“I always dreamed about playing in the World Cup. I think it’s the biggest event in football, and perhaps in the world.”
At age 13, Falcao became the youngest footballer ever to play in the Colombian professional league.
“As a kid, It was always clear to me that I wanted to play football because it’s what my father did professionally. I watched him play, I went with him to training, and matches, and I knew that was what I wanted for my own life. My dad was fanatical about the sport. And before I was born, there was a well-known Brazilian player called Paulo Roberto Falcao. And my dad greatly admired him for his style of play. So when I was born, he called me Falcao.”
After turned 15, Falcao was sold to River Plate of Argentina. After playing there for a few years, Falcao got his first career break when he moved to Europe to play for Porto, one of Portugal’s top clubs.
“There, God used this time for my growth. As a professional player, I was able to learn a great deal, and I had a lot of success and began to be recognized on a world scale. And it was there that I won my first international European title.”
Falcao’s time in Porto led him to capture 3 major trophies. With such success his career led him next to Atlético Madrid, where he twice scored 3 goals in a single game, one being the Super Cup versus Chelsea.
“On paper, they were much stronger than Atlético Madrid, and to be up 3 nothing was totally unthinkable. We were playing extremely well and with great efficiency. And to have scored 3 goals in the European Super Cup, which was being watched all over the world, it was an incredible feeling.”
With such high stakes and salaries comes the pressure to perform. Learning to deal with that pressure becomes a challenge.
“I think people have high expectations of me and of similar player, which is why they pay such high fees. I try to lean on God, knowing he is always there to help me. I don’t think there’s any situation that can’t be overcome, however testing, right?”
Falcao’s journey has now lead him to Monaco, where his strength, endurance and faith will continue to be tested.
“Monaco is a team with long-term ambition, to become high-placed on the global football scale, which means I will be able to play an important role, and this will enable me to grow as a player. It was for those reasons that I chose Monaco. I try to place all areas of life in God’s hands, and football, my career, I also put in God’s hands.
“I made the decision to follow Jesus Christ and to let Him guide my life, which is where things change. Because it wasn’t about me and my desires anymore, or what I wanted, but about what God’s plans and purposes were for me.
“We are made up of spirit, and I believe that only God can satisfy the spiritual part. There’s the material world, but there’s also a spiritual aspect to life. We can have everything, but if we’re not satisfied spiritually, then it’s as if we had nothing, and we feel empty.
“With Jesus, we can be assured that He will never leave us. That He will always be there, something which I have experienced in my own life, though His faithfulness, through His love, and through showing me that He had paid a price for our lives, which was that of His Son, Jesus.”
©1994-2024 Cru. All Rights Reserved.
