Everton star James Rodriguez has been warned he needs to convince Rafa Benitez if he is to make a return to the Colombian National Team.
The midfielder currently finds himself out of the picture for his national side, having been removed from their squad for the Copa America this summer over concerns about his fitness.
That has sparked a fierce war of words between Rodriguez and his country, with the Everton man refusing to back down and airing his grievances publicly.
That’s not gone down well with the Colombian National Team or the press in his home nation, both of whom have bitten back on more than one occasion.
It’s left Rodriguez’s international career hanging by a thread, with many believing that they may turn their back on him ahead of the World Cup next summer.
MARCA, though, say all is not lost for the Everton man and provide him with a four-step plan to getting back into his country’s good graces.
First, they say he has to ‘convince Rafa Benitez’ at Goodison Park, with the pair not having the best relationship following a falling out at Real Madrid.
Their time there ‘went very badly’, but Benitez’s arrival at Everton is Rodriguez’s chance to ‘earn the nod’ and get the regular playing time he needs to convince his country.
That ties into point two, which says Rodriguez has to ‘perform now’ to be within a chance of returning.
The newspaper explains that Colombian coach Reinaldo Rueda has made it clear he doesn’t care about names, but players who are ‘at the best level’, and Rodriguez best chance of a return is to perform to his best.
If he can do so for Everton, he will ‘have a showcase’ to win Rueda’s attention and earn himself a place back in his team.
For that to happen, though, Rodriguez will have to recover from the physical problems that plagued him last season, and MARCA say the best course for that is to ‘undergo the necessary medical treatment’ that’s on offer.
Lastly, and probably most importantly, they believe Rodriguez needs to ‘apologise publicly’ for his actions this summer.
They say if Rodriguez has not spoken to Rueda already, then now is the time to do so, but a private chat is not enough.
Because the Everton man and his entourage aired their grievances in public, then the apology should be done in the same way.
He needs to ‘act intelligently’ and ‘clarify the whole situation’ as well as having the ‘humility’ to recognise he made a mistake.
Doing that and ‘showing his face’ to reconcile with the coach, the team and Colombia itself should earn him forgiveness and, alongside the other steps, get him back into the international scene.
