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Radamel Falcao

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Radamel Falcao
Falcao in 2019
Personal information
Full name Radamel Falcao García Zárate[1]
Date of birth (1986-02-10) 10 February 1986 (age 38)[2]
Place of birth Santa Marta, Colombia[3]
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[4]
Position(s) Striker
Club information
Current team
Rayo Vallecano
Number 9
Youth career
Deportivo Táchira
Mineros de Guayana
Monagas SC
–1995 Atlético El Vigía
1995–1997 La Gaitana
1997–1999 Lanceros Boyacá
2001–2004 River Plate
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2001 Lanceros Boyacá 8 (1)
2004–2009 River Plate 90 (34)
2009–2011 Porto 51 (41)
2011–2013 Atlético Madrid 68 (52)
2013–2019 Monaco 108 (65)
2014–2015Manchester United (loan) 26 (4)
2015–2016Chelsea (loan) 10 (1)
2019–2021 Galatasaray 34 (19)
2021– Rayo Vallecano 65 (9)
National team
2001–2005 Colombia U17 4 (1)
2005–2007 Colombia U20 11 (4)
2007– Colombia 104 (36)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:59, 10 March 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 28 March 2023

Radamel Falcao Garcia Zarate (born 10 February 1986), mainly known as Radamel Falcao, is a Colombian footballer. He plays as a striker for Turkish club Galatasaray. He was named Falcao, in honor of Brazilian soccer player Paulo Roberto Falcao. Falcao is nicknamed El Tigre[5] or The Tiger in Spanish. He is widely known because of his ability to score goals with both feet and with his head.

Club Career

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1996-2001: Lanceros Boyacá

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When he was 13 years old, he started to play at Fair Play, which is a Colombian soccer school. In his two years with the club, he played eight matches and scored once.

2001-2009: River Plate

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When he was 15 years old, Falcao was discovered by River Plate[6] in a match of selection in Colombia to footballers of maximum 17 years old. Before signing a professional contract with River Plate in 2005, he began to study journalism at the Palermo University in Argentina. When he was 19 years old, he scored two goals at his first match with River Plate. He scored seven goals in seven games, which is a goal each game, before he injured his right knee ligaments at the end of the 2005 season. After a long period of inactivity, he was injured again in January 2006.[7] On 27 September 2007, Falcao scored a hat-trick against Botafogo, which allowed River Plate to qualify for the quarterfinals of the Copa Sudamericana.

2009-2011: FC Porto

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On August 16, 2009, Falcao scored his first goal for F.C. Porto against Paços de Ferreira. During the first season in Europe, he scored 25 goals in 28 matches of the Sagres League. He was the second best striker after Óscar Cardozo, a Paraguayan footballer. During the 2010-2011 season, Falcao scored 16 goals in 13 games in the Europa League, which is more than a goal each game.

2011-2013: Atletico Madrid

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Falcao in an UEFA Europa League game against SK Rapid Wien during the 2010/11 season with FC Porto.

In August 2011, he moved to Atlético Madrid for 40 million Euros. In December 2012, he was elected as the second best player from La Liga, the top division of Spanish Football.

2014-2015: Loan to Manchester United

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In September 2014, Falcao made a £16m loan move to Manchester United from French side Monaco.[8]He was earning £190,000 per week but his season was met with injuries. He scored 4 goals in 29 appearances.

Falcao playing for Manchester United against Chelsea

International Career

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Falcao took part in the 2005 South American U-20 Championship which was held in his home country of Colombia. He won the tournament as well. On 3 June 2007, Falcao scored his first goal for the national team against Montenegro. He scored the only goal of that game. On 11 October 2013, he scored 2 penalties against Chile to help tie the match at 3-3 after losing 3-0. This result meant Colombia qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1998. Falcao missed the 2014 World Cup because he was injured, but played in the 2018 World Cup and scored a goal against Poland. On 7 June 2017, Falcao became the Colombian national team top scorer, after scoring his 26th goal in a 2–2 draw with Spain.[9]

As of 2 July 2020.[10]
Club Season League Cup[nb 1] League Cup[nb 2] Continental[nb 3] Other[nb 4] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
River Plate 2004–05 Argentine Primera División 4 0 0 0 4 0
2005–06 7 7 0 0 7 7
2006–07 20 3 3 0 23 3
2007–08 27 11 12 8 39 19
2008–09 32 13 6 3 38 16
Total 90 34 21 11 111 45
Porto 2009–10 Primeira Liga 28 25 5 5 2 0 8 4 0 0 43 34
2010–11 25 16 3 3 0 0 16 18 1 1 44 38
Total 51 41 8 8 2 0 24 22 2 1 87 72
Atlético Madrid 2011–12 La Liga 34 24 1 0 15 12 50 36
2012–13 34 28 4 2 2 1 1 3 41 34
Total 68 52 5 2 17 13 1 3 91 70
Monaco 2013–14 Ligue 1 17 9 2 2 0 0 19 11
2014–15 3 2 0 0 0 0 3 2
2016–17 29 21 2 1 2 1 10 7 43 30
2017–18 26 18 1 0 3 3 5 3 1 0 36 24
2018–19 33 15 1 1 0 0 5 0 39 16
Total 107 65 6 4 5 4 20 10 1 0 139 83
Manchester United (loan) 2014–15 Premier League 26 4 3 0 0 0 29 4
Chelsea (loan) 2015–16 10 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 12 1
Career total 375 207 25 15 8 4 85 56 5 4 496 286
Notes

International

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As of 28 June 2019[11]
Colombia
Year Apps Goals
2007 8 2
2008 5 1
2009 9 2
2010 4 1
2011 8 4
2012 7 5
2013 9 5
2014 3 1
2015 9 4
2016 2 0
2017 6 3
2018 11 4
2019 8 2
Total 89 34


River Plate

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Atletico Madrid

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References

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  1. "Radamel Falcao Garcia Zarate" (in Turkish). Turkish Football Federation. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  2. "FIFA World Cup Russia 2018: List of Players: Colombia" (PDF). FIFA. 15 July 2018. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 June 2019.
  3. "Radamel Falcao". AS Monaco FC. Archived from the original on 16 October 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  4. "Radamel Falcao LaLiga Santander". La Liga. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  5. http://www.worldsoccerbay.com/falcao-nicknamed-el-tigre/[permanent dead link]
  6. "Falcao García y su etapa Argentina: el Tigre de River Plate". GOL Caracol. 2 November 2012.
  7. "Falcao - Player Profile 18/19". www.transfermarkt.co.uk.
  8. "Radamel Falcao joins Manchester United in £16m season-long loan deal". the Guardian. 2014-09-02. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  9. "Falcao becomes Colombia's all-time top goalscorer". FourFourTwo. 7 June 2017.
  10. Radamel Falcao at Soccerway
  11. "García, Radamel Falcao". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 5 June 2012.

Other websites

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