James.

Crowds electric as always here at the Metropolitano in Barranquilla.

Colombia and Bolivia!

Rival teams will square off here today.

Their World Cup futures hang in the balance.

2025 - COLOMBIA VS BOLIVIA WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS

Earning a victory, even by a single goal,

would be enough for the Colombian team to qualify.

There are naysayers who didn't want him playing for the national team.

Some don't see him as worthy of playing in the next World Cup.

This game will likely come down…

Not qualifying for Qatar was hard,

but you get used to losing when you play football.

I've had more failures than triumphs, and they've taught me a lot.

Character is built by adversity.

Today we chase glory!

We need to qualify here and now

so that we can turn our full attention towards preparing for the World Cup.

We're all behind you, Colombia!

Let's beat Bolivia!

Right from kickoff, I wanted it. I wanted to come through and score.

The ball goes to James, James takes his shot… it goes long!

The header comes in at the far post, Bacca finds it!

He finds it at the last second!

If I wanna be here,

I have to score if I wanna be part of the story.

Lucho's upfield, looking to cut inside.

Down the flank. sends in the cross. Header on target, the keeper's there!

James' header is blocked.

Lucho has it again on the edge of the box.

He holds, he waits, he fakes. Now Arias with a low cross.

Who has it? The ball is in!

Making it to a third World Cup is a big deal for me…

Goal!

…because it isn't easy to play at that level, to play for so long.

It's, like, my way of saying, "Hey, I'm still here." You know?

James Rodriguez becomes the top scorer for the Colombian team

in qualifiers scoring his fourteenth goal.

He has so much love for his country.

I admire him. I love him.

He's the gold standard.

He's got the most assists, the most goals of any midfielder.

We've all seen it.

Every time he puts on that yellow jersey,

he knows he's playing with his entire heart.

A free kick…

With the team this time, I think that we're gonna do great things.

- - Corner back…

And goal!

It was nice to see the guys so happy,

especially after missing the last World Cup.

He cuts inside Quintero. Lines it up from outside the box… Goal!

I'm gonna be 35.

What better way to wrap things up than with a shot in the World Cup?

Colombia is here to party!

Through our spirit, through our heart, which is full again.

We are on the road to the World Cup!

-We're qualified! -Qualified!

Such joy for Colombia!

Colombia is back in the World Cup!

We qualified, and that's what matters.

I've had a beautiful career.

I think that I've had more good than bad.

And that's what I'll take with me.

I've been thinking about everything I've done.

My history with this jersey.

And a lot of things stand out.

A man who will always be remembered by the Colombian people.

It hasn't all been easy.

When you win, everybody's happy.

But when you lose, you're all alone.

James growing arrogant, saying "I'm the star here."

Too busy partying.

My whole career,

I've always dedicated my… my life to my jersey. Always.

- James! - We are Colombian!

One, two, three! Colombia. Colombia, Colombia!

If this ends up being it for me, I can leave happy.

But it feels like there's still a chapter missing.

"Abelito" Aguilar passes the ball to James.

Back to Abel, back to James. He turns, rebound, left foot!

James! Oh, my God!

My word, this boy's a star! Forget it!

Brilliance! Just brilliance!

Interview nine. James. Take two.

My grandmother, rest her soul, she once said to me,

"Let them talk."

"Good or bad, always give them something to talk about."

EPISODE 1 JAMES VS LIFE

Yeah, I've always known I wanted to play football.

First, because I had the talent.

Second, because I wanted to compete.

Third, because I had the passion for playing football.

-A big round of applause. -

I've always had the mental strength and the drive to win.

Ever since I was a kid.

My name is María del Pilar Rubio.

I was born in Ibagué, then I moved to Bogotá.

MOTHER

And then I moved to Medellín, then to Argentina.

I was always following my son.

He's James Rodríguez.

I had him pretty young, but I don't regret it at all.

If I had to do it over, I wouldn't change a thing.

I met James' dad when he was playing for Deportes Tolima.

We got married really quickly, maybe two months after we started dating,

because my parents wouldn't let me out on my own.

I was really young, 18.

I got to Cúcuta when I was eight months pregnant.

And he had a nuchal cord.

And the clinic didn't want to do a C-section.

We couldn't afford the hospital. We didn't have much money.

Imagine I got to the clinic at 7:00 in the morning,

and he wasn't born until 9:00 at night.

And my dad… This… this is what they've told me.

He just picked me up, and took me to the registry office.

And said, "His name is James David."

He was supposed to be named Juan David.

I mean, I was a child myself, and I just had a kid of my own.

And he registers him with the wrong name.

We left right after I was born.

I was 15 days old, and we moved to Tolima.

I went back to Ibagué right away, and then we kind of started our new life.

We're his uncles, but we're just a few years older than he is.

UNCLES

So, when we were growing up, it was more like we were his brothers.

There was always a ball bouncing around the house.

He was always outside playing.

And even when he was really little,

he could play just as well as the rest of us,

who were so much older and bigger.

A fifth goal for James Rodriguez!

He's always been so competitive. Always. He could never stand losing.

I'm not sure if he has any memory of his biological father,

from when he was growing up.

I think that must have been, um…

That must have been hard.

And just at the start, he was there for his birth.

But after that, he wasn't ever really around.

His father would usually call around Christmas.

We had no relationship.

Thank God that I had my family, because without them,

I have no idea how I would have done it.

When you grow up surrounded by affection and love,

I think everything just flows, doesn't it?

I think his version of a father figure

was very much influenced by the discipline from Juan Carlos.

His stepfather, who I had his sister Juanita with,

he was very present, but he could be very harsh.

STEPFATHER

A restless boy appeared, 3 years old, always with his ball tucked under his arm.

As if he had been born with it.

My stepfather.

I think my upbringing with him was very strict.

"Work hard."

"Never give up."

"Never show up late."

It was too strict, but it gave me a good foundation too.

I tried out for two academies, and they told me that I sucked.

They said, "No, teach this kid to play chess or something."

"He's no good at this." Imagine.

"This kid's no good."

After that, I went to the third academy, Academia Tolimense.

And that's where I ended up.

2004 PONY FÚTBOL FINAL MEDELLÍN, COLOMBIA

Pony Fútbol.

Teaching a new generation of Colombian citizens who play fair!

This is the grand finale of Pony Fútbol.

My stepfather was essential

in making it possible for me to play football.

He'd say, "James is great with his left."

"He's left-footed, you know? He should go to an academy."

And I didn't want to, because of James' father,

who had an association with football.

I completely demonized football.

My mom thought I shouldn't play football because my dad was a football player too,

and she had such a bad experience with him.

When he was off the field, he wasn't great.

The ball will be taken from the corner.

Forty minutes. Academia Tolimense takes it.

Here it comes. Near post!

Long live Pony Fútbol!

James Rodríguez was there for the corner, the star of the team.

Almost an Olímpico goal.

Then he started playing in tournaments, and I saw that he was the best, and I…

- -

I had been saying no, but I saw that, and knew it was right.

This is the star, the talent that needs no introduction.

James Rodríguez!

Back then, when… when he didn't want to come back inside,

my mom could always get him to come back in.

Every night, she'd tell him that Captain Tsubasa was about to start.

[Captain Tsubasa music theme in Spanish playing]

I loved Captain Tsubasa.

It was my favorite show when I was a kid.

I even have a tattoo of baby Oliver Atom.

He was number 10. He was the captain.

I wanted to be Oliver.