00:00After a bizarre and unexpected day in the market, Colombian football experienced a historic day.
00:04James Rodríguez and Juan Guillermo Cuadrado return to Colombian professional football.
00:08Both pieces of news were surprising when they broke on Thursday morning and just a few hours later,
00:13The two signings by two of the biggest teams in the country were already confirmed.
00:18However, there is one unavoidable question.
00:20What are the conditions like for two of the great figures of the generation that returned to the Colombian national team?
00:25The World Cup?
00:26Both names are impressive and, of course, they are driving the agenda of Colombian football.
00:30James Rodríguez and Juan Guillermo Cuadrado are two footballers with enormous international experience,
00:35protagonists for years in some of the most important clubs in the world.
00:39However, the timing of their return to the country is not necessarily ideal, and the criticisms are not
00:43They have made us wait.
00:44Cuadrado, for example, comes from a time marked by physical problems.
00:48In Pisa, his last team in Europe, after more than two decades on the old continent,
00:52He missed 15 games during the last campaign and accumulated 115 days off,
00:57mainly due to muscle problems and a thigh injury.
01:00A situation that is not entirely new either.
01:02At Atalanta he struggled to get consistent playing time, and his time at Inter Milan was also hampered by injuries.
01:08James's situation is different.
01:09Although he has historically been a footballer plagued by physical problems,
01:13He has recently had better luck in that respect.
01:15Their biggest question mark is the lack of competition.
01:18During the first half of 2026 in the MLS in the United States,
01:22He only played 274 minutes spread over eight games and in several of them he came off the bench.
01:28In addition, his performance during the World Cup with the Colombian national team was far from his best.
01:33version.
01:34Therefore, while his return generates enormous anticipation,
01:37Doubts also arise about which James we will see again in Colombian football.
01:41However, there is a reality that goes beyond the current sporting status of both of them.
01:44Their arrivals enhance the league.
01:46James and Cuadrado have experience.
01:48A hierarchy and a trajectory that is difficult to match in Colombian football.
01:52And if they manage to regain consistency and approach a good physical level,
01:56Either of them has enough talent to make a difference in Colombian professional football.
02:01Falcao García's recent experience at Millonarios, which did not end as many had dreamed,
02:06This has surely made many fans wary of this type of signing of former stars who triumphed in Europe.
02:11However, not all cases have ended the same way.
02:15Adrián Ramos returned to become a champion with América.
02:17Hugo Rodallega achieved it with Santa Fe, David Ospina with Atlético Nacional, and Luis Muriel with Junior.
02:23to cite just a few recent examples.
02:25Now we'll have to wait to see which side of the story James Rodríguez and Juan Guillermo Cuadrado end up on.
02:31They arrive with doubts, little consistency, and many kilometers traveled in their careers,
02:35but also with undisputed quality and experience.
02:38Their performance will ultimately determine the outcome.
02:40For now, they have already achieved something before even stepping back onto a pitch: to completely shake up Colombian football.
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