When assessing Radamel Falcao’s club career, two seasons immediately stand out. For such a prolific goalscorer, he has only twice failed to reach double figures in the last decade. Even during an injury-hit first year at Monaco, which resulted in him missing out on the World Cup, he still managed to do so.
It was in the Premier League, during troubled loan spells at Manchester United and Chelsea, that he fell woefully short of his own high standards. To assess Falcao’s ability in the context of those lost years would be unfair, but ahead of Tuesday’s second round tie against Colombia, some England supporters may be guilty of doing so.
The striker has made an impressive recovery since returning to France in the summer of 2016, scoring 53 goals in 79 appearances. Falcao even helped Monaco to their first league title in 17 years, and a surprise run to the Champions League semi-finals, before a mass exodus of players. He stayed put, and has kept doing what he does best.
A deadly finisher capable of scoring all kinds of goals, Falcao flourished at Porto and Atletico Madrid. Despite a lack of height, he was particularly effective in the air and seemed well-suited to English football. Unfortunately, he arrived on the back of a devastating anterior cruciate ligament injury which saw him miss several months of action.
Having contributed so much to Colombia’s qualification, he had to watch on as they progressed to the quarter-finals of the 2014 World Cup without him. After the tournament, and a few weeks into the new season, Falcao agreed an expensive loan move to Manchester United. Hailed as a coup, it turned out to be anything but.
He struggled to have any sort of impact in a side that created remarkably few chances, and often played rather sterile possession football, under Louis van Gaal. A decent start gave way to patchy substitute appearances as the season wore on, resulting in a pitiful record of four goals in 26 Premier League games.
There was no question of Falcao’s spell at Old Trafford being extended and Jose Mourinho took him to Chelsea with the hope of reviving his career. He played even less and looked a shadow of his once imposing self, scoring a single goal for the club – a diving header in a 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace. Mourinho would be sacked within a few months as dressing room factions came to the fore.
In hindsight, both of those moves were misguided and seem to have been driven primarily by concerns that had little to do with football. A client of Jorge Mendes, Falcao has moved regularly between clubs with close links to the Portuguese agent. It has helped to maximise his earnings and broaden his experiences but neither Manchester United nor Chelsea offered the stability he needed at that stage.
Following those high-profile failures, many assumed that Falcao would never be the same again. His confidence had taken a significant hit and perhaps he’d never truly recovered, either mentally or physically, from that terrible injury. Doubts remained but Falcao quickly dispelled them, spearheading Monaco's charge to the Ligue Un title as the senior figure in a youthful and talented team.
Even as many of their best players left last summer, including Benjamin Mendy, Bernardo Silva and Kylian Mbappe, the Colombian simply picked up where he'd left off. He was Monaco’s top scorer for the second season running and also captained his country to the World Cup. Simply taking to the pitch in Russia was a landmark moment for someone who had twice been denied, in both 2010 and 2014, through injury.
Having finally made it to his first World Cup at the age of 32, Falcao’s determined to leave a lasting impression. He scored against Poland but remains hungry for more goals, with skilled midfielders behind him capable of supplying the chances. Fit and firing again for club and country, England's defenders shouldn't take his threat lightly.
