It is indicative of the enduring faith that Jose Pekerman still has in Radamel Falcao that the Colombia coach abandoned the 4-2-3-1 that saw them light up last year’s World Cup in Brazil for this summer’s Copa America, reverting back to a front two in order to fit the 29 year old into the side.
Carlos Bacca, who hit 28 goals for Sevilla last season, partnered Falcao for their opener against Venezuela but he would then be dropped for Teo Gutierrez for the next two games against Brazil and Peru. Meanwhile Jackson Martinez, coming off a season in which he struck 32 goals from 41 games for Porto, sat patiently on the bench until he was introduced late against Peru before starting the quarter final, ahead of Falcao, against Argentina.
Pekerman’s reluctance to drop Falcao resulted in Colombia looking laboured on their run to their penalty shoot-out elimination to Argentina, ceding the attacking intent from full-back and the central influence of James Rodriguez, two big factors behind their run to the World Cup quarter finals a year ago, who was shifted out wide.
Jeison Murillo’s strike against Brazil was their only goal in four games as Pekerman’s refusal to discount Falcao contributed to a stagnant and immobile attack. In his 252 minutes on the pitch, Falcao managed 0 goals, 6 shots, of which just 1 found the target, and just a single chance created.
It was a continuation of the attacker’s miserable decline in form since suffering the ACL tear in January 2014 that would rule him out of that year’s World Cup. Manchester United would present Falcao with a chance to restore himself to the fearsome goal-scorer that was in deadly effect at Porto and Atletico Madrid, but 4 goals from 29 games in England saw him head in the opposite direction.
Pekerman clearly still believes that the devastating Falcao of Porto and Atletico still exists within the Colombian, the same intuition that convinced Louis Van Gaal to bring him to Manchester a year ago and now Jose Mourinho is the latest manager to assign himself to that notion.
Chelsea haven taken Falcao on a season-long loan deal similar to the one United arranged last August. With his reputation hit by his time at Old Trafford, the Colombian has taken a £145,000 wage cut to secure his move to Stamford Bridge where he will now compete with Loic Remy to be second in line to Diego Costa.
Chelsea are still haunted by the hat-trick he claimed against them in the 2012 Super Cup for Atletico while Mourinho’s own bad memories are influenced by the Copa Del Rey final of a year later. The Portuguese will be driven by a motivation to help Falcao recover that ominous touch and with Monaco unable to find a buyer but desperate to get one of their biggest financial liabilities as they aim to tighten their belts after the lavish spending in the early days of owner Dmitry Rybovlev, it represents a low-risk gamble for the champions.
That gamble has been designed by Didier Drogba’s second exit from the club and if Falcao can replicate the Ivorian’s contribution from last term- 7 goals from 14 starts- then he will be an invaluable cover option, together with Remy, to Costa, who is of course familiar with the Colombian from their time together at Atletico, as Chelsea chase glory on four fronts.
It is worth noting that Drogba, in his bit part role at the age of 37, appeared for the club 38 times last season, so Falcao should be optimistic that he will not be short on playing time.
His poacher instincts will be an asset when Chelsea are challenged with breaking down stern defensive opponents and is likely to thrive on the service provided by the likes of Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas should he rediscover the confidence that had evaporated during his time in Manchester.
The situation has now also changed for both Falcao and Mourinho, with the Colombian now established as a diminished force in need of restoration the Portuguese will be under far less pressure to get the best out of the striker than Van Gaal was at Old Trafford.
Mourinho has of course faced this task before, most notably with Hernan Crespo whom he convinced had a future in London in 2005 after being loaned out to Milan. The Argentine would win the Premier League in 2006 having scored 13 goals.
Diego Milito was transformed from journeyman to Champions League winner, along with Samuel Eto’o who was ditched from Barcelona, at Inter Milan in 2010 while Drogba and Costa have thrived under Mourinho’s guise at Chelsea.
The fortunes of Andriy Shevchenko and Fernando Torres at Stamford Bridge will present stark reminders of how a switch to Chelsea may not always ensure success but there is a difference; Falcao will be of Mourinho’s own choosing and he will be determined to get it right.
With the Colombian equally intent on rewarding his new manager’s faith, then Chelsea’s low-risk gamble may yet pay the highest-dividends.
Written by Adam Gray
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In the summer of 2013, Tottenham thought they had made a bargain by signing Paulinho from Corinthians for a fee of £17 million. Two years on, some might say Spurs were lucky to recover £9.8 million from what turned out to be a disastrous transfer.
In late June Paulinho signed for Chinese club Guangzhou Evergrande, a club managed by fellow Brazilian Luis Felipe Scolari – a manager that included him in the Brazilian squad for the 2013 Confederations Cup.
Club-record fee
The Brazilian’s fee was a club-record transfer at the time, since beaten by the signing of Erik Lamela, but the midfielder struggled to find his place in a hit-and-miss Tottenham team.
As an all-round midfielder with an eye for goal and decent tackling abilities, expectations were high as he was handed his debut.
In his first couple of months at White Hart Lane, Paulinho did in fact deliver some of what was expected of him.
Out in the cold
Despite the good start he later he hit a slump of form in which he never recovered from, especially not after Andre Villas-Boas - the manager who brought him to the club – was sacked in December 2013.
As Tim Sherwood took charge of the club, Paulinho was already out in the cold. The 26-year-old never managed to convince Sherwood he should be given a chance to cement his place in the team, which again was the story under Mauricio Pochettino last season.
Over the two years in North London Paulinho got 10 goals and 67 appearances to his name, 20 of which were as a substitute.
Last season, he only started three Premier League games under Pochettino. His confidence was clearly gone and as it turns out, so was he.
Return to form in China?
Few players have successfully transferred from the English Premier League to China, Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka being the most obvious and recent examples. However the move might be a perfect one for Paulinho to find his feet again.
The focus on his failure at Spurs will disappear, so will the intense pressure for English media constantly reminding him of his big price tag at Tottenham.
At Guangzhou, he will start fresh under a manager who knows him well. He will be able to focus on what he does best, what he did at Corinthians but never managed to do at Tottenham – play good football.
There is no doubt the talent is there, it simply seems as if the Premier League wasn’t the right league for him to blossom and continue his development.
Having said that, we should not be surprised if he transfers back to Europe within a couple of years – however probably not to the Premier League.
Written by Lars H. Thomesen
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HEADS UP: 1 being the lowest, 10 being the highest
FIFA 16 has already created a huge buzz in the gaming world and is probably the best sports game of the year. Inclusion of Legends in both Xbox and Play Station has played a great deal in bringing this success.
Let’s find out who are the Top 10 Potential New Legends added to FIFA 16.
1. David Beckham – Right Midfielder
Overall Rating: 89
Best attribute: 92 rating in Passing
Beckham played for Manchester United, Real Madrid and AC Milan among other top clubs. He won six Premier League titles, one Champions League title and 12 other club honours in his career which solidifies his status as a legend of the game.
2. Oliver Khan – Goalkeeper
Overall Rating: 90
Best attribute: 91 rating in Reflexes and Positioning
Khan has won eight Bundesliga titles, one Champions League title and was Europe’s best goal keeper for four consecutive years. He was also voted the World Cup’s best player in 2002 — the first and so far only keeper to ever claim that accolade.
3. Raul – Striker
Overall Rating: 90
Best attribute: 92 rating in Shooting
Real Madrid legend has records for most appearances and goals for the Los Blancos. He has won eight La Liga titles and four Champions League titles making him his career a greatly rewarding one.
4. Thierry Henry - Striker
Overall Rating: 91
Best attribute: 92 rating in Shooting and Pace
The French superstar had a successful career in France, England and Spain. He scored a total of 360 goals in his career and has won the World Cup and league titles from each country he’s played in. He is a definite legend to look forward to in FIFA 16.
5. George Best – Left Winger
Overall Rating: 92
Best attribute: 92 rating in Pace and Dribbling
The Manchester United legend is one of the best players to have ever played in England. He won the Player of the Year and was voted the greatest Northern Irish player ever. Having scored more than 200 goals for Manchester United, he is going to be popular among Man United’s FIFA 16 fans.
6. Zinedine Zidane – Central Attacking Midfielder
Overall Rating: 93
Best attribute: 99 rating in Heading
Zidane is the most influential playmaker the world has ever seen. He won three Player of the Year awards and one Ballon d’Or among other honors as a player. He is going to create a buzz among FIFA 16’s Real Madrid fans as well as any average fan of the beautiful game.
7. Eusebio – Striker
Overall Rating: 93
Best attribute: 94 rating in Dribbling
A record of eleven Primeira Liga and a memorable World Cup showing in 1966 makes Eusebio Portugal’s second best player after Ronaldo. It was a shame he was not included in the previous versions of FIFA.
8. Ronaldo – Striker
Overall Rating: 93
Best attribute: 94 rating in Shooting
The Brazilian Legend has won many individual awards for his contribution to world football. With an overall of 93, he will be one of the most traded players in FUT 16.
9. Johan Cruyff
Overall Rating: 93
Best attribute: 94 rating in Dribbling
The Ajax and Barcelona legend has won three consecutive European Player of the Year awards, which definitely seals his mark as one of the greatest ever. Dutch gamers will be looking forward to seeing him in FIFA 16.
10. Diego Maradona
Overall Rating: 95
Best attribute: 97 rating in Dribbling
A 95 overall rating is the best rating (Pele also has 95) there is for a player in FIFA 16 Legend. The Argentine has had a hugely successful professional career and now he will be joining rival Pele in FIFA 16 as a Legend.
Written by Charchit Dahal
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