Radamel ’El Tigre’ Falcao
I watched Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid on Sunday and believe me, there were some beautifully taken goals. Barcelona’s Brazilian right back Adriano scored a blinder, smashing the underside of the bar with a beautifully placed left foot curler. However first to step up was the Colombian everyone is talking about, El Tigre’ aka Radamel Falcao.
Falcao looked lively from the beginning of the game and maybe should have scored in the first quarter of an hour however he made up for that with a fantastic individual goal. Not many people can make Carlos Puyol, Sergio Busquets, Gerard Pique and Victor Valdes all look stupid, but Falcao managed to do this in the 8 seconds he was in possession. Picking up the ball in the centre circle he steamed through the Barcelona defence and lobbed the ball past Valdes with ease. Atletico went on to lose the game 3-1 after an Argentinean nobody had a few lucky breaks for Barcelona. But this did not overshadow just how much Falcao has come on since joining in 2011.
He began his career at River Plate in Argentina scoring 34 goals in 90 games. In 2009 he was introduced to Europe where he joined Portuguese champions at the time FC Porto. 41 goals in 51 games for FC Porto does not go unnoticed and sure enough he began to draw attention from some of the biggest clubs in the world. In the 2010-2011 season, Falcao broke Jurgen Klinsmann’s Europa League scoring record of 15 goals in 14 games, by netting 17 times in 14 games, which also saw Porto go on to win the competition.
The move from Porto to Madrid materialised in 2011 and was for a reported €40,000,000 potentially rising to €47,000,000. Since his arrival at the Estadio Vicente Calderonhe,Falcao has played 49 league games for Madrid scoring 41 goals which in a league as tough as La Liga is phenomenal. It’s not just Falcao’s scoring abilities that light up the pitch, he also has incredible technique and skill. He is comfortable with both left and right feet and is remarkably good in the air for somebody only 5’10”.
With the January Transfer window drawing ever nearer there is sure to be interest in the Colombians signature. Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has hinted at a possible move in January but with a reported €60,000,000 minimum release clause, will Roman want to risk spending that sort of money again after the disappointment of Fernando Torres? Of course he will and I do not blame him. Falcao is a world class striker who is scoring for fun. Fernando Torres began his dry patch before he even joined Chelsea.
But, and this is a big but, why on earth would Radamel Falcao want to join Chelsea? Putting aside the £200,000 a week wage being offered, I can’t see why you would want to leave for a team he single-handedly tore apart in the Super Cup. Atletico Madrid are second in La Liga behind arguably the best ever club team Barcelona and are 4 points ahead of Real Madrid. Things are not bad under Diego Simeone and they will only continue to improve if they manage to keep hold of El Tigre’.
@taylerwillson
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