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James starting to make Real mark

Madrid - Expectations were unsurprisingly sky high when Colombia playmaker James Rodriguez joined Real Madrid from Monaco after top scoring with six goals at the 2014 World Cup.

Real Madrid, who play at Deportivo La Coruna in La Liga on Saturday, September 20, snapped up the golden boot winner for a fee of around €80 million euros and fans were eager to see the goals flowing from the boot of the gifted 23-year-old.

However, Real coach Carlo Ancelotti is having to reorganise his team after the exits of midfielders Xabi Alonso and Angel Di Maria and Rodriguez, who is known by his first name James, has taken time to settle.

Rodriguez scored in the Spanish Super Cup first leg against Atletico Madrid last month but it was his performance against FC Basel in the Champions League on Tuesday, when he netted Real's fourth goal in a thumping 5-1 win, that suggested he may be finding his feet at his new club.

Rodriguez typically plays in a roving role in the central area behind Real's three-pronged attack of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale.

Against Basel he appeared to be involved a lot more than in the previous games and was possibly the man of the match as Real went some way towards putting last weekend's 2-1 La Liga defeat at home to Atletico behind them.

"I played a good match," Rodriguez, whose boyish good looks mean he will be an integral part of Real's marketing strategy, told reporters at the Bernabeu.

"I think everything came off for us and as a group we did everything well," he added.

"We hope to continue like this and keep scoring goals. This match gives us confidence for what lies ahead."

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