Brazil wary of Rodriguez threat

[caption id="attachment_38965" align="alignright" width="405"] RISING STAR: Colombian midfielder James Rodriguez celebrates after the match against Uruguay, which his country won 2-0 Picture: AFP[/caption]

BRAZIL will be in trouble in Friday's World Cup quarterfinal against Colombia if they afford the outstanding James Rodriguez any space in which to perform, midfielder Fernandinho warned yesterday.

The 22-year-old attacking midfielder has been arguably the player of the World Cup so far, scoring five goals in Colombia's four matches, including a magnificent volley in the 2-0 defeat of Uruguay in the last 16.

Fernandinho said he could see that Rodriguez would develop into a star when they came up against each other in a Champions League match between Shakhtar Donetsk and FC Porto in September 2011.

"I played against him in the Champions League. It was at the start of his time in Europe and he wasn't yet a first choice for Porto," Fernandinho said.

"Already in that game he showed his technical quality with his left foot. In this World Cup, he is showing everyone that the money Monaco paid for him was well invested.

"The less space he gets against us, the better it will be for Brazil."

Despite that, Fernandinho said there would be no question of Brazil looking to man-mark Rodriguez, who moved to Monaco from Porto last year.

"Wherever I have played, man- marking does not exist anymore. It needs to be done zonally," the Manchester City midfielder said.

Meanwhile, Brazil must also prepare to cope with the kind of pressure they faced in Saturday's dramatic last-16 victory against Chile in Belo Horizonte. On that occasion, goalkeeper Julio Cesar was in tears before the penalty shootout, which Brazil won 3-2.

Captain Thiago Silva was also seen crying at the end of the match, and has been criticised in the Brazilian press for supposedly not leading by example.

Fernandinho shrugged aside suggestions that the Brazil team was not mentally strong enough to win the title on home soil.

"We have been preparing ever since we first got together on May 26. We have worked on the psychological side and there is no need to do any of that now.

"What matters now is to show what we can do on the pitch," he said. – AFP