Sunday 22 March 2015

James, the toughest boots to fill up

NEEDED 
Barcelona vs Real Madrid brings the best football players on the planet together on the same field of play. The most notable absence will be that of James Rodríguez.
There are also still doubts as to whether Sergio Busquets will make the squad or not as a result of his ankle problems.

The fractured foot which James suffered in the game against Sevilla has deprived Carlo Ancelotti of one of his best players this season.

The former Monaco star arrived in Spain with questions surrounding the €75 million fee which 'Los Blancos' paid for him, but he has won over the Bernabéu faithful with goals, assists and superb football.

An undisputed starter in the middle of the pitch, Rodríguez has scored eight goals in the 20 league games which he has played, and has also come up with seven assists in the domestic championship.

They will be breathing sighs of relief in Barcelona, because James really made them suffer in the first meeting between the clubs this season. Real won 3-1 and the Colombian schemer provided an assist during the 90 minutes which he played against Luis Enrique's men.

The saving grace for Real is that James's absence at the Camp Nou will be mitigated somewhat by the return of Luka Modric to accompany Isco and Toni Kroos.