Amidst Colombia’s exciting and remarkable World Cup run, much of the focus was centered around James Rodriguez, and for good reason. The newly knighted in white Real Madrid player won the golden boot as the tournaments top scorer, but probably should have taken home the golden ball as the tournaments best player, as well as the tournaments best young player award. One star who didn’t see the field as much as people would have liked is Juan Fernando Quintero.
That’s not to say Quintero didn’t make his presence felt when he was subbed onto the field by Jose Pekerman; the little Columbian changed the game in substitute appearances against Greece and the Ivory Coast, and scored his first international goal against the latter. Furthermore, Quintero may be one of the most undervalued players in the world right now. Had it not been for the mercurial displays of James, Quintero very well could have been the one grabbing all the headlines for Colombia.
Currently at Porto, Quintero boasts an array of attacking qualities. His stature and left-sidedness have drawn comparisons to Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona, while he has world-class quality standing over free kicks (don’t believe me? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLx1gF27Blw). Similar to Messi, Quintero can dribble through tight areas and draw defenders. At the 2013 South American U-20 championships, he was named MVP of the tournament, scoring six goals and creating five assists. At the 2013 U-20 World Cup in Turkey, Quintero impressed once again, being praised as the best player of the group stages and scoring the goal of the tournament.
One thing I’ve noticed with Quintero, however, is his aggressive nature with the ball at his feet. Last night I talked about how Mesut Ozil is a unique #10; Quintero is unique in his own right, in that he has striker-like instincts, plays a physical style, but still possesses every quality a #10 should have. He has a powerful left foot (no right foot though) and seems to be able to score from anywhere on the pitch. Perhaps his biggest asset is his opportunism, as evident from his stellar play in international competition. Lighting up the U-20 scene was impressive, but so were his cameos on a much bigger stage at the World Cup. He scored the game-winner against Ivory Coast shortly after coming on, cooly leading a counter-attack from a James pressing tackle (seriously, what can’t that guy do...) and slotting a perfect composed finished past the keeper.
As far as the premier league goes, seeing Quintero ply his trade in England would be nothing short of fascinating. The premier league doesn’t have a playmaker like Quintero who possesses the physical strength to ride challenges in the final third with pace and acceleration, yet still keep the ball glued to his boot. I’m ecstatic about the fact that there are so many phenomenal imported #10s in the league, but Quintero would bring another dimension to the position. One of the things that makes Quintero so fun to watch is that he doesn’t like to go down; diving is by far the least attractive part about football to non-football fans, and Quintero gives the sport hope in that regard.
If a premier league team were to buy him, it’s possible he could be loaned back to Porto, which would be a good piece of business by anyone. Then again, Quintero could very well step into a premier league side tomorrow if he had to. It’s no surprise Porto has turned out another Colombian star since the same club developed James, Falcao, and Jackson Martinez. All things considered, if I were a top club in England thinking for the future, this is a player I would make my top priority.
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