Zinedine Zidane appears to be in no rush to give James Rodriguez a proper runout in his Real Madrid team, with the attacking midfielder stuck on the bench in both domestic and European duties.
A total of seven minutes came the way of the Colombian in the big games against Atletico Madrid and Sporting CP this past week, showing just how far down the pecking order he’s fallen.
Offered a late cameo with the game gone at the Estadio Vicente Calderon, Rodriguez failed to appear at all in Lisbon and Marco Asensio was favoured to replace an injured Gareth Bale during the 2-1 win.
This comes off the back of injuries to midfield colleagues Toni Kroos and Casemiro, along with the fact that Zidane decided against deploying James in big games throughout his tenure, namely the Clasico towards the end of last season and the Champions League final.
Being granted very little consistent playing time has not entirely strained the relationship between midfielder James and Zidane.
Like any other professional relationship, Rodriguez is for the most part accepting of the choices the Frenchman makes, even if they are not always in his very own best interest, but rather for that of the team.
“I want to play more, but that isn’t my decision, since someone else is calling the shots,” Rodriguez told Colombian press. “Zidane is the one in charge who makes the decisions, and I respect that.
“Our relationship isn’t a bad one like everyone says, but is actually quite good and a very normal one for a coach with a player.”
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