Falcao's moment of truth

Despite having recovered from an injury, the Colombian ace is yet to make a mark at Man United

There can be no professional athlete who does not worry about injuries. The body is their fortune, and the harmony between mind, body and movement is what sets a great player apart from the rest.

At this time last year, Radamel Falcao was almost as coveted as Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi for his ability and audacity in scoring great goals. But January in Europe is also the month of romance, the time when lower-league teams get their chances to knock top clubs out of cup competitions.

In one such match, Monts d'Or Azergues Foot hosted A S Monaco in the French Cup. A momentary lapse in judgment by an amateur player destroyed nearly a whole year, and maybe the career, of Falcao.

There was no malice in the tackle by Soner Ertek, a teacher playing for one of France's newest clubs in the Rhône region in the southeast of the country. The game, the biggest by far in MDA's 14-year history, was played at Gerland Stadium in Lyon, France, the home of the neighboring Ligue 1 club.

Falcao had asked to play, eschewing his coach's inclination to rest him that day. He had already scored one goal, as might be expected of a striker who had outjumped and outwitted Chelsea with a majestic hat-trick for Atlético Madrid in the summer of 2012 at the UEFA Super Cup.

After that display — and many more like it — Falcao's predatory instinct and his bold and brave reactions near the goalmouth prompted offers from Chelsea and others to buy him from Atlético. In the auction that followed, the Russian owner of Monaco provided the money to persuade those who advise — partly own — Falcao to make the tax haven his next home.

Thus did fate, and the luck of the draw, put Colombia's finest attacker on the same field as Ertek last January. And when Falcao outfoxed the MDA defense with an exquisite turn to his right, Ertek, completely out of his league, made the error of trying to tackle through the opponent from the wrong side.

It was a foul tackle, though not ruled as such by the referee. The weight of the defender's body fell against the back of Falcao's left leg, wrenching and snapping the anterior cruciate ligament in the knee.

From that moment on, Falcao has struggled to be the same player. He missed the World Cup in which his countryman (and at that time, his Monaco teammate) James Rodríguez scored the most graceful and intuitive goal of the tournament.

Falcao was in limbo. His surgery had apparently repaired the torn ligament, but the big question for athletes undergoing such a procedure is whether they can recapture the same quickness and fearlessness as before.

Falcao is 28, almost 29, so age is not the issue. Harmony is.
Last September, Manchester United paid Monaco $9 million to take Falcao on loan for the season, with the view it would complete the transfer in full for an additional $65 million — if both parties agreed at the end of this season.

Alas, all is not going well. Falcao has worked long and hard, sometimes alone and above and beyond the exacting training standards of United Coach Louis van Gaal. But, as is the way after a prolonged layoff, other parts of the body have bedeviled the striker, most recently a calf injury. He has been fit to start, or fit to impress van Gaal, just five times in five months. Falcao has scored three goals and assisted in three more over the 604 minutes he has played in a Manchester United shirt.

The Colombian came safely through an FA Cup match at Yeovil Town this month that must have reminded him of the game against MDA. And he might well be hoping that van Gaal selects him to play in the next round of the FA Cup, in the small stadium of Cambridge United — a game between the most illustrious club in English soccer and a team that plays three leagues below it.

There can be no fear, no apprehension in a man still trying to learn the language and adjust to the speed and distinct physical aggression that the English leagues are known for. Falcao has to step up for his weekly pay of $400,000 or step aside from his ambitions.

He craves the opportunity he has with United. He has said, in his broken English, that he wants to stay and to become a legend for this legendary club.

The portents are not running his way. Manchester has not, yet, seen the authentic Falcao. Van Gaal appears to be running out of patience. The Colombian was not on the team, not even among the seven players on the bench, for last Sunday's game in which United was beaten at home, 1-0, by Southampton.

Robin van Persie started in the main striker's role, and the teenager James Wilson was chosen ahead of Falcao on the bench.

The coach, who has been honest in explaining his choices this season, previously said that Wilson was a contender to play because his quickness and eagerness can enliven the forward line. He also said Falcao has to prove himself.

It would be unfair to suggest that the mistimed tackle by a French part-time player terminated a great career. But that is the risk of January — the chance that a player rushing to close the gap on another player leagues above him might, through innocence or ineptitude, destroy something that is beautiful in the sport.

Falcao, who learned to play on the streets in Colombia, has to his credit never blamed the MDA defender. He simply wants to play, be that in the Premier League or at Cambridge.