Soccer legend Carlos Valderrama defends Radamel Falcao's performance in Copa America
Some say that the Radamel Falcao of the past is just that, a thing of the past. That he has not been the same ever since the anterior cruciate ligament injury he sustained while playing with Monaco in January of last year. And his current performance in the Copa America tournament in Chile has, up until now, left much to be desired.
In Colombia's last game against Peru, a suffocating match that ended 0-0, Colombia's manager Jose Pekerman decided to sub out Falcao early in the game, due to the player's inability to make a difference for Los Cafeteros.
Despite all this, Colombian soccer icon Carlos "El Pibe" Valderrama is defending Falcao. In an interview with Colombian daily "El Espectador," El Pibe argues that the reason the Colombian strikers, including Falcao, are not scoring is because the midfielders are not providing them with good opportunities:
"The strikers have not received any good passes or clear opportunities, and we criticize them. As fans we know that people are not pleased because we are not playing well, but we should be happy because we moved on to the next round and we have given ourselves a fighting chance to win the title. Falcao is not the problem. How many clear opportunities at goal, how many one-on-one chances against a goalkeeper, did Teo (Teófilo Gutiérrez) and Falcao have? Not one. Neither Jackson (Jackson MartÃnez) nor Bacca (Carlos Bacca)."
Hmm. Does El Pibe have a point, or is this wishful thinking in his part?
Colombia's quarterfinal Copa America match against Argentina this Friday will surely put Falcao, and the entire Colombian team, to the test. But El Pibe remains adamant that Colombia has what it takes to beat La Albiceleste:
"This team has demonstrated that it plays well. The game against Argentina will be a hard fought encounter, but when this Colombian team faces giants of the game, the mentality changes, it demonstrated this against Brazil and in the previous World Cup."
It is easy to be skeptical with El Pibe's belief that Falcao appears to not be playing well because of the lack of chances and not because he has failed to regain the attacking prowess he was known for. But perhaps El Pibe, just like Chelsea's boss Mourinho, sees something the rest of us are failing to see.
Only time will tell.
