Why James Rodriguez is the breakout star of the World Cup

We know all about the stars in Brazil. Lionel Messi, Neymar, Robin van Persie... the list goes on.

The cadre of youngsters who possess the talent, but not the name recognition, are tasked with creating their own legend on the biggest stages. We’ve seen it before in past tournaments: Thierry Henry and Ronaldo cemented their status as football greats at the World Cup.

James Rodriguez is doing the same thing, shining for a Colombian team that was left for dead when Radamel Falcao was ruled out of the competition due to injury.

At 22, the Monaco star is being mentioned alongside the the current greats. Through three games he’s recorded three goals and garnered accolades for doing everything well. Passing, marking, finding gaps, composure in front of goal.

"My responsibility grows," the midfielder said after Colombia’s 3-0 win over Greece, via the Guardian. “But I don’t let the pressure get to me.”

But the pressure is also growing as Colombia enters the knockout round with expectations reaching pre-Falcao injury levels.

They’re expected to go deep, and against a Luis Suarez-less Uruguay anything less than win will be considered a disappointment.

That’s on James now.

He’s blossomed under Jose Pekerman’s tutelage. Carl Worswick explains how the Colombian head coach entrusted Rodriguez upon taking the job.

Credit must also go to the sagacious Pékerman whose faith in the young star has allowed Rodríguez to truly blossom. One of the first decisions the Argentinian coach made upon taking the Colombia job in 2012 was to hand Rodríguez the No10 shirt; Carlos “El Pibe” Valderrama’s No10 shirt. It was a huge gamble for a player still only 20.

The gamble paid off. He continues to amaze, proving what we already knew. The World Cup is capable of creating legends.

James Rodriguez is just the latest.