This Colombian star almost traded football for music

Juan Fernando Quintero

Juan Fernando Quintero rejects the idea he was ready to give up on football but blames himself that the question even needed asking.

Now he is the mercurial playmaker who is best equipped to down England, should James Rodriguez miss Tuesday's last-16 tie as expected.

Yet just a few months ago, Quintero wondered whether a Colombia call would ever come again. Jose Pekerman only ended his two-and-a-half year international exile in March.