January 23, 2014 was a day that many Colombians would like to forget. No, while it wasn't the day of any epic natural disaster, it was still a worrying time for Los Cafeteros fans as Radamel Falcao suffered a horrific knee injury in a Coupe de France clash with Monts d'Or Azergues.
Naturally, his manager at Monaco, Claudio Ranieri, came under fire for fielding the then 27-year-old star in a match against a fourth-tier side, but being the extremely competitive personality that he is, Falcao was quick to point out that he wanted to feature and wasn't pressured by his coach.
It is this same desire to win that has earned him the nickname El Tigre and subsequently, hailed as "King of the Europa League" due to his exploits with Porto and later on, Atletico Madrid and even earned praise from players such as four-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi. It was during his time with Los Rojiblancos that Falcao, who was born on February 10, 1986 in Santa Marta, established himself as one of the best strikers currently in the game today that saw him score 36 goals in his debut season--the most of any player in the club's history.
*NOTE: Falcao was in LiveSoccerTV's picks of the Top 20 players to watch at the World Cup. However, he failed to make Colombia's final 23-man squad despite getting a call up in the provisional roster.
Falcao's attributes, which include a strong heading threat despite not being one of the tallest attackers, comfort in shooting with both his dominant right foot as well as the weaker left one, and his overall versatility which has seen him even employed him as a playmaker on numerous occasions are by far why his nation will be counting on him during this year's World Cup. During Colombia's qualifiers, he netted nine goals, the most of anyone on the squad and it was his excellent performance against Chile that helped the South American nation qualify for their first World Cup tournament since 1998.
Despite being coveted by many of the world's best clubs, notably Premier League powerhouse Chelsea, Falcao moved to last year's Ligue 2 winners Monaco this past summer and was unfortunate to see his debut season cut short by that injury earlier this year.
Having not featured in any kind of competition since, he was nonetheless included in the team's provisional 30-man squad, but his availability for Brazil is still in doubt. In fact, as recently as a few days ago, the player himself admitted that "it will be hard to get to 100% [fitness] because I haven't played in so long. So, I feel good, I'll go, otherwise, I'll be smart and not go [to Brazil]."
Hopefully, though, for a country that has long awaited their return to the international stage, he will be ready to rock and roll as his side takes on Greece on June 14th.
Some interesting facts about El Tigre:
- In 2012 his first half hat-trick against Chelsea in the UEFA Super Cup final made him the first player to do so since the tournament's final being changed to a single match in 1998.
- His penalty double against Chile when his team were 3-0 down was the reason why Colombia finally made a return to the World Cup after a 16-year-absence.
- Despite not scoring in the 2013 Copa Del Rey final, his excellent playmaking abilities played an instrumental role in Los Rojiblancos defeating city rivals Real Madrid for the first time in 14 years.
- Falcao comes from a footballing family--his father, Radamel Garcia is a former defender who plied his trade in Colombia; his middle name, Falcao, is in honor of Brazilian legendary midfielder Paolo Roberto Falcao, who played for Internacional and Roma.
- At 28 years old, he is the second-highest scorer for the Colombian national squad, with 20 goals tied with Faustino Asprilla, and five behind all-time leading marksman Arnoldo Iguaran.
