While Cristiano Ronaldo is deservedly scooping up all the plaudits currently being thrown his way in light of his sensational start to the season, some praise should also be reserved for one player who has quietly gone about his business since arriving at the Santiago Bernabeu in a not-so-quiet way.
It was always going to be difficult for James Rodríguez. First of all, the price tag. The fee for the Colombian could rise to 71 million pounds including add-ons following his summer move from Monaco. This for a player who was not considered to be in the top bracket of world-class players but who ended up being the fourth-most expensive transfer in history behind Luis Suarez, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale.
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James -- and make sure you pronounce his name correctly -- was probably a player not so high up on the "wanted list" of manager Carlo Ancelotti, or president Florentino Perez, but who rose to the summit thanks to his Golden Boot-winning performance at the World Cup with his country. Perez likes a "Galactico," and although the former Porto forward may not have been a Ronaldo, Kaka or Bale in name, he was the man of the moment. Toni Kroos aside, he also fit with a South and North American summer spending spree that brought in Costa Rica's Keylor Navas and Mexico's Javier Hernandez. It did not seem like he was a choice of the manager.
If the price tag was not a big weight on his shoulders, the fact that Madrid sold last season's star man Angel Di Maria to Manchester United and used the Colombian as his direct replacement in Ancelotti's preferred 4-3-3 formation was. James had always been seen as a No. 10, where he shone for Colombia in Brazil a few months ago, but now there were questions over just where he would fit into a side that won the Champions League a few months prior.
There were also questions over why Spain youngsters Asier Illarramendi and Isco were not being considered for starting roles after being labeled the future of the club just 12 months ago. Instead, big bucks were being spent on bringing in a more complete, foreign player. His signing was seen as luxury rather than a necessity, a response to Barcelona throwing money at Suarez. Perez does not like to be outdone in the transfer market.
With Ancelotti sticking almost exclusively to a 4-3-3, albeit tinkering with 4-4-2 when his side do not have the ball, it left the 23-year-old with two realistic options. With Ronaldo and Bale as certainties out wide, he could take a "false 9" role that was tried and tested with Isco last season but ultimately failed. He could also take Di Maria's spot on the left of a three-man midfield. The sale of Xabi Alonso to Bayern Munich helped make Ancelotti's decision a simpler one, putting Kroos in the middle and Luka Modric on the right with James on the left.
It is a different role for the Colombian, but it is one he will have to get used to. There is no shifting Madrid's "BBC," especially in their current form, and there is no shifting the Italian's 4-3-3. Not for the long haul. One advantage of that huge price tag is that it means he will play and be given time to adapt; Perez will not want his star recruit sitting on the bench. See Bale last season, being thrown straight into the first team despite not being fully fit. Perez wants to see his men out on the pitch making the difference.
James may not be the one making the difference right now with Ronaldo almost single-handedly hauling Madrid up from their poor start to the season. The Portuguese has 13 goals in six league matches and is well on track to defend his Ballon d'Or. The former Monaco man has, however, shown that he can fit into Madrid's starting lineup and be a key member with performances that have been improving by the week -- this despite Ancelotti saying he was a player for the future, maybe to ease the pressure on his new recruit.
As with his team, James took time to settle in this season; he did not hit the ground running. An average performance in Cardiff as Madrid won the European Super Cup was followed by a goal in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup doubleheader against Spanish champions Atletico Madrid. It was the second leg when the Colombian made his first real positive impression, however, arguably being Madrid's player of the match before he was withdrawn. He played on the left of the attacking trio with Ronaldo absent, but with Madrid chasing the game he was sacrificed just after the hour mark after the Portuguese talisman had been introduced at halftime.
Since then, or more specifically since Ronaldo had his rest against Real Sociedad and came back fit and healthy, James has been used in a position that he looks likely to occupy for the duration of this season: on the left of a midfield three. Slowly but surely, however, he has grown into the position and has shown that he can be a vital extra cog to Madrid's three-pronged attack. The fourth member of the "BBC."
In Sunday night's 5-0 thrashing of an out-of-form Athletic Bilbao, Ancelotti said his side produced their best performance since the European Super Cup success in Wales, and in James the Italian had a player who arguably completed his most complete performance of the season, as a midfielder, at least. The Colombian may not have got on the scoresheet nor created an assist, but he did look comfortable in midfield and looks to have adjusted well to what Ancelotti has asked of him.
Not only has he looked calm and controlled on the ball, linking well with Benzema, Bale and Ronaldo, but he has helped defensively, too, something that is key in Madrid's current tactical setup. While Kroos and Modric do most of the defensive work of the trio, James has done more than his fair share of tracking back. In the 5-1 Champions League win against Basel, he covered more ground than every Madrid player except Kroos. He also made more interceptions in the game than all of his teammates except Pepe. Ancelotti is a manager who wants his attacking players to help out at the back, something he tried to convert Isco into doing last season, and he has so far succeeded with James.
It will take a lot for the Colombian to topple Bale's debut campaign with Madrid, but after the initial concerns and complaints of Madrid fans over signing a player who seemingly did not need to be signed, James is proving his relative worth. Ancelotti has said that James is a player for the future but he is showing that he is very much a player for now, too. He should showcase that on the international scene over the coming days when he features in friendly matches for his country against El Salvador and Canada.