Impossible to compare. Just such different times, different styles. Even Argentinians/Brazilians were not recruited like they are today unless you were the superstar. I've seen El Pibe back in his Dep Cali days with Redin and he was unstoppable (actually that whole squad was stacked just that America de Cali was the 'super team" of that era).
Yes and no. Not everyone went to Europe and a lot of talent stayed home. But the elite of the elite still went to Europe and Pibe did. Once they were both in Europe, James was winning midfielder of the season and starting eleven awards for two of the best leagues and managed to play and start for two of the best teams. NT, James clearly has achieved more. Pibe just never reached that level of success at either
Totally different. Our league was inflated with narco dollars in the 80s (think similar to how the Saudis are buying up great players, though not as severe) - so top players from Argentina and Uruguay came to play for Colombian teams and few of our players left. (NB: there were very few moves across continents at the time) My beloved America de Cali made all those Libertadores finals because the team was STACKED.
I'd like to know what other country has as many 2nd bests as we do. We are up there Throw in Junior's failed sudamericana final and Colombia's recent Copa America fail
Yes, we love 2nd place! But nowadays, it takes more than a huge effort to get to the finals with Brazil + Argentina start with a combined 13-14 spots, meaning a 1 out of 3 chance the champ will come from one of these 2 countries. Silly Conmebol.
This is very true. The odds are not in our favor nor are they in other countries favor. Especially after the libertadores and sudamericana formats got revamped again recently.
Netherlands? 3 WC finals lost, only 1 Euro title (3 times semifinalists), and they have lost 3 of the 4 euro club finals they have played this century.
Right but you have to have some context. Given the fact that we didn't really have any export experience to Europe prior to the 90s, our players weren't developed in the same capacity they are today. You're talking Pibe was one of our 1st ever to play in the top leagues of Europe, same with Asprilla and those crop of players that made it to the 90 WC and beyond. It's difficult adapting to go to Euro leagues in TODAY's marketplace, but you can imagine when it was a 1st for all of our players back in those days. Even James's early start in Argentina allowed him to grow and prep for the jump to Europe. I think it's apples and oranges, if we had Valderrama grow up in the same era as James, who knows what his potential might have been and vice versa. El Pibe had 3 WC runs and we don't have the same highlight reels for his performances as we do for James but if you look at the impact El Pibe made for the NT AND Club he transformed the marketplace for future Colombian exports. James has had a more impressive resume based on the clubs he's played, salaried earned and been a star for the NT but given ALL the tools/opportunities he's never realized his full potential for club. These type of players come once every so often. Waiting for the "next James", which will come, that will offer something entirely new and hopefully have his own legacy.
I think for club the issue for James is he spent alot of years on the bench at one of the best clubs in the world, and you don't probably shouldn't get much credit for not playing much even though he was at a very high level when he was a central part of Madrid and Bayern and his highest level was world class. Falcao got his peak years at club and was insane, won European trophies and went deep as a central figure even though his highest real club level was Atletico, but he had some phenomenal seasons and performances during that peak, James had a really good year at Madrid and a really good 2 years at Bayern but alot of his peak years were wasted for different reasons. Hard to compare the recent generations to the time of El Pibe because simply Colombians were not given the opportunities at the biggest club stage, but he and others did pave the way for the players now. In terms of making the most of the given gifts, I think its safe to say that El Pibe had an insane career for a guy who wasn't that quick, and he basically played with a style and did stuff that no one really ever did. Falcao was cut short because of injury, they all 3 are special players and its actually feels sad to have to knock any of them to lift the others up, they're 3 legends who put us on the map.
when I was a kid I wanted a Valderrama Tampa Bay Mutiny jersey, lol. Pibe was an MLS pioneer. He's an icon!
Oh god, I can still see him being dispossessed and that ball going to Crespo when I close my eyes... Pipa's goal in the first leg is an all timer.
⏳ Se va acercando la hora del café, ¿no? 🫣 pic.twitter.com/l8HTHAKoly— Rayo Vallecano (@RayoVallecano) August 26, 2024
Looking at Rayo's roster I don't feel great about this being a great setup for James. I think he wants to be in Europe and he ideally probably wants to go back to Madrid so Rayo fits, but from a playing perspective I don't love it at all and hope we don't get another situation where he doesn't care and doesn't commit to the project.
Yeah well as many I have doubts and if he's just going to last a few months I would've preferred Italy just to see him in seríe a. But he knows the whole country has their eyes on him, much more than when he was playing in Greece or Arabia or even Brazil.
It is a better situation than what I thought he would have to settle for. Prior to the Copa many of us thought he may go to MLS or Mexico. Being on the bench and a role player for a team like Rayo with some spot starts here and there is not bad as long as he can stay healthy and not cause any trouble.