Patience is often a quality that is far from prevalent in football and new Rangers players have been written off as early as their first touch in the past.
When Oscar Cortes signed for Rangers, it looked like the winger the fans had been crying out for had finally arrived.
The 21-year old was pacey, composed in possession and was capable of cutting inside or of going to the by-line, he also wasn’t afraid to get into goal scoring positions – exactly what Rangers needed.
After a move to Lens didn’t work out due to a new manager changing shape, Nils Koppen agreed a £4m move for Cortes after having the Colombian youth cap on his radar when he was at PSV Eindhoven.
The domestic league in Colombia might not be the highest standard in world football, however, when Cortes excelled in the FIFA Under-20 World Cup, it was impossible not to take notice.
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When Rangers jinxed Oscar Cortes was a World Cup star
Wins over Israel and Japan was followed by a draw with Nigeria which saw Colombia progress to the knock-out stages.
A last 16 win over Slovakia with Cortes scoring two and creating an assist in a 5-1 win gave them a shot at Italy in the quarter-finals, however, the European giants proved to be a step too far.
Cortes, branded a “tremendous talent”, finished with four goals and two assists and the bronze boot for third highest goalscorer/creator and was one of the stars of the show earning a place in the team of the tournament.
Cortes nearly missed out on playing on the big stage in Argentina when his club Millionarios tried to block his participation, a situation that saw the Colombian FA step in.
Thankfully for his teammates they did because he was a difference maker in almost every game.
What did Cortes say about performing on the big stage?
Yet to make an impact in the Rangers squad, Cortes is still young enough to rediscover the form that he showed for his country.
“This World Cup is very important for my career,” said the player himself, speaking to FIFA. “Every day I’m growing in confidence, though I’ve still got a lot of room for improvement.”
After scoring a dramatic late equaliser against Nigeria, the young winger gave an insight into his side’s mindset, “I think that’s something we always do, we always try and get a result,” continued Cortes.
“We didn’t get the win but getting a point was very important for us.”
In the same game, former Rangers target Kevin Mantilla was short with a back pass that saw Nigeria open the scoring, not that Cortes was blaming anyone:
“We know that it was a mistake anybody could make. But we’ve always got each other’s backs, we always do our best to support whoever makes a mistake. If you want to move forward, it’s important to have that togetherness and put in the hard yards.”
Cortes has had a year from hell since signing for Rangers, but he has the mentality and quality to make a real difference as he did for his country.
If he is given the chance, and the time.
