James Rodriguez Must Take His Chance in the Super Cup Final for Real Madrid

Real Madrid’s 2016-17 season is set to get underway with a chance at silverware right off the bat. The UEFA Super Cup final will pit Real, the winners of last season’s Champions League, against Sevilla, the Europa League champions, on Tuesday.

Naturally, Real will enter the game as favourites, but Zinedine Zidane will be missing a few key players, including Cristiano Ronaldo—injured in the Euro 2016 final—and Gareth Bale, who returned from holiday without enough time to be included in the matchday squad, per Marca.

Bale’s absence in particular means Zidane will have to rethink how to provide support for the attack, and the opening in the starting XI is a big opportunity for one of the frustrated would-be stars of the squad to show his worth in an important match: James Rodriguez.

The Super Cup is a chance for the Colombian to provide a reminder to his boss that he is among the world’s foremost talents and can be relied upon to fire Real to the trophies they crave most.

Unhappy Union

For most of 2016, it seems, there has been a succession of soundbites from both parties—Zidane and James—confirming there is no intent to make a sale happen, that the priority is to remain Real Madrid’s No. 10 and that the ambition on the player’s part is to become an important part of the team again.

Even so, the rumours won’t die down.

As recently as Aug. 3, Marca reported Zidane did not want James to leave the club, yet within a day, the same publication suggested Marco Asensio’s presence in the squad during pre-season and beyond meant there was still a chance James would depart.

James quickly went from one of Real’s key players under Carlo Ancelotti to a benchwarmer under Zidane, and with so little movement over the summer on the transfer front, it’s tough to see how things will change.

But, of course, there’s still James’ ability to consider. 

Star Quality

Set aside his fitness issues at the beginning of last season, and James would have been part of Rafa Benitez’s first XI. He was in the team after the opening fixture, playing from the right, …

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