James’ lack of adaptation in Qatar: ”There everyone eats with their hands and I can’t eat like that”

James Rodriguez (32) has been a true globetrotter since leaving the real Madrid. No one doubted his quality, because his left foot is one of the most talented on the planet of football. The reason why it was so difficult for him to be consistent in his sports career was the lack of adaptation in the different places where he played (Germany, England, Greece and Qatar especially). ”Within Bavaria I’m not happy because’‘in Germany it is very cold, the people are very cold, although I have received wonderful treatment and they love me very much, but living there is not easy.. All they think about is work, work, work. These are machines, they are incredible. You get there: ‘Hello, good morning’, they change, they train and: ‘Bye, bye’. Every one of their lives, they train and they are little machines.”

The problems of adapting to Qatar during his time at Al Rayyan

The first problems are when eating with colleagues. ”There everyone in a group eats with their hands. They shared it with me and I said: ‘No, thank you.’ I asked about cutlery and they told me: ‘No, with my hand’ and I replied: ‘You’re crazy, I won’t eat with my hand.’”, he assured in a nice conversation with ‘Globo Esporte’ from Brazil.

He was also uncomfortable with practice and locker room manners. “Qatar’s culture and life is very difficult, it’s a country where it’s hard to adapt. You know that, in football, everyone takes off all their clothes when taking a shower. They told me, scared, that it’s not can be done”.

Now in Brazil there was also some discomfort

James apparently expected one type of football and found another. ”I thought football was less physical, but here it is very physical. Games stop a lot because of fouls, they crash too. I thought it was more technical. There are high quality players, but the game is very physical. But when you play with a quality team it’s easier.”