Up until their quarterfinal defeat to Brazil, no side was more thoroughly entertaining at the 2014 World Cup than Colombia. James Rodriguez was the tournament’s standout performer and plenty of additional firepower was provided by the likes of Juan Cuadrado, Jackson Martinez and Teofilo Gutierrez.
However, there’s a lingering sense of what might’ve been had Radamel Falcao not suffered a severe ACL injury just months before the start of the event, forcing him to watch from the sidelines. Falcao had been Colombia’s top scorer in qualifying with nine goals, and the previous season had seen him notch 34 goals in 41 appearances for Atletico Madrid.
After suffering the injury, Falcao wasn’t himself over the next two seasons while on loan at Manchester United and Chelsea, but a return to Monaco last year marked the resurgence of El Tigre. The Colombian striker scored 30 goals in 43 matches for the French club, including seven in 10 Champions League games.
With the 2018 World Cup now looming, Falcao has started the Ligue 1 season on an absolute tear, scoring seven goals in four matches to prove to Monaco supporters that there’s actually life after every other player has been sold.
Falcao has also been included for Colombia’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Venezuela on August 31 and Brazil on September 5. With the influential James set to miss the Venezuela match due to a thigh injury that's delayed his Bayern Munich debut, Falcao has the opportunity to become a Los Cafeteros hero while fulfilling what he calls his ultimate hope and dream.
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