Radamel Falcao Garcia Zarate was born on 10 February 1986 and is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a striker for La Liga club Rayo Vallecano and the Colombia national team.
86 Facts About Radamel Falcao
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Radamel Falcao was integral in the club's 2012 Europa League and Super Cup victories.
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Radamel Falcao joined Turkish club Galatasaray in 2019, before returning to La Liga in 2021 with Rayo Vallecano.
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Radamel Falcao made his senior debut for Colombia in 2007, and has since earned over 100 caps and scored 36 goals, making him their all-time top scorer since breaking the previous record of 25 goals in June 2017.
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Radamel Falcao represented his country at the 2011,2015 and 2019 Copa America.
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Radamel Falcao missed the 2014 FIFA World Cup through injury, but made his World Cup debut at the 2018 tournament in Russia.
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Radamel Falcao is Porto's all-time top goalscorer in international club competitions, set the record for most goals in a European campaign in 2011, is the first player to win consecutive Europa League titles with two teams, and is Monaco's highest goalscorer this century.
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Radamel Falcao was named in the FIFA FIFPro World XI in 2012, finished in fifth place for the 2012 FIFA Ballon d'Or, and was awarded the 2012 Globe Soccer Best Footballer.
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In November 2018, Radamel Falcao was honoured by the Atletico Madrid fans with a plaque outside the Metropolitano Stadium.
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Radamel Falcao made his debut for Lanceros Boyaca in the Colombian Categoria Primera B on 28 August 1999, playing the last 40 minutes against Deportivo Pereira at the age of 13 years and 199 days, thus becoming the youngest debutant at that level of Colombian professional football.
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In 2000, Lanceros' coach, Hernan Pacheco, began to consider the 14-year-old more seriously; Radamel Falcao played seven matches that year.
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Radamel Falcao began his River career in the youth team, playing in the eighth division of Argentine football.
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Radamel Falcao became a regular in the first team during the 2005 Torneo Apertura.
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Radamel Falcao was sent off in his only outing in the 2007 Copa Libertadores, against Colo-Colo on 22 February 2007.
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Radamel Falcao was a key player as Diego Simeone led River to the 2008 Torneo Clausura championship, his first domestic title, and his performances linked him with moves to a variety of clubs, including Man United and Arsenal.
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Radamel Falcao retained his eye for goal and was instrumental in Nestor Gorosito's plans, having matured as a striker over the previous two years; he finished as top scorer with 43 goals.
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Radamel Falcao made his debut against Pacos de Ferreira on the opening matchday and scored an important goal to earn the team a draw.
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Radamel Falcao went on to score three goals in as many games, making him one of the few to score four goals in the first four matchdays of the Portuguese league.
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Radamel Falcao wrapped up the campaign with a career-high 34 goals in all competitions.
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Radamel Falcao set a new goalscoring record of 17 goals in 14 games during the Europa League campaign, surpassing Jurgen Klinsmann's previous record of 15 goals.
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Radamel Falcao played his first Madrid Derby against Real Madrid on 11 April 2012.
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Four days after the final, Radamel Falcao scored the only goal late into a match against Villarreal to give his team a victory in the last game of the season.
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Radamel Falcao ended the season with 28 league goals, putting him third in the top scorers chart, only behind Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
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In May 2013, Atletico Madrid general manager Miguel Angel Gil Marin announced that the club would not stand in the way if Radamel Falcao decided to leave, and that he and the club would support him in his decision.
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Radamel Falcao went on to say that part of his reason for choosing Monaco was to follow the footsteps of his idol, Thierry Henry.
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Monaco sporting director Vadim Vasilyev said that the club hoped to build a team around Radamel Falcao and provide a direct challenge in Ligue 1 to Qatari backed PSG.
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Radamel Falcao's move to Monaco was a generally considered a surprise as he was widely regarded as the best and most sought after striker in the world.
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Radamel Falcao went on to say that he and his doctors were confident in a speedy recovery.
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Radamel Falcao went on to say that he wanted to play in the match himself, and that Monaco head coach Claudio Ranieri did not force him to.
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Amidst rumours of a transfer, Radamel Falcao was not included in Monaco's next match against Lille, and watched from the stands next to club owner Vadim Vasilyev.
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Radamel Falcao's debut was marked by rapturous applause from the club's supporters as they continuously chanted his name both while he was warming up and on the pitch.
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On 24 May 2015, United announced their decision to not exercise their buy option on Radamel Falcao, ending a spell at the club in which he scored 4 goals in 29 appearances.
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Radamel Falcao was dropped from the team's Champions League squad the following month, in favour of new addition Alexandre Pato.
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On 1 June, Radamel Falcao extended his contract a further three years, keeping him at the club until 2020.
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Radamel Falcao's form led him to being nominated for 2017 Ballon d'Or.
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Radamel Falcao was applauded by Porto fans for the gesture.
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Radamel Falcao finished the season as top scorer with 18 league goals in 26 matches.
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Four days later, Radamel Falcao played against his former club Atletico Madrid for the first time since his departure in 2013 as part of a Champions League group stage match.
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Radamel Falcao was welcomed by over 25,000 fans on the previous day at the Istanbul Ataturk Airport.
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Radamel Falcao played 22 matches, scored 11 goals, and got one assist in all competitions during the season.
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Radamel Falcao began the season by scoring twice and assisting in his club's league debut victory against Gaziantep on 12 September 2020.
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On 11 April 2021, Radamel Falcao collided with Kerem Akturkoglu head-on during a training session and was taken to the hospital.
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Radamel Falcao was diagnosed with a facial bone fracture and had surgery.
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Radamel Falcao finished the season with 17 games, 9 goals and 2 assists.
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Radamel Falcao missed 24 games during the season due to injuries.
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On 4 September 2021, Radamel Falcao signed for La Liga club Rayo Vallecano.
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Radamel Falcao was presented at the Estadio de Vallecas on 16 September 2021 before 2,000 fans.
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Radamel Falcao chose to the jersey number 3, an unfamiliar number mostly worn by defenders and is not traditionally associated with attacking players.
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Radamel Falcao participated with the Colombia national under-17 team at the 2001 South American U-17 Championship, where he played four matches and scored one goal against Bolivia.
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Radamel Falcao was called up to the U-17 team for the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship, but sustained an injury before the tournament and had to drop out.
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Radamel Falcao played in the 2004 Toulon Tournament, scoring his only goal at the tournament against Turkey.
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On 7 February 2007, Radamel Falcao made his senior team debut against Uruguay, and scored his first goal on 3 June against Montenegro in the Kirin Cup.
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Radamel Falcao returned to action and scored the only goal of the game in a friendly against Nigeria on 19 November 2008.
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In total, Radamel Falcao played 10 games and scored once during the qualifying campaign.
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Radamel Falcao ended the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign as Colombia's top scorer, with nine goals in thirteen appearances.
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However, Radamel Falcao expressed his optimism, believing that it was possible to make a speedy recovery.
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Radamel Falcao received tremendous support worldwide on social media for a speedy recovery; a social media movement entitled 'Fuerza Tigre' rapidly grew popularity.
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Radamel Falcao captained the team at the tournament, despite having a shoddy season, but failed to score and grab any assists in three group matches.
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On 4 November 2016, Radamel Falcao was recalled to the Colombia squad for the first time in 388 days for Colombia's next two 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches against Chile on 10 November and Argentina on 15 November.
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Radamel Falcao went on to score twice in the team's four remaining World Cup qualifying matches, as Colombia confirmed their qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup on 10 October 2017.
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Radamel Falcao admitted to knowing what was happening in the other games, but denied making any arrangement.
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Radamel Falcao is a symbol of the national team, a symbol of Colombian football.
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On 30 May 2019, Radamel Falcao was included in the 23-man final Colombia squad for the 2019 Copa America.
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Radamel Falcao had a poor tournament overall, with no goals or assists to his name, and didn't play the full 90 minutes in any of his matches.
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Radamel Falcao has been described as a "natural goal scorer" and a striker with the "ability to bag a goal from nothing".
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Radamel Falcao can hold up the ball well due to his high strength and is able to play off the shoulder of the last defender.
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Radamel Falcao is well known for having a strong weak foot that is on equals with his right foot, allowing him to be flexible with goal scoring.
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Radamel Falcao has been praised for his free-kick ability, which is rarely seen from a striker.
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Radamel Falcao is a great player and is at a very high level.
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Radamel Falcao has won everything in a season in which he scored many goals.
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Radamel Falcao is, today, the great reference of Colombian football.
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Radamel Falcao is often regarded as one of the greatest strikers of his generation and as one of the greatest Colombian footballers of all time.
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Radamel Falcao's talents have been recognized by many footballers and managers.
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Falcao is a second generation footballer; his father, Radamel Garcia, played professionally as a defender in Colombia and Venezuela, and moved to the latter country with the family when Falcao was five.
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In 2021, when Radamel Falcao joined Rayo Vallecano he chose the jersey number 3, same jersey number his father played with, to honour him.
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When Radamel Falcao was in Venezuela, he played baseball, the country's most popular sport.
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However, when the family returned to Colombia in 1995, Radamel Falcao turned his attention back to football.
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Radamel Falcao's name derives from the 1980s Brazil national team, Internacional and Roma legend Paulo Roberto Falcao, as a tribute from his father, Radamel Garcia.
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Radamel Falcao scored two goals in a match versus Huracan, and the man of the match trophy he later won had a tiger on it, so Luduena began to call him "El Tigre".
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Radamel Falcao has been married to Argentine singer and model Lorelei Taron since December 2007; they met in a church while Radamel Falcao was playing for River at age 18.
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In early 2013, it was revealed that Radamel Falcao was expecting his first child with her.
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Radamel Falcao's second daughter, Desiree Garcia Taron, was born in February 2015.
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Radamel Falcao's third daughter, Annette Garcia Taron, was born in August 2017.
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Radamel Falcao's uncle was the telenovela and film actor Herbert King, who died in August 2018.
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In mid-2017, Radamel Falcao was investigated for allegations of tax evasion committed while he was playing for Atletico Madrid from 2011 to 2013.
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Radamel Falcao has donated numerous times to charity organizations and people.