The Falcao post

If memory serves me right this is the first blog post I have done on a particular player. So this is Falcao's post. A striker that I absolutely loved in his time at Porto and Atlético Madrid. A striker who was feared and a striker who made it look easy.

Emergence:

Falcao in his Porto days
source: uefa.com

He first emerged as a striking sensation at River Plate in Argentina and it was his form there that saw him join the South American influx at Porto in 2009. He was to spend two years at the Dragão and it was littered with goals and trophies. His header in the Europa League final in Dublin in 2011 secured Porto another European trophy while his goals helped them get the better of Benfica in the Liga race. Atlético Madrid had just lost another South American striking sensation in Sergio Agüero and were on the market for a big name striker. Step forward Radamel Falcao García. €40 million changed hands between Madrid and Porto and Falcao was now an Atlético player. 

The Atlético hitman:

Falcao at Atlético
source: dailystar.co.uk

Falcao's ability to create space for himself in the box set him apart. Atlético have had a fantastic run of having very capable strikers and this Colombian hitman was to continue that tradition. His first season was interesting to say the least. Atlético started the 2011-12 campaign with disjointed football, typical Atléti you could say. Decent going forward, atrocious at the back. December 2011 and the club were sent packing from the Copa Del Rey by 3rd tier Albacete and manager Gregorio Manzano was also off packing. In came Diego Simeone and well you know the rest. Falcao would play an instrumental part in Atlético's Europa League triumph in 2012 scoring twice in a 3-0 win over Athletic Bilbao. He was the tournament's top scorer. 
Falcao showed his nose for goal with late darts into the opposition box to finish off crosses from the byline. He also scored a fair share of headers and was a menace to mark for defenders. In 2012-13 we saw Falcao go up another level. A Super cup trouncing of Chelsea in which he hit a hat-trick put him on the radar of just about everyone. He was the real deal.
He was now adding free-kicks to his repertoire. The last minute free-kick against Real Sociedad that winter showed his improved confidence and ability over the set-piece. Previously Falcao would be in the Sociedad box demanding a good delivery for a header or volley, instead he stood over the free-kick and unleashed an unstoppable effort past Eñaut Zubikarai.

Two months later he demonstrated his pace and power. He wasn't the fastest player but he showed enough to get away from the Barcelona defense. At the end of the move a lovely dink over Victor Valdés just showed the confidence he was playing with. 

That season ended in glory again as Atlético finally beat Real Madrid for the first time since 1999 to secure the Copa del Rey. It was Falcao's vision for the pass that set Diego Costa away to equilise before a Miranda header in extra-time sealed the copa victory. 

The Monaco move:

Unfortunately Atlético were forced to let Falcao go to Monaco. It was a strange career move but one that was agent fueled and so Falcao was to take his finishing to the principality. Now as it turned out it wasn't going to be all doom and gloom for Atlético as it was widely expected. Falcao for the first six months at Monaco continued his scoring form. He had just helped his country secure a first World cup finals place since 1998 and he was to be the striker to lead them at Brazil. 

Then came the turning point in his career. The knee injury in the French cup tie with Monts d'Or Azergues. Which was to rule him out for the rest of the 2013-14 season. 

The was speculation over his participation in the world cup that summer. Colombia were desperate for their star man to be present and he was working hard to return in time. However I do get the feeling he rushed his recovery to make it. He suffered the injury in January and the finals were less than six months away which for an injury that serious was way too soon to return from. He was named in the provincial squad but failed to make the final squad and thus he missed his big opportunity in the international stage. It's sad because a year earlier he was at the peak of his powers with Atlético. He was Europe's most feared striker, a typical number 9. 

Manchester United:

He returned to action for the 2014-15 season and scored a couple of penalties for Monaco before a deadline day move to Manchester United. 

Manchester United were not going to see the true Falcao. He lost a bit of that pace and the style of football at United didn't play to his strengths. Best at being back to goal United just didn't allow him that. A combination really of not being fully recovered from that injury and the playing style saw him ridiculed and quickly labelled "a flop". The confidence was shot and it showed. He was missing opportunities he would've finished off with no problem previously. Manager Louis Van Gaal wasn't impressed and United didn't make the loan move permanent. 

Chelsea:

José Mourinho was confident he could resurrect Falcao and signed him on loan from Monaco for 2015-16. Monaco obviously desperate to cut wages allowed him to join and the trend continued. Falcao struggled to get into the team and the overall frustration at the club sees him facing the exit this month. 

Now:

This month sees Falcao being linked with a move to Columbus Crew in MLS and Club América in Mexico.

Chelsea days
source: REX FEATURES

Rewind back to summer 2013 and the clubs linked with Falcao would've been far bigger household names throughout Europe. It's really sad to look back at the sharp decline of such a fantastic striker. In many ways he has suffered the same fate as Fernando Torres did when he suffered an injury made a big money move, didn't work out and is being whisked around clubs on loan and now seemingly won't recover the form that made him feared throughout Europe. Personally he is one of my favorite strikers of recent years. Known as "El Tigre" (The Tiger) during his spells at Porto and Atlético, I still retain some hope of him reaching a decent level of performance and at 29 time is still on his side.