Wally with a Brolly

Here at Wally we're always trying to introduce players to our readers. We tend to watch an obscene amount of football and so think we might be able to unearth some future gems who get no coverage in the UK due to the press's Premier League-centric approach.

All the players we'll introduce to you are still young (generally under 23) and play abroad. We haven't delved into the Championship and the lower leagues because we believe these get enough airtime.

So here we go, and the first player on our list is James Rodriguez of Porto. Not Jay Rodriguez of Southampton. That one has a long way to go.

Only 21 and already an integral player for Porto and Colombia.

Remember Ricardo Quaresma? By the time he turned 21, Ricardo had already played (and failed) for Barcelona and Sporting Lisbon. He was coming back to Portugal, this time for Porto. And boy did he set the world alight. Quaresma was an outrageously skilful winger who only had one foot, his right boot. Seriously, the guy did not want to cross with his left foot so he developed an incredible outside-of-the-boot crossing ability which was called 'la trivela'.



From a purely aesthetic point of view it was glorious. But it wasn't the most efficient way of finding your striker's head.

Anyway, after four seasons at Porto where he scored around a goal every 5 games (not too bad for a winger), Quaresma left for Inter, where he failed once again to adapt. Since then he has played for Chelsea on loan (you don't remember him?), Besiktas and now reportedly for Al Ahli, wherever that is.

What has this all got to do with James Rodriguez?

James Rodriguez (I'm not calling him JR) is the new Quaresma. He's pacy, incredibly skilful, can play on both wings but prefers the opposite one. He's a left-footed version of Quaresma in that he plays on the right-wing.

So why am I mentioning James Rodriguez if I'm comparing him to the failure that was Quaresma? Surely that's not a great indictment of his talent.

Except that James is already better than Quaresma ever was at Porto. A versatile player able to play in any attacking midfield position, Rodriguez has also added goals to his game since his first season at Porto. After scoring a respectable 6 goals in 32 games in his debut season, the little Colombian winger scored 14 in 38 last season and is already close to hitting double figures this season. He also hasn't displayed any of the sort of selfishness which constantly plagued Quaresma throughout his career.

Voted the Portuguese League's Breakthrough Player of 2011-2012, James Rodriguez has already proven himself at international and domestic levels and is a vital player for a European powerhouse (yes, that's how I would qualify Porto). He is definitely one to look out for in 2013.



Worst case scenario: Ricardo Quaresma
Best case scenario: A better version of Pedro (Barcelona)