thought they would for his club career but he has pretty much met my expectations from that day. In many ways exceeded them.
I was there. In Miami with my step-dad and this would also be Pekerman's first game with us too. Such an already promising turn around we had from that day.
Well Al Rayyan are currently playing tonight but still no James. Not really surprised as it's just the Ooreedoo Cup, which is a tournament intentionally played during the national team break so anyone on international duty does not play. However, I had a hope he'd play as Nzonzi is playing and he's not on international duty. Just in case you're interested in the different competitions Rayyan are playing in: Qatar Stars League - basically the league which contains 12 teams and is played in the home and away format. Top 4 qualify for AFC champions league, cups depending, and bottom club is relegated. The QSL has basically been dominated by Al Sadd and Al Duhail over the last decade, with Rayyan getting relegated + winning the league the year after in the mid 2010s Emir Cup - It's basically Qatar's premium cup competition, like the FA Cup. Even though you only have to win 4 games, the Amir Cup is huge as the Emir himself comes and the last 4 have coincided with the opening of World Cup stadiums + there's all sorts of festivities before and after. Again, Sadd and Duhail have dominated recently, but Rayyan have won a few and will play Al Sadd in the final in two weeks time. The Qatar Cup - This is basically a glorified super cup in which the top 4 teams in the league qualify and play a semifinal and final against each other. Al Rayyan will play again this year but tends to be dominated by the big two Qatar Super Cup - aka the Qatari Sheikh Jassim Cup, this is the super cup played between the QSL and Emir Cup winners. Rayyan didn't play in it this year, it was played between... yep, you guessed it - Sadd and Duhail Qatar Stars Cup - As I said earlier it's played on international break days so international players won't play. You'd be surprised at how many teams this affects as there are a lot of African and Asian players playing on these sides. It tends to have some random winners with unfancied Al Saliya winning it last year.
Ha ha - well that won't be on until midnight here so he could have done both. Colombia vs Brazil? Hmm.. could be tempting to stay up for.. problem is then it will run into the Panama vs USA game which is on at 1 am and if start watching one game, won't be able to go to sleep at halftime.
He seems like the type to set up his twitch stream slowly and get ready for it with the right outfit and camera angles. Then do pregame chat and talk about himself for a few hours before the game starts. It is a process.
Not sure James Rodriguez likes what he sees from his new side! 🤣 🤓 pic.twitter.com/GU4SLGQ8Iv— Bet9ja (@Bet9jaOfficial) October 7, 2021
📊"Hace pocos días me encontré a James Rodríguez en Doha, me dijo que estaba listo para el Mundial de Catar" G. Infantino, Presidente de la FIFA #LoMejorDeLaFecha pic.twitter.com/xxfG1SyFzZ— Win Sports (@WinSportsTV) October 14, 2021
The guy probably didn't see any of their games and signed for them. He's an idiot who's thrown away his late peak years. He's ready to watch the World Cup? because we are still on the edge of qualifying and he's on the edge of being called up lol.
The look on his face or the fact that the word ASS is written in bold under his face on the screen? As they say... Tough look for my guy....
Quintero does a new song…. Legend Goes to china and sits out 6 months when could have been with River = legend James cures cancer = he sucks he will never be as good as el pibe
Dude - when he is playing James gets plenty of accolades. You are missing the point - the reason Quintero is a legend is that he is dropping records, making bank in China AND still managed to stay in good graces with NT and contribute to the team. James' issues are off pitch and of his own creation. Everyone would rather have a fit James available. Everyone.
And Quintero in his career was not making a ton of money, you have one playing career and it's short, the smart move is to secure the bag and maximize your earning potential in the game to be comfortable the rest of your life. Quintero made a smart move for his life, James on the other hand already made boat loads and his commercial deals are massive as well, he could have cemented a real legend status on the world stage and in Colombia while also being comfortable, he's lost money and hurt his playing career with his moves Quintero has gained money while minimally hurting his playing career (still in line with the NT).
Looks like we will see James tomorrow vs Al Duhail: “Our new recruit, Colombian player James Rodriguez had a slight muscle problem and was not ready to play. Now, he is much better and training normally, and I am happy with the work he is doing. He worked a lot last week and we can see him in the Al Duhail match. It is good news for him, Al Rayyan and me because he is a great player. I think it is good news for everyone who loves football because he is a very good player and we will see him against Al Duhail,” said Blanc. https://www.qsl.qa/en/news/were-ready-face-al-duhail-al-rayyan-coach-blanc That means his first two matches are vs Al Duhail in the league, and then against Al Sadd next Friday in the Emir Cup final... that's a trial by fire if there ever was one as those are the top two teams in Qatar, so well if he can get it done there... well, I know he can obviously get it done but the quality of opponents he'll meet in Qatar will only go down from there. Al Rayyan finished 3rd last season, but a good 12 points behind Duhail and a whopping 25 off champions Sadd, and lost all four of their games against them, so it's interesting to see what difference the additions of James + Nzonzi can make. I'll definitely get to see James in the Amir Cup final on Friday, but may stay late at work and pop by the stadium tomorrow night on my way home if he's confirmed to play. It's always fun to watch games between the big three....
Just realized it's a doubleheader - Al Sadd vs Al Gharafa followed by Duhail vs Rayyan so may check out it out actually, at least some of the games...
He's making his debut right now. Sadly, I don't think the Qataris were ready for his demand... Their official online stream can't keep up with the traffic.
Update: I finally got the stream to load. His team is down 2-0 on two penalties. James is playing at RW and looked super pissed off at half time. Like he was incensed and talking to himself as he walked off. (Hopefully a positive sign that he still gives a damn)
Glenn - are they super generous with penalties in Qatar because they don't want to upset the Sheiks or some thing? Those were both very soft penalties.
So I think I'd best describe the level here as "early era MLS" - James reminds me a lot of when I saw Italian legend Roberto Donadoni play for what were then called the NY/NJ Metrostars. His team has no defense (or has been called for pens on the two times they have tried to defend) and the opposition has no gameplan other than to park the bus completely (there appear to be 20 players in the box everytime Al Rayyan attack) and then hoof into the spaces left behind by Al Rayyan's non existent defense... It effectively looked like what I'd expect to happen if you dropped James into a pick up game somewhere. He got fouled a lot and a few times hard. If he can somehow stay healthy in that context and can keep his sharpness, he will certainly be at high physical fitness - he was sweating like I've never seen him before - like that scene out of Airplane.
. Yeah just got back from the match.. meh, 3-0 loss but 2 soft penalties. Anyway, quite a few Colombians out. It was a double header with the previous games seeing Al Sadd beat Gharafa 6-4, and to be honest I can't see how Rayyan will get anything out of the Emir Cup final against Sadd on Friday. But should be a much bigger crowd. James showed some good touches here and there but his teammates couldn't capitalize.