Maturana on James: "He's got talent but he's forgotten to fight"

Former Colombia national team coach Pacho Maturana mused on the current situation of James Rodríguez at Real Madrid: "James is litting between two stages - Colombia and Spain. His national team is based almost entirely around him - something which isn't the case when he plays for Real Madrid. At this moment, Madrid have their so-called 'BBC' frontline which is untouchable and that puts James in a very complicated position. It's not that Madrid don't want him, but he doesn't have a niche in the current set-up - there's no place for him", Maturana explained to El Primer Palo radio programme on Thursday.

Maturana, who knows LaLiga from his time at Real Valladolid and Atlético, also touched on the battle for a regular place between James and Isco: "It is very complicated for a coach at a club like Real Madrid when a player arrives, in this case one who plays in the same position as Isco, a player who performs better than Isco, when from afar, the Malagueñois seen as the future keystone of Spain's national side; it might be perceived as the coach conspiring against what might lie in the future for Spain. A coach cannot be swayed by names or surnames, he has to know all of his players and understand when, at a given moment, a certain player fits into his squad or not".

The 67-year-old had a word of advice for James, who he hopes can carve out a regular place and return to his best: "He should take a look back at his career, because he has always been a fighter and now he's reached the ceiling at world football level, he's become too comfortable. He needs to leave that comfort zone because he's forgotten how to fight. The lad's got talent, but Madrid cannot have a player who only appears for 15 minutes in every game".