Dunga: Colombia not a one-man team

Dunga has warned Brazil that there is much more to Colombia than James Rodriguez ahead of Friday’s FIFA World Cup quarter-final showdown.

Monaco playmaker Rodriguez is the leading goalscorer in Brazil after finding the back of the net five times in four games.

The former Porto man scored both goals in a 2-0 round-of-16 victory over Uruguay, including a stunning volley to open the scoring and talk of a big-money bid from Real Madrid has surfaced during the tournament.

Brazil’s World Cup-winning captain from 1994 Dunga is wary of the threat posed by the 22-year-old Rodriguez, but knows Colombia are anything but a one-man team as the South American rivals prepare to lock horns in Fortaleza on Friday.

He said: “Well Colombia have in James a very good player, but the whole team supports James and they all play very well.

“And so Brazil and Argentina are so very dependant on Neymar and [Lionel] Messi respectively. Whereas Colombia are not so dependent on James.

“So they all play very well and can give a good show, too.”

If the tournament hosts can overcome Colombia at Estadio Castelao, Dunga would love to see them go on to face fierce rivals Argentina in the final.

He explained: “Because of the famous (rivalry) between the South American countries, Brazil and Argentina – that would be two countries that would completely stop for the final game.”