{"id":3752,"date":"2012-05-10T12:08:12","date_gmt":"2012-05-10T17:08:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/seecolombia.travel\/blog\/?p=3752"},"modified":"2016-05-12T16:08:38","modified_gmt":"2016-05-12T21:08:38","slug":"radamel-falcao-a-colombian-goal-machine-plus-james-rodriguez-and-jackson-martinez","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seecolombia.travel\/blog\/2012\/05\/radamel-falcao-a-colombian-goal-machine-plus-james-rodriguez-and-jackson-martinez\/","title":{"rendered":"Radamel Falcao: A Colombian goal machine – plus James Rodr\u00edguez and Jackson Mart\u00ednez"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"An<\/a>
An emotional Falcao lifts the Europa League Trophy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It seems congratulations are in order from everyone at See Colombia Travel<\/a> to Colombian striker Radamel Falcao Garc\u00eda Z\u00e1rate\u00a0(that\u2019s Falcao to you and me) for his stunning performance in yesterdays Europa League final, confirming what we here at Colombia Travel Blog<\/a> have long suspected about the awesome potential of Colombian football<\/a>. Falcao has been all over the back pages of the world\u2019s press (front pages here of course!) this morning and speculation is already mounting that one of Europe\u2019s big-dogs might be sniffing around him come the summer.<\/p>\n

Anyone with a good knowledge of football was already completely aware of Falcao\u2019s amazing abilities of course: he scored 17 goals in 14 games on the way to lifting the aforementioned trophy with Porto in 2010\/11, so he wasn\u2019t exactly a well-kept secret. Despite constant rumours linking him with a return to life under former boss Andre Villas Boas at Chelsea, Falcao signed a record-breaking deal with Atl\u00e9tico\u00a0Madrid in 2011, making him the most expensive player in their history at 40 million Euros!<\/p>\n

\"'Look,<\/a>
‘Look, no hands!’ – Falcao in his Porto days<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Let\u2019s rewind a bit though, shall we. What\u2019s Falcao\u2019s story, I hear you ask? The Santa Marta-born forward never really had much of a career in the Colombian leagues unfortunately \u2013 a spell in the Millonarios youth team is about as good as it got for him on home soil. Although, stat fans, he made his debut in the Colombian \u2018Categor\u00eda Primera B\u2019for Lanceros Fair Play (why don\u2019t we have more names like that in English football? Imagine if Chelsea were called \u2018The Swordsman of a Good Handshake\u2019\u2026) aged just 13! However, following a move to Argentina\u2019s River Plate his career really took off \u2013 call ups to the national team were soon a formality, and a high-profile move to Europe seemed assured. Eventually, in 2009, he made that move, crossing the Atlantic to join Portuguese giants, FC Porto in a deal worth a surprisingly meagre 4 million Euros.<\/p>\n

This just about brings us up to speed. In predictable fashion, Falcao, or \u2018El Tigre\u2019 as he has come to be known, set the Primeira Liga on fire in his first season, and ended his Porto days with a scoring record of 41 goals in 51 appearances. His subsequent move across the Iberian Peninsula has been a categorical success, capped off yesterday with the wonderful sight of the 26 year old Colombian sensation lifting the Europa League for the second time in his nascent European career.<\/p>\n

\"Falcao<\/a>
Falcao celebrates yet another goal, this time for Colombia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So where will Falcao be living come next season? As he is only 1 year into a 5 year contract, and a club record signing to boot, it seems unlikely that we will be seeing Falcao in anything other than the red and white of Atletico for at least one more season. Add in the fact that the Colombian is now a defending European champion with the Madrid side and it seems an even more far-fetched prospect. On the other hand, there are teams out there with the unbelievable resources to make a move happen \u2013 Manchester City still seem intent on buying everyone who has ever<\/em> scored a goal in a European competition, Real Madrid look likely to be offloading Gonzalo Higua\u00edn over the summer and might fancy a new striker who already has a Madrid address, and Barcelona (with a new manager) might just be looking to alter their style a little bit in the wake of their recent problems. Spanish news network \u2018Marca\u2019 just named him as the best Spanish signing of the 21st Century, so the hype machine is certainly working overtime. It could be an uncomfortable summer for Atl\u00e9tico\u00a0fans.<\/p>\n

One thing is for certain however \u2013 the Falcao story still has many years to play out, and Colombia Travel Blog<\/a> will be waiting expectantly to see what the prodigiously talented Colombian can achieve next.<\/p>\n

\"James<\/a>
James Rodr\u00edguez: poised to ‘do a Falcao’?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Plus: a couple more Colombian footballers who may soon be making waves at the top level:<\/strong><\/p>\n

James\u00a0Rodr\u00edguez<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0\u2013 The 20 year old Porto midfielder, nicknamed \u2018El Nuevo Pibe\u2019 (or \u2018The New Kid\u2019 in reference to his perceived role as the heir to Colombian legend Carlos Valderrama) was the revelation of last summer\u2019s Under 20\u2019s World Cup<\/a>. His wonderful array of skills, particularly his Paul Scholes-esque eye for a pass, has made moves to high-profile clubs a regular talking point. Manchester United, on the lookout for a long-term replacement for the little ginger genius, is the name most mentioned.<\/p>\n

Jackson Mart\u00ednez<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0\u2013 Currently plying his trade for Mexico\u2019s Jaguares, the lightening quick Mart\u00ednez\u00a0has scored 17 goals so far this season to prompt speculation of an imminent move to Liverpool. Well, King Kenny does seem pretty profligate with the new owner\u2019s cash, so who knows?!<\/p>\n

Chris<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It seems congratulations are in order from everyone at See Colombia Travel to Colombian striker Radamel Falcao Garc\u00eda Z\u00e1rate\u00a0(that\u2019s Falcao to you and me) for his stunning performance in yesterdays Europa League final, confirming what we here at Colombia Travel Blog have long suspected about the awesome potential of Colombian football. Falcao has been all […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[3,115,624,625,626,4,57,1],"tags":[213,2885,345],"yoast_head":"\nRadamel Falcao: A Colombian goal machine - plus James Rodr\u00edguez and Jackson Mart\u00ednez - Colombia Travel Blog by See Colombia Travel<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/seecolombia.travel\/blog\/2012\/05\/radamel-falcao-a-colombian-goal-machine-plus-james-rodriguez-and-jackson-martinez\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Radamel Falcao: A Colombian goal machine - plus James Rodr\u00edguez and Jackson Mart\u00ednez\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It seems congratulations are in order from everyone at See Colombia Travel to Colombian striker Radamel Falcao Garc\u00eda Z\u00e1rate\u00a0(that\u2019s Falcao to you and me) for his stunning performance in yesterdays Europa League final, confirming what we here at Colombia Travel Blog have long suspected about the awesome potential of Colombian football. 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