It is not a secret that returning to James Rodríguez with the shirt of the Colombian National Team brings a big smile to most people in the country. Also, if you add to that that one of his goals led to victory and that he also used the captain's band. That, not more than a year ago, was impossible to think of.

Having gone to Qatar after an inglorious spell in the Premier League was thought to be the end of James Rodríguez's career. That's not counting the back and forth that he had with Reinaldo Rueda to be in the Colombian National Team. The remembered phrase of 500 percent and the call for him to the last games to avoid falling down the stairs and not being in the World Cup. Something like: "If he sees, I summoned him and we didn't win either."

The break in the Qatar League and injuries caused the left-hander to be out of a soccer field for more than six months. He said everything and went through everything in the market. Great Europeans, supposedly, wanted to have his services; but impossible to think that such a talented player with so many physical problems and without absence, would fall into one of them. The markets were closing and so were James's dreams. Staying in such a poor country, football-wise, presaged the worst.

However, distant Greek football appeared to put it back on the radar. He is not in the 'big six' of the leagues on that continent, but he put it back on television screens, radio shows and tabloids. A rebirth. Feeling important and more... if with just a few days he was a starter and was able to add minutes after a long absence.

That did not make Nestor Lorenzo hesitate. While he stated that he was a kidney man, he was also concerned that he hadn't played in a long time. But having coached, playing 70 minutes and being happy; the doors of the National Team were opened to him immediately. Sure, with a lot of criticism on top. But with the confidence of being with a coaching staff that knows him and knows how to pamper him.