Scoring for Stuttering

The breakout star of 2014 FIFA World Cup hands down was Colombia’s sensation James Rodriguez, known affectionately as “James” (pronounced “HAHM-ez”). Only 22 years old and in his first World Cup, some pro soccer commentators mentioned Rodriguez’ performance in the same regard with Pele’s heroics in 1958 when, as an unknown 17 year-old, the future superstar lead Brazil to its first World Cup. The June 30 issue of USA Today published a major article entitled “7 Reasons James Rodriguez is the breakout star of the World Cup,” with the first reason being “He’s been absolutely brilliant,” highlighting his then Cup-leading five goals and two assists in only four games. However, what was not widely covered in 

the international media is that James Rodriguez is a person who stutters. 

 

Despite only playing until the quarterfinal round when Colombia was eliminated, Rodriguez won the coveted Golden Boot award as the tournament’s leading scorer with six goals and two assists, beating out stars from Brazil, Germany, Argentina and the Netherlands who played one or two more games than he did. He was even among those considered for the Golden Ball award as the World Cup’s most valuable player, which is unheard of for a player who only played through the quarterfinal round.

 

There was mention of his struggles with stuttering in the Latin American media, both recently and in his early career when he played in the Argentine league in his teenage years. The prestigious Chilean daily La Tercera ran the article on July 29 “James Rodriguez, the Colombian hero that overcame stuttering” (translation), which stated, “The soccer player, who was born in Cúcuta 22 years ago, had to fight for several years against his stuttering that affected his youth. In fact, early in his pro career he refused to give interviews because of his stutter.”

 

Expreso, the Ecuadorian daily, on June 30 ran the article “James conquered stuttering” (translation), conveying to readers what Rodriguez has had to struggle with during his life: “He has the talent to easily control the ball, but few people know the speech problem that this star for AS Monaco had in his childhood. Rodriguez was victorious in overcoming his stutter – which on various occasions has created difficulty when giving interviews, even as a professional soccer star.”

 

Commentators called Rodriguez’ six goals and two assists in five games as being nothing short of amazing, especially for a 22-year-old in his first World Cup. Colombia scored twelve goals in its five games, and Rodriguez was involved in eight of them. The aforementioned USA Today article put forth, “Rodriguez scores goals and provides assists, but he also dictates the play for Colombia, sets the attacking tone and gets his teammates to play the game he wants to play. He is their workhorse as well as their artist.”

 

Right before the game with Brazil on July 4, a few English-language media reports on the Colombian sensation briefly mentioned that he had struggled with stuttering in the past. However, the Stuttering Foundation website posted the story of “James” a week in advance of the English-language media mention of his stuttering.

 

Rodriguez, received major coverage in the worldwide media after his second goal against Uruguay, which was set up by his teammate Cuadrado. Instead of reacting with joy, he ran over to Cuadrado and repeatedly pointed his finger at him and shouted “That was your goal. You made it happen!” to let the whole world know that Cuadrado was really the one responsible for the goal on account of his brilliant assist. His first goal against Uruguay was deemed by many observers to be “one of the greatest goals the World Cup has ever seen.”

 

In Colombia’s semi-final match against Brazil, Rodriguez scored Colombia’s only goal, and the last goal of the tournament, on a penalty kick in a 2-1 loss. He received a standing ovation from the crowd when he walked off the field.

 

There has been widespread international media glorification of James Rodriguez after his spectacular performance in the World Cup. What is now called “the James effect” can be seen on YouTube as his spectacular plays in the 2014 World Cup are all over that social media channel, along with the special “dance” that the Colombians players do in unison after a teammate scores a goal. On July 29, the Huffington Post published an article with accompanying videos entitled, “Colombia Still Dancing at World Cup Because James Rodriguez Won’t Stop Scoring.” While Colombia exited the World Cup sooner than they had hoped, many people who stutter around the world, regardless of their favorite team in the tourney, cheered on James. His example of not letting stuttering hold him back makes him a role model for all the people, soccer fans and non-fans alike, who also stutter. 

 

His fans can continue to follow his career and watch his spectacular plays. Recently,  he signed a 6-year, $108 million deal with Real Madrid.

 

Of course, his dazzling heroics at the 2014 World Cup will live on forever on YouTube, making his worldwide fans, especially people who stutter, wish that the 2018 World Cup in Russia was just around the corner.