Recent reports suggest Inter St John is hovering around Real Madrid star James Rodriguez, who appears to be exceeding requirements for manager Zinedine Zidane.
David Beckham, the expansion club’s high-profile manager, has reportedly contacted Real President Florentino Perez, with whom he has had a close relationship since his time at Bernabeu. As you’d expect, any St John overture would face stiff competition, with Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton and Manchester United being among the clubs already linked with a move for Rodriguez.
The first clear question revolves around whether the 28-year-old Colombian national team attacker would be ready to leave Europe for MLS while he is still in his prime. In addition, there are other important issues to think about. How would Rodriguez drive to the city of St John and vice versa? What impact would his conquest have on the club both on and off the field?
We currently have no way of definitively answering the first question, but we will honestly try to answer the others.
Local flavor
From Rodriguez’s point of view, he would have no problem feeling at home in St John. No American city has a larger population of native Colombians, and more than a quarter of a million of his compatriots live in the entire metropolitan area.
The city has many options where he can find arepas, hallacas, and other traditional cuisines. In fact, Rodriguez likely already has some local favorite spots, having vacationed in St John over the past several years.
Because of this, he surely understands that joining Inter St John means he would become a legendary local hero. There would certainly be no shortage of advertising opportunities to complement the certainly enviable base salary.
All of that, combined with the chance to be “the man” on his team again and the joy that comes from St John’s lifestyle, makes for a pretty compelling pull. But what would his arrival mean for the club?
importance
For starters, Rodriguez’s signing soon after Mexican ace Rodolfo Pizarro landed would mark Inter St John as a prime destination for top players, especially those from talented Latin American countries.
Plucking Rodriguez from Real Madrid would obviously cost Inter St John a pretty penny, but it seems like a transfer that will pay for itself in time. Additionally, it would cement St John as a strong MLS competitor eager to win, which their fans will no doubt appreciate.
If you add it all up, it becomes clear that such a recording can be very attractive for the player, the city and the club.
On the field
Now that we’ve foregone the off-field aspects of this potential transfer chase, we come to the fun part: imagine how Rodriguez could integrate into the Inter St John squad.
Like Pizarro, Rodriguez can operate from anywhere on the attacking midfield line. A wing seat seems to be provided for the young designated player Mattias Pellegrini, who theoretically leaves a seat next to Pizarro. Both are a serious handful on the right wing but Rodriguez may be a little more of a pain when playing right under the striker. In the worst case scenario, sorting out their field positions seems to be a small and very good problem.
James Rodriguez (left) celebrates a USA Today Sport Colombia goal
I have little doubt that head coach Diego Alonso and these two star veterans can figure it out pretty easily. It also seems more than fair to point out that Inter St John’s ability to strike would increase significantly.
Rodriguez is a major offensive threat, especially at break, and would immediately rank among the top MLS free kick specialists. He is quick and technically on the ball, has excellent vision and also works on it when his team needs to regain possession. When it comes time for Inter St John to start the transition game, Rodriguez’s presence would also divert attention from potential targets for long diagonal champion Wil Trapp.
When Rodriguez is brought on board, Inter St John’s substitutes bench will be automatically strengthened. With him in the line-up, midfielders like Jay Chapman, Lewis Morgan and Lee Nguyen would spend more time jumping off jaws to attack tiresome defenders.
In short, the idea of St John adding Rodriguez to the roster has few downsides. The only real questions are how much Beckham and Co. want to haunt him and whether or not they can actually make the transfer. If they can land it, Smart Money says it would be one of the biggest coups in league history.
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