James Rodriguez 'Needs to Be Playing as Much as Possible,' Says Carlos Queiroz

New Colombia coach Carlos Queiroz has called for clarity on James Rodriguez's situation at Bayern Munich and says the midfielder "needs to be playing as much as possible" to have the proper international impact. 

Queiroz was unveiled as Colombia manager on Thursday, and he told reporters one of his priorities was finding clarity in regards to Real Madrid's Rodriguez, who's coming to the end of a two-season loan in Bavaria:

"I will need to talk to James. For a player of his calibre he needs to be playing as much as possible. That's very important.

"But when you have a chance to play for Real [Madrid], Manchester United or Bayern [Munich], sometimes players have to make sacrifices.

"I want to talk to him soon, though."

Rodriguez enjoyed a promising first season at the Allianz Arena and looked back to his best under managers Carlo Ancelotti and later Jupp Heynckes. The 27-year-old ended the campaign with eight goals and 14 assists in all competitions.

But this season hasn't gone quite as smoothly with Niko Kovac at the helm, and Rodriguez's father, Wilson, recently told Bild (h/t AS, via Goal) his son is "not so happy" and could head to Turin:

AS also included comments from Rodriguez, who said his relationship with Kovac is good despite the fact he's started only six Bundesliga games this season (15 appearances in all competitions):

"There are still four months left, and I'm only thinking of Bayern at the moment.

"I belong to Real, but I'm on loan to Bayern so at the moment I'm just thinking of Bayern. I'm here and I'll give everything to the club.

"I have to stay calm and train hard, and when I play, I have to do well. We are both professionals. It's a normal relationship between player and coach."

Queiroz has replaced six-year veteran Jose Pekerman at the Colombia helm and is hoping to coax the best out of Rodriguez, who has not kicked on in the years since he won the Golden Ball at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He joined Real for a reported £63 million that summer and spent three seasons in Madrid before being loaned.

Rodriguez made his first league start of 2019 in Saturday's 3-1 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen, though he did record an assist in Wednesday's 3-2 extra-time win over Hertha Berlin in the DFB-Pokal round of 16.

Despite his difficulties in Munich, Rodriguez remained upbeat about the impact he could have in Germany and recently commented on the upcoming UEFA Champions League last-16 meeting with Liverpool, per Anfield HQ:

Kicker (h/t Jose Carlos Menzel of AS) reported in November that Bayern will not pay the €42 million (£36.8 million) necessary to trigger the purchase clause in Rodriguez's contract before its June deadline.

That isn't to say Queiroz doesn't have a potential superstar on his hands in the Colombia setup, one who has had his share of highlights in Die Roten colours:

Real could still make use of Rodriguez, who will still have two years remaining on his contract at the Santiago Bernabeu if he's sent back to Madrid at the end of this season.

Colombia's new coach added predecessor Pekerman left a "fantastic legacy" behind, but he will need Rodriguez to get back on track if he's to capitalise on what he has inherited.