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Radamel Falcao (L) with Manchester United legend and assistant coach Ryan GiggsManchester United pulled off perhaps the biggest shock of this season’s transfer window and the much-hyped deadline day with a last minute deal that brought one of the world’s best forwards to Old Trafford on a ‘supposed’ season long loan from Monaco.Panic buy, overpaying for an injury-prone 29-year-old, short term signing, – call it what you will, but the fact remains that Radamel Falcao García Zárate, the Colombian superstar who many consider to be among the best strikers in the business, will undoubtedly add to the attacking menace of this United team.Here are 9 reasons why El Tigre’s transfer is good for Manchester United.Note: The views expressed here are the Author’s own
#1 Goals!
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“I never think I’m not going to score, I never panic, I never start to worry,” he said two years ago. “I believe I will score. I just know, no matter how long I have to wait, that the goal will come. Football without goals doesn’t work. Goals give the game meaning, they give value to football. I have always been passionate about goals… obsessed.”
In the succinct words of the Colombian superstar himself, Radamel Falcao is obsessed with goals – screeching volleys, beautiful curlers, incredible bicycle kicks, dainty little chips, powerful headers and run of the mill tap-ins; he scores them all, and he does so very often.
Statistics very rarely reflect the true measure of a footballer’s aptitude, but in Falcao’s case, the numbers after his move to Europe are indisputable. And plain scary.
Club | Appearances | Goals |
|---|---|---|
FC Porto | 87 | 72 |
Atletico Madrid | 91 | 70 |
Monaco | 22 | 13 |
Goals per game | 0.74 | |
Falcao would definitely have scored more goals for Monaco had he stayed fit for the entire season. Add to these the 20 goals from 51 appearances for the Colombian national team.
At his first big team, the famous Argentine super club River Plate, he scored 45 goals in 105 games - a more than decent return for any good striker. It was his move to Europe though which truly brought out the best in Falcao and has taken him from the merely good to the pantheon of the greats.
Where Falcao goes, goals flow; Manchester United is almost certainly guaranteed a much healthier ‘Goals For’ column than has been the case in the recent past.
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#2 Sparking Wayne Rooney & Robin Van Persie into life
Speaking of ‘Goals For’, the one thing that has always been associated with Manchester United – from the days of the late great Duncan Edwards and the holy triumvirate of George Best, Bobby Charlton and Denis Law – is the propensity to field world class attacking players who have the ability to find the back of the net at will.
The season before last, the introduction of Robin Van Persie injected some fresh venom into a dying attack and led United to that historic 20th league title. But under the disastrous reign of David Moyes, the much vaunted striking duo seemed to lack any kind of chemistry and the movement up top became routine, turgid and all too predictably dull.
Falcao’s pace, power and incredible movement up front will breathe fresh air into the United strike force. And with both Van Persie (in his early years) and Rooney accustomed to playing alongside a lethal finisher, hopefully the move will bring out the creative best of the duo and free them (especially Rooney) from the seemingly self-imposed belief that they need to do everything.
Critically, with Van Persie looking at the bleak prospect of undergoing major surgery on his troublesome knee, Falcao would be the ideal man to lead the line. The Colombian also gives Louis van Gaal enviable options – dropping Rooney back into midfield or out of the team altogether (in case he continues in the same horrendous vein of form he has shown for a couple of seasons now) doesn’t look like it will affect the team’s ability to grab goals quite as much as it would have otherwise.
Now, all of a sudden, Rooney and Van Persie aren’t the biggest names in the team. They are no longer irreplaceable. They have the daunting task of matching up to one of the best strikers in the world. And considering their undoubted quality, that extra bit of competition might just be the spark they need.
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#3 El Tigres physical presence and directness
They call him ‘El Tigre’ for a reason – ferocious, powerful and utterly ruthless, Falcao is a beast of a player. Though not the tallest at 5’10”, he has a presence about him that makes the opposition back off just that extra bit more than they would normally like to.
His physical prowess and direct approach ensure that he’s definitely not the kind that will be intimidated by a bit of pushing around in this most high tempo league. Combine that with a powerful leap and the ability to thump in headers from all angles (and at extreme velocity) that make him such a formidable aerial presence and you have got a striker that any Premier League defence would struggle to contain – just ask Chelsea (UEFA Super Cup 2012-13)!
If Angel di Maria is like a rapier in the hands of an expert fencer, ideal for high speed, high intensity, cuts and thrusts, Radamel Falcao is the Hammer of Thor.
In a team that occasionally appears brittle and lacking in a bit of bite (even up front), Falcao’s formidable presence, bravery and direct approach may just be the tonic that the doctor ordered and, in all probability, he does look quite capable of getting it done it on a “cold, wet Tuesday night in Stoke”.
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#4 United\'s work-in-progress machine now has a ruthless spearhead
For all of United’s much vaunted attacking talent and potential inventiveness, they have looked like they have lacked a cutting edge to their finishing; what with Van Persie struggling with fitness and form and Rooney looking past it. United did however seem to suffer from a lack of ruthlessness up front, and when Danny Welbeck (who, for all his qualities, does not yet know how to score a goal properly) and Javier Hernandez (who along with Van Persie struggled with fitness and form) led the line, the fault was highlighted like never before.
What Falcao brings to the table is undisputed experience and the absolute cold-booded ruthlessness of a natural goal-scorer. With the competence to shoot powerfully with either foot, burning pace and the magnificent body control necessary to come to a halt suddenly while going at full tilt, Falcao has that uncanny ability to identify the best way to get the ball into the net and the consummate skill necessary to execute said identified plan, that sets the greatest of strikers apart.
Along with that ability comes a supreme belief and a firm self-confidence that he can do pretty much anything he wants on a football field. He has the infectious quality of spreading this confidence to whichever team he goes to – for they know that none of their hard work and inventiveness will go to waste so long as they have The Tiger prowling around in front of them.
This promisingly exciting attack-minded United team may just have found its ideal spearhead.
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#5 Manchester United are on the warpath
“The coward dies a thousand deaths, the brave just one.”
Manchester United appear to have taken the popular saying to heart. Despite the well-chronicled and even more derided shortcomings in defence and the centre of midfield, they have looked the other way (mostly) and gone for the high cost, high profile, acquisitions of two of the foremost attacking footballers on the planet today – Angel Di Maria and Radamel Falcao. United most certainly feel that offense is the best defence.
Daley Blind, Ander Herrera, Marcos Rojo and Luke Shaw have been bought in to shore up the defence and central midfield and it appears that Van Gaal is confident of drilling these players and the ones he has into a cohesive and well organized defensive unit. This is far from the most ridiculous suggestion – after all Jonny Evans was arguably the best defender in the club till that long injury lay-off, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling are tidy defenders who were talked about as great prospects by everyone in the know and Tyler Blackett shows clear signs he is ready to take the step up to the big leagues.
All in all, given time (and a return from injury for so many of the United players) and the famed iron discipline of Louis van Gaal, it appears a solid foundation can be laid to unleash the considerable and absolutely terrifying attacking force he has at his disposal.
Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney, Angel di Maria, Juan Mata, Adnan Januzaj and Radamel Falcao – now that would send shivers down any team’s spines. If Van Gaal can mould them into even a close semblance of a seamless attacking unit, Manchester United are going to be very hard to stop.
From a United fan’s (and a neutral’s) perspective – this season is going to be fun.
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#6 A blow for the rivals
Oliver Giroud is injured, Luis Suarez is in Barcelona and Alvaro Negredo has returned to Spain to play for Valencia. Why do I bring this up here? Because all these clubs (and Chelsea, before they got the in-form and on-fire Diego Costa, not to mention Loic Remy and the returning hero Didier Drogba) were reportedly attempting to grab the Colombian hitman’s signature in an attempt to bolster their front-line as they prepared their onslaught on the title in what might prove to be the most competitive season yet.
City still have three world class forwards in Sergio Aguero (if the hamstrings hold up), Edin Dzeko and Stevan Jovetic. Liverpool have one in Daniel Sturridge and signed another (albeit a mad-hat maverick) in Mario Balotelli along with the excellent Ricky Lambert and the exciting Lazar Markovic – meaning they may not miss out on the Falcao signing quite as much as they could have. Arsenal, however, seem to be the biggest losers in this race.
Sure, they signed Danny Welbeck at the very last minute to cover for Oliver Giroud who will be sidelined for a reported four months and have the lively Joel Campbell and the curiously intriguing Yaya Sanogo on their rolls, but the lack of a top-class finisher would surely hamper their title chances this season – even with the proposed move to push Alexis Sanchez to the centre of their attacking trident.
It’s not just about the effect the Falcao deal has on weakening the competition though; the obvious fact remains that notwithstanding Louis van Gaal’s requirement of a bit of time to bring the best out his (currently) deflated bunch, Falcao makes the United squad much stronger than it was before the deal happened.
And a strong United side wouldn’t be the most welcome of sights for any of the other big boys.
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#7 Reinforces the strength of the Manchester United brand
Most clubs in need of a striker would have earmarked Falcao as a potential marquee signing. We know there were big English clubs chasing him, but at some point or the other Real Madrid had also reportedly sought to re-unite him with his compatriot and fellow superstar James Rodriguez as Florentino Perez went on one of his ‘Galactico’ collecting rampages.
The fact that a club without any sort of European competition this season has managed to snare one of the world’s top forwards is on its own stunning enough, but add to this the calibre and potential of the prospective customers that were sniffing around for his signature, and it becomes an epochal move.
The deal also signified the coming of age of Edward Woodward as he attempts to walk in the larger-than-life shoes of the genius that was David Gill at the top of the United management food chain. Reports suggest that the £6 million loan comes with a buy-out option, where United reserves the right to sign Falcao on a permanent basis at the end of the season for a reported fee of £45 million. This appears to be a brilliantly engineered strategy to get him on board immediately without falling foul of UEFA’s Financial Fair Play regulations.
Of course, it helps that Woodward seems to be on first name basis with football’s greatest business mind, Jorge Mendes (the Portuguese super-agent, who is on the board of Doyen Sports Investments – the hedge fund that as a part of third party ownership owns a majority portion of Falcao’s economic rights).
All said and done, the deal indicates the robust health that United finds themselves in at the moment after decades of unprecedented sporting and commercial success, and the clout that the name ‘Manchester United’ wields in the world of football, temporary setbacks notwithstanding.
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#8 United are moving out of the shadow of Sir Alex Ferguson
When the great Sir Matt Busby first retired from United (in 1969 first then 1971 again), he left behind a legacy that was both awe-inspiring and completely overwhelming for any of his successors. He stayed on as club director before he was made club President in 1982. And all the while, a succession of managers could feel Busby’s legacy (and at times direct involvement) stifling them, weighing them down with a heavy burden of expectations.
It was not until a young Scotsman took charge that United well and truly moved out of the shadow cast by the great Busby. With him came 26 years of unprecedented success as United built up the footballing (and business) empire we see today. After his retirement, Sir Alex Ferguson took his place on the director’s board just as his legendary compatriot had all those years ago.
And the aftermath was just about the same as well. Struggling under the shadow of the colossus that was Fergie, David Moyes crumbled pathetically as he led United to a lowly seventh in the league. His replacement is not quite the kind of guy who crumbles so easily. After all you don’t get nicknamed the Iron Tulip for nothing.
Louis van Gaal has arrived, bringing with him unheard of ideas (like the 3-5-2) to Old Trafford. And with Ed Woodward looking to overcome the shadow of his predecessor himself, he has embarked on a spending spree the likes of which Old Trafford hasn’t borne witness to. Daley Blind, Luke Shaw, Marcos Rojo and Ander Herrera arrived with much fanfare and when the Argentine superstar Angel Di Maria was bought for a British record smashing £59.7 million, it signaled the beginning of a new era.
The stunning capture of Falcao has just served to highlight the shift in policy as Van Gaal attempts to bring Manchester United out of the all-encompassing shadow of Sir Alex Ferguson.
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#9 Old Trafford has another cult hero in the making
The video below shows Falcao going to meet some Colombian youngsters while he was on the sidelines and seemed destined to miss the 2014 World Cup (he did of course miss it sadly, but what character it took to own up and say that he shouldn’t be in the team even though the coach, his teammates and the entire country wanted him to be on it! Anyway…)
A young boy gets quite overwhelmed at the sight of his hero and starts crying quite hysterically. What happens next is astonishing as the kid (seemingly) tries to heal Falcao’s busted knee. The superstar can’t quite bear it and he breaks down in tears as well.
As unrelated as this may seem, this tender moment gives us a small glimpse into the kind of devotion that El Tigre inspires in his fans – whether it be in Bogota, where he is revered amongst other things for leading Colombia back to the world cup with his 9 goals in the CONMEBOL qualifying campaign, in Porto – who he led to domination in the Primiera Liga and the Europa League - or in Madrid, where amongst other stirring performances, he played a pivotal role in Atletico beating Real for the first time in 14 years in the 2013 Copa Del Rey Final, scored the winning goal in the 2012 Europa League final and smashed that incredible hat-trick against Chelsea in the 2012 UEFA Super Cup.
With his superhero like ability on the pitch and irrepressible charisma off it, the man is a textbook cult hero material, and it looks like he is perfectly capable of being Stretford End’s new darling.
Old Trafford may soon realize that they have another legend in the making on their hands
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#10 Bonus video: El Tigre meets. El Tigre
The video embedded above has absolutely nothing to do with anything on this post.
But what a gem it is – El Tigre meeting an actual real life tiger. Modern football marketing at its very best!
Also - Probably the only time you will see Radamel Falcao look ‘scared’ on a football pitch.
Enjoy.
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