Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane has explained why James Rodriguez is not getting enough first team action at the club this season. Zidane said that he considers Rodriguez a key part of his side, but he can’t make any guarantees regarding the Columbian’s game time.
“Each player has a different situation,” Zidane said. “I try and show everyone in the squad that they are important. At the moment James is playing less. But the idea is the same, that he can help us.
“I know he wants to play more, they all do, but I try to help the team in each game, and that is not going to change.I want James here with me, for him to play for us, and nothing more.”
In spite of the fact that Rodriguez is unhappy with the present situation, he insisted that he and Zidane has a good relationship.
“I want to play more,” Rodriguez told RCN last week. “But hey, there’s someone (Zidane) who commands all and it is he who says who plays who does not play. He takes decisions and he calls the shots. You have to respect all that.”
“It is not how everyone says (his relationship with Zidane). It is a relationship that is fit between a player and a coach. I’m in a club where everyone wants to win and you are always needed to play well. It is the biggest (club) worldwide, that is Real Madrid.”
Rodriguez, who was one of the stars of the 2014 world cup, arrived at The Santiago Bernabeu from AS Monaco for a deal worth €80 million. He has made only five appearances for The Los Blancos this season in the La Liga and has only two starts to his name.
The 25-year-old, who missed Real Madrid’s midweek trip to Poland to face Legia Warsaw with a minor injury, was part of the Real side that beat Leganes 3-0 over the weekend. He came on as a substitute for Isco in the 68th minute of the game.
If Rodriguez is still struggling for game time come the new year, he will certainly attract interest from a lot of clubs in the January transfer window and Real Madrid will find it tough to hold onto him. Manchester United and Inter Milan were keen on securing his services in the summer, but he opted to stay in the Spanish capital.
Rodriguez has been called up to the Columbian team that will take on Chile and Argentina in the FIFA world cup qualifiers.
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