El Tigre Radamel Falcao Makes Rayo Vallecano Fans Dream
We don't know about you, but we love it when players in the twilight of their careers do everything they can to stay at the top. A lot of players reach their early thirties and go through the motions. Injuries take their toll. Money isn't an issue so drive diminishes. Training becomes laboursome. The spark dies.
The easy options that get tossed up at the end of the season are the middle east or MLS. In some cases even Australia. Not all players choose the easy route though. Enter El Tigre.
If you can't remember how devastating Radamel Falcao was back in 2011 to 2013, head to YouTube now. Those couple of seasons at Atletico Madrid were astonishing. Falcao arrived from Porto with ambitions to become La Liga top scorer and boy did he arrive. 24 in 34 in his first season. 28 in 34 the year after. The best part? the variety of goals. A masterclass in finishing... and if you love a chipped goal, well, he scored some stunners.
After more goals at Monaco, those two forgettable stints at Man United and Chelsea that didn't work out and more recently his time at Galatasary - El Tigre had a decision to make. Injuries had been really affecting him of late. He hadn't played more than 17 games since that 14/15 season at United. With his wages still high - Galatasary had to let him go. The question was, where?
Rayo Vallecano may have seemed like an unlikely destination and it absolutely was from the outside. Rayo haven't had a rock star like arrival like this since 1993 when Hugo Sánchez from América. An arrival which came only a season after his glorious stint at Real Madrid. A period so dominant that Sánchez still holds the record of seventh highest scorer for Los Blancos. The fans went crazy then and oh boy, did they go crazy this time around.
Rayo's promotion to La Liga was nothing short of astounding. They came up after finishing 6th on the table under Andoni Iraola. There's no money at the club and fans have been staying away in a protest against the club regarding season tickets. The fans are also traditional very far left, so with knowledge that the owner, Raúl Martín Presa, has been linked to the far-right, things naturally aren't going well.
The club is basically a mess and it's clearly highlighted by the fact it's impossible to buy a Falcao jersey. The 2,500 loyal fans who turned up to see him unveilled can't buy one and the club litereally can't even cash. Fingers have to be pointed but you have to give Presa some credit though for getting Falcao over the line.
Why did Falcao go there though? The reason is his hunger. He wants to be at the World Cup next year in Qatar and looking at how sharp and fit he looks - we're not betting against him.
It shouldn't surprise you then that Rayo is the smallest club in La Liga by a long, long way. That alone makes this signing even cooler. The club need goals to survive (and a miracle) and Falcao may be that miracle if he continues with this form.
In his debut against Getafe he came on with 15 minutes to go. Did he score? You bet. As soon as the chance fell to him with the time he had to strike the ball and hit his spot, you just knew it was going in. He's scored those types of goals again and again and again.
Just a few days later Falcao came on against Athletic Club away from home. What did he do? Popped up for a clutch 90+6 minute header which sent Rayo up to 4th on the league table. The goals and form may not keep up at this rate, but for the moment we're dreaming with all of the Rayo fans. It's just brilliant to see.
All we have to do now is figure out how to find one of those Falcao jerseys...
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