James Rodriguez and Isco Fighting for Real Madrid Futures for Rest of Season

It was encouraging for both of them, but concurrently the afternoon was indicative of something lacking.

Half an hour had passed at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez on Saturday when James Rodriguez pivoted on the right flank. Taking a touch, a second, a third, the Colombian shifted the ball to his left side, darting infield before chipping a curling ball onto the boot of Karim Benzema. Goal.

Real Madrid 1-0 Getafe. 

In every respect, this was so very James. Precise, smooth, delicate almost, the midfielder had frozen a defensive line and mobilised a team-mate with an act of gold-plated simplicity. He wouldn't be alone in doing so, either. 

Eleven minutes later, Isco ran at a back-tracking Getafe. Hurried, anxious, Santiago Vergini hesitated in an attempt to step out and block him; Isco laid it off to Benzema that very instant, continuing his run to attack the space Vergini had left and get it back again. Goal. 

It wasn't yet half-time, but already Madrid were cruising. At 2-0, the contest was essentially buried, and who had buried it was significant. Later, James would bury it even further with more elegance, the final score 5-1. The identity of the protagonists satisfied manager Zinedine Zidane.

"I'm really pleased," the Real boss told reporters. "The important thing is that when they play, they play brilliantly."

The two men Zidane spoke of had played brilliantly, and yet for both of them, their problem was outlined with three words: "when they play."

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For James and Isco, the when recently hasn't exactly been the when they would have liked. 

As the pair of playmakers stepped out together onto the turf at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez on Saturday, it marked the continuation of a trend: Together, they'd started the previous weekend against Eibar, and before that, they'd done so against Levante too. On his own, Isco also saw starts against Las Palmas and Celta Vigo. 

Sevilla, though? Barcelona? Either of the meetings with Wolfsburg? The real occasions? Feet up. 

Villarreal this week? Manchester City next? Ditto, probably. 

This is not what the pair want, but this is their reality. Right now, two of Madrid's major signings from the last three years are secondary options, used when the stakes aren't so high, their needs not quite an afterthought but hardly a focus, either. 

For the Colombian and the Spaniard, this has been the case for much of the season. Until late February, both had been on the edge of such an existence without definitively falling in; now they have. 

Since the recent Madrid derby, when Los Blancos were humiliated by Atletico (again) and Zidane spoke of change, James and Isco have been pushed to the periphery. Beginning to shape the side to his own designs, Zidane has relocated Toni Kroos and pushed Casemiro to prominence. Madrid's best XI now looks defined and unquestioned, and James and Isco aren't in it. 

What does this mean for them? What does it say about their futures?

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The likelihood is that they're now fighting for them. 

For six months or more, they've been heading this way. All season, questions of professionalism and attitude have surrounded the pair, the mood toward them and perception of them having shifted.

At times, that external criticism has felt overly vicious and even agenda-driven—such accusations are nothing new at this club, which is significant in itself—but behind all of that is the underlining problem that neither man looks a natural fit in the direction this team is currently taking. 

After all, James and Isco are No. 10s by trade, and Zidane's current 4-3-3 doesn't cater to such a role. For both of them, playing requires moving out wide or into central midfield, but such a demand is indicative of the problem Madrid give themselves when buying attacking talent with no definitive structure in mind. 

For the men in question, then, the season's remaining weeks are huge. 

Come the summer, the timing of Madrid's looming transfer ban will determine much, but until then it's their task to reverse the dynamic that's turned against them in 2015-16 and force the club's hierarchy to think, "Wait a minute..."

Of course, doing so will require the spectacular and the brilliant, but it's a dash of luck they also need: an injury or suspension to a leading team-mate, perhaps a freak event. To force a rethink and alter outlooks, James and Isco will need to shape, bust open and decide the heavyweight occasions: Manchester City, a potential European final, the crunch moments in La Liga. 

Flashes against the Eibars, Getafes and Levantes won't be enough. 

Both men are capable, but the issue facing them isn't just the what; it's the when.