‘Tyger! Tyger! Burning bright’, says the William Blake poem, written at the end of the 18th Century. It is agreed by most that the poem presents a duality between aesthetic beauty and primal ferocity. That duality perfectly sums up Atletico’s very own El Tigre, Radamel Falcao. Great majestic movements with the ball followed by ruthless action in front of goal. The Colombian forward is on fire and has been scoring goals for fun in recent weeks. He has been nominated for the Ballon d’Or and while most do not expect him to win, they should bear in mind that this is a tiger that has almost always gotten his prey.
Falcao joined Los Rojiblancos in August 2011 and helped ease the disappointment that came from the departures of both Kun Aguero and Diego Forlan. Gregorio Manzano was at the helm and his rotation system was wreaking havoc and whilst the striker was scoring in the Vicente Calderon, away from home he looked lost and alone.
He was inconsistent and in December last year some were really starting to wonder if a deal that would bring back a misfiring Fernando Torres with Falcao going the other way would be such a bad thing. Then came Diego Simeone. Falcao had worked with the Argentine at River Plate but it became obvious that El Cholo had no time for nostalgia.
“I knew him when he was young, he has grown a lot through his time in Portugal but I think he should have had three goals today. He took time to get his goal,” said the former midfielder of his striker after his first home game in charge of Atleti. It was clear that Simeone knew that El Tigre had talent – he just wasn’t showing it regularly enough for his new Coach’s liking. In what would become a regular pattern, the Colchonero Coach would single out many players’ performances and then say something critical on Falcao. Tough love worked, though, as Falcao found his form and fired Atleti to Europa League success.
Many thought that he would move this summer, but somehow he stayed on the banks of the Manzanares River. Under El Profe Ortega, Atletico’s fitness Coach, the squad returned fitter and leaner from pre-season. They were also working more as a unit. Falcao’s prowess in the air has often been described as one of his best features but the forward was determined to show that he was much more than a head on the end of a cross. His positioning in his debut season in Spain had at times been suspect and also he failed to get involved when the defence played high up the pitch, but all this was to change.
Against Valladolid this season, one could see the perfect example of the progress he has undergone. A set piece came gliding in and there was Falcao left to deal with it, and deal with it he did. He headed the ball out and ran out of Atleti’s box to join in the counter-attack. The forward is now more involved, tracking back, putting in tackles and of course, scoring the odd goal or two. He even managed to score a free-kick this year, something he had never done since turning professional, but something friends and Coaches who had worked with him back in Colombia said he did all the time when coming up through the youth ranks.
Atletico will struggle to hold on to their prized asset next summer and most predicted he would have left last summer had an offer arrived. The club have thrown their weight behind his bid for the Ballon d’Or, even making a cheesy video, and while Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo may be in pole position to take this year’s award, it will only act as bait for the former Porto hit-man in future years – when El Tigre is around and is hungry, he always gets what he wants.