El Tigre has scored over 100 goals in his first three seasons of European football and is also known as the King of Europa League for a reason. He was pivotal in Atletico Madrid’s 12 match unbeaten run in the Europa League, the first team to do so. Who can forget the 5 goals he pumped in during the demolition of Deportivo de La Coruna at home. He helped Atletico Madrid trump arch rivals and derby opponents Real Madrid for the first time in 14 years in the Copa del Ray finals – yes, Real Madrid were not beaten by Atletico for 14 years. Now, it seems quite the opposite. And who can forget that scissor kick? Oh, that was something special, wasn’t it?
So with all the glorification, why then does Radamel Falcao seem to remind us of a Fernando Torres of Chelsea? His miss against West Ham did not go down very well with the United faithful and the press are already baying for his blood. His salary and $65-million odd price tag is definitely not making it easy for him. His troubles started on January 23rd when he suffered a knee injury that ruled him out of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, which I think was a body blow to the man touted to be Columbia’s favorite superstar. His recovery was complete in July and he slowly started to play matches for Monaco but was clearly a shadow of his prior self which was very evident. His move to Manchester United was for many an excess of riches for United who needed more defensive reinforcements rather than a strike force. But then again, who says no to Falcao?
I was curious to see why Falcao is not scoring and if we should give the verdict on him or should we have patience? Patience, something the United fans have got used to after the last season I guess. The man scored 71 goals in 90 games for Atletico and is a beast of a Number 9 at his 100%. But is he at his 100% now? Is this the maximum he can reach? If so, then I think that is a problem for us because this is EPL. Defenders don’t give you the same time on the ball as a striker like you get in say, the La Liga. But is the problem just in his game or in the head too? Some of the runs Falcao has made have been inch perfect; even the tap down to Van Persie and his run to receive it again was brilliant against West Ham. But for some reason, he lacks the confidence that he had just a few years back. And great strikers thrive on this confidence, something Falcao had in plenty.
All of Falcao’s previous teams where he has excelled have been teams which saw Falcao as THE player for them and that might be the telling difference during his time so far at Manchester United. Let us take Atletico for example:
Take this team for example, the one that broke 14-year record against Madrid. Falcao was the main striker and was ably assisted by Costa who was good, but was always seen as being second to Falcao. In Monaco too, Falcao was the main player with James playing to his right – which was the case in Columbia too until James stole the spotlight in the world cup. Recently UEFA released a list of famous Columbians to play the Champions League and Falcao was not even mentioned. That is harsh, but that is football. A hero today, a villain tomorrow and a later history. This transition from the main man to one of many might hold the key to unraveling this curious case of Radamel Falcao. Can he play as the team wants? Is he the problem or is the problem with the system?
I somehow believe that Falcao lacks the confidence from before, the confidence that used to stem from the trust he had from his manager and team, also because he is playing a very unfamiliar role – second fiddle to RVP. For the high-flying Columbian who is always used to being the center of attention for the right reasons, this sudden change in love from the media might be a little too much to handle. Kings don’t often do well when starting out as peasants again. Maybe that is his problem – all in the head. He needs to believe in himself and the club needs to believe in him. Although it is affecting our performance, it is good LvG is believing in him because he obviously sees the El Tigre in there somewhere. How long can we wait before he is unleashed, I do not know. Falcao’s troubles are not just with the body, but with the mind too. Overcoming the daemons that tell you that your best is over and being fuelled by all the bad-talk in the media is going to be Falcao’s and Manchester United’s greatest victory.
| Appearances | 15 |
| Goals | 4 |
| Assists | 3 |
For all his misadventures with Manchester United, I still would love to see him at United for the long term. Maybe we can use his poor form to buy him for a lesser price and salary, but his passion is something I love to see. Even when he hasn’t scored, he celebrates with the team with so much love and passion that you often tend to soak in the disappointment and hope better days are yet to come for the man. And when Radamel Falcao scores, oh that is something you need to watch. He celebrates like he just won the world cup. You can see that the goal means the world to him and he is like a little kid running to his father to tell about the A-grade he got on his math test. So against all logic and all common sense, I want Falcao to keep starting and give him enough time to realize that he can be the superstar for Manchester United. That the red half of Manchester can do with a hero now and he can be that one. For one thing is for certain, I can never get tired of seeing this celebration:
I just hope he bangs in a few goals very soon, because he is just a few goals away from being back to his best.
