Two seasons ago Sir Alex Ferguson, then the manager of Manchester United, bid 35 million Euros for Colombia's James Rodriguez. FC Porto wanted more, but those were the stingy days of Gill, Ferguson and Glazers and so a year later, Rodriguez went to Monaco for 45 million.
In 2010 however, Rodriguez was available for much less. 5 million pounds it is reported. But Ferguson chose Bebe.
For 7 million.
Watching Colombia shred Uruguay to bits on Sunday therefore, must be painful for the Scot- considering the state of Manchester United's midfield. In Rodriguez, Colombia have the star quality to dazzle at the biggest stage. And Brazil must be wary.
Without their star striker Radamel Falcao, the Colombians were expected to struggle; instead they are showing the Latin-American style of football that fans were hoping to see from Neymar and co.
Colombia have won all their games so far, scoring 11 and conceding only 2 goals. Of these Rodriguez has scored 5, eclipsing the likes of Messi, Neymar and Muller in the race for the golden boot.
Rodriguez has been ably assisted by Juan Cuadrado.
The dominance that Colombia has shown has been the outstanding ability of Jose Pekerman's team. They have rarely struggled, brushing aside opponents like Ivory Coast and now, Uruguay.
The match against Brazil is hardly one where either of the two teams will be considered an outright favourite; if anything Colombia might hold the edge against the hosts.
Credit must go to Pekerman for looking beyond Falcao, shrugging off his absence and successfully bringing Rodriguez and Cuadrado together.
Too often teams let injuries/suspensions to star players dampen their spirit, but the Argentine manager has been able to rally his troops to play with a resounding belief.
During the qualifiers Colombia had beaten Uruguay 4-0. They had Suarez then, but while Uruguay have looked disjointed- a bit like Brazil- Colombia have worked better as a collective unit.
Brazil fans would be forgiven to mistake the world cup as a mini Copa America. Of all the teams they have faced so far however, the Los Cafeteros offer the toughest challenge.
The Coffee Men look on top of their game right now, and Scolari would have to come up with a masterstroke to keep the Colombians at bay.
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