With James Rodríguez having been missing from Everton for a while, the criticism from Colombia has been in short supply.
Usually, the press can’t wait to criticise Rodríguez back in his homeland, particularly when he’s out injured or not at the top of his game.
The Everton man is an easy target, to say the least, while his extensive injury history and sometimes dubious absences are easy column inches and airtime minutes.
You’d think that with such criticism would come equal praise when Rodríguez is at his best, as he was on his return against Crystal Palace on Monday.
While Everton were ultimately disappointed, Rodríguez was the undoubted star of the show, with his superb goal nearly giving the Blues all three points.
That strike was his 100th in European competitions, an impressive record for the midfielder and one that he will have been keen to celebrate.
As is usually the case these days, though, there’s always someone to rain on the parade, and for Rodríguez, it’s journalist Carlos Antonio Vélez, who says the record is not really that special.
“James came back after 44 days of absence, he scored a goal with his right foot, and that’s news, but it’s bad news that it was useless, they drew against a small team”, he told Palabras Mayores, relayed by CanalRCN.
“Of these goals, he has only scored seven against important teams. Of the 100 goals, seven were against important teams.
“One thing is the figure and another the analysis.
“Of his goals, only in one final did he win a title out of the nine he has played in Europe. He never played a Champions League final with Real Madrid…
“Those are the numbers. One thing is the number and another the analysis of the number.”
