Colombians in Europe: Stock is on the Rise Part 1

The last under 20 world cup was hosted by Colombia left a sour taste in every country men mouth since they were eliminated by Mexico in the quarterfinals match. Colombia were high favorites along sides Brazil. They possessed the talent and winning mentality which showed off during the Toulon Tournament (which is comparable to the Confederation cup). Brazil eventually won the world cup and the fans returned with the ill mentality they have towards the Colombian national teams.

Even though the world cup was a total failure it did open the door of opportunity for some players to get scouted and now are making a name for themselves in top European leagues. In this part 1 I will write about 3 players that stood out the most by being straight edge, hard working, skilled and talented and most importantly giving it their all when they wore the Colombian national team jersey.

1.)  James Rodriguez 

This superstar in the making made his way through the ranks of his childhood team Envigado F.C. Making his professional debut in 2006 at the age of 16. Along sides Giovanni Moreno, helped his team ascend the following year. Rodriguez made himself a name by scoring 20 times in 55 appearances in his first 2 years. He was called up for the under 17 Colombian squad which were runners up.

 At the age of 18 he was shipped out to Argentina where his new team Banfield took notice and started to make a quick impression. Scoring his first goal from 20 yards out. The fans grew quickly on him, immediately started to get high praises from his coach and media calling him such nicknames as James "Bond" to the Colombian Cristiano Ronaldo. In 2010 he made took La Copa Libertadores by storm scoring 5 goals in 7 appearances but quickly his team saw the way out after winning in the quarter final match against Inter. Porto Alegre 3-1 but losing 2-0 and receiving a red card for 2 fouls.

Teams in Europe quickly caught on. In the summer of 2010 with Benfica leading the chase with Udinese but Porto F.C ended up snatching him up under their noses buying him for 5.1 million. Life was easy adjustment for James since he had fellow country men Radamel Falcao and Freddy Guarin. Quickly rising up to the occasion taking over the winger positions which Cebolla Rodriguez and Varela both internationals for their respected countries had locked down. Making his permanent mark on the team with a hat-trick in the 2010 Portuguese cup final.

James Rodriguez was called up to the senior squad for the first time at the age of 20 and has made his position permanent, taking command of the midfield in his first match with a heroic effort against Bolivia. Colombia has never seen a player with such caliber since El Pibe Valderrama. With exceptional vision, dribbling, creativity and maturity. This has made him the main target for Manchester United in this upcoming 2012 summer market.

Where Is The Winning Mentality at Arsenal F.C?

It has been approximately 6 years 11 months and 2 days since Arsenal has last won a trophy. The very famous 04-05 season has left us visualizing the past instead of the present and future. There are certain areas where we have to look to truly see why we are lacking in the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and not so recently but arguably Liverpool. Arsenal adopted the policy of buying low and sell big since 2000 when they had plans to build their new stadium which opened in 2006. Since then they have sold mostly all of our experienced, big impact, leading players such as Henry, Kolo Toure, Ashley Cole and the list goes on. This had to happen in order to pay off the 400mill that eventually came out costing for the new Emirates Stadium. The problem I see is that we are in 2012, we had a financial turnover in which cash reserves rose to £ 115 million. Which means WE HAVE NO MORE DEBT!

Arsene Wenger has put his legacy in Arsenal for eternity but his support is quickly diminishing from a current fan point of view. With the selling of our top players almost every year we have gained a mediocre style of play, very predictable with poor defending. I love what Wenger is trying to do on the drawing board but it can only be transferred on the pitch with quality players. Even though we are complying with the financial fair play regulations we have become a feeder club to other top ranking clubs. They reassured me of that during the 2011 summer transfer when they sold Samir Nasri to Manchester City and Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona.

Have I lost hope in this club? No, but they need to stop deceiving fans when they sign 5 players in the last 48 hours from money desperate teams. I'll admit I liked the signing of Andre Santos, Mikel Arteta and Per Mertesacker, it brought experience and leadership, but do you really think Arsene would of bought them if not pressured from fans or the fact that Santos and Mertesacker only cost 11 million while Arteta was bought for 10? Bottom line is if we want to compete against the top clubs in Europe then we need to stop making selling our priority in every transfer window.

Will Chelsea pass the fitness test?

I feel bad for Chelsea but they did it to themselves. They got 3 must win games in a row against Tottenham Hotspurs in which they destroyed in the FA cup semi final 5-1, now against Barca in mid week then this Saturday against Arsenal to keep their champions league qualification hope alive. Occupying 6th place only 2 points behind Newcastle and Spurs. Tight and exciting race in these last 4 games of the English Premier League 

Exciting summer in La Liga

With David Villa basically done, Benzema being the of the most over rated player in la liga, Higuain wanting to leave madrid if he doesn't get more playing time, Neymar most likely going to Madrid if they sell Di maria this summer which in marketing stand point makes most sense and then you got "El Tigre" Falcao who has scored 22 goals in 29 games with basically almost no help in which the likes of Messi and Ronaldo have. It sucks but yeah Falcao is going to Barcelona in the summer transfer season, for how much? around 60 mill easy.

My intro into the Futbol blogging world

Earlier in the day I decided to write while I felt motivated and found out it is very easy as long as you got passion, information and facts on the topic you want to write about. I find Futbol to be a passion and basically a necessity in my life. My love for the sport began in my last trip to my native country Colombia around 8 years ago and ever since I was hooked! Around that time the most dominant club in the world was Arsenal F.C and Atletico Nacional which now I hold a passion for in my heart forever I can safely say. Anyways Welcome to my blog and hope to pick up some gathering and having some great conversations along the way!