Falcao, Radamel (1986-…), is a Colombian professional soccer player. Soccer is called football in much of the world. Falcao, a prolific scorer, is commonly known as “El Tigre,” meaning “The Tiger.” Falcao is considered one of the game’s best strikers. In soccer, a striker is an inside forward principally responsible for scoring. For a discussion of soccer positions and formations, see Soccer (Players and officials).
Radamel Falcao García Zárate was born on Feb. 10, 1986, in Santa Marta, Magdalena. In 1999, at age 13, Falcao became the youngest professional soccer player in Colombia’s history. He debuted for CA Lanceros Boyacá, in the eastern Colombian city of Tunja. CA stands for club atlético, meaning athletic club. Falcao played in eight games over the next two years, scoring his first goal in July 2000.
In 2001, Falcao transferred to CA River Plate, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He played on the club’s youth teams until he made the top team in 2005. In 2007, Falcao debuted for the Colombian national team, commonly known as Los Cafeteros (The Coffee Growers).
In 2009, Falcao transferred to FC Porto, in Portugal. FC stands for futebol clube, or football club. After two seasons, he transferred to Atlético Madrid in Spain. There, he established himself as one of the best scorers and overall players in European soccer. In 2013, Falcao transferred to AS Monaco FC of Ligue 1, France‘s top league. AS stands for association sportive, or sporting association.
Falcao scored several goals in international play to help the Cafeteros qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup tournament in Brazil—Colombia’s first World Cup appearance since 1998. FIFA stands for Fédération Internationale de Football Association (International Federation of Association Football), soccer’s world governing body. In January 2014, however, Falcao severely injured his knee, requiring surgery. He was unable to play in the World Cup. In September, he signed a deal to play for England’s Manchester United FC, one of soccer’s greatest clubs. Falcao joined Chelsea FC in London in 2015. In 2016, he returned to play for Monaco. Falcao played for Colombia in the 2018 World Cup in Russia. In 2019, he joined Galatasaray, a club in Turkey. In 2021, Falcao joined Rayo Vallecano, a club in Spain.
