“A player who will still contribute to the national team.”
Nestro Lorenzo, coach of the Colombia national soccer team, praised the story of striker Radamel Falcao (37, Rayo Vallecano), who was entering his twilight years as a player.
Colombia, who played an evaluation match against Korea (2-2 draw) in Ulsan on the 24th, will play an away evaluation match against Japan at Yodoko Sakura Stadium in Osaka on the 28th.
According to Japanese media such as Gekisaka, coach Lorenzo attended an official press conference the day before the game and emphasized, “Falcao is a world-class player with a great career, a great human being and our role model on and off the pitch.”
Falcao, who scored more than 20 league goals in two consecutive seasons (2011-2012 and 2012-2013) during his time at Atletico Madrid, was once nicknamed the “new striker”. He competed in scoring with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in La Liga.안전놀이터
However, he struggled with frequent injuries after that. In the summer of 2016, he joined AS Monaco and scored double-digit points in the French Ligue 1 for three consecutive seasons, flapping his wings for resurrection. He has 2 goals (20 appearances) in La Liga this season.
Coach Lorenzo, who took the helm as Colombia’s new head coach in June of last year, showed his faith in Falcao while creating a new game with a focus on young players. Although he is not in his prime, he mentioned that he is a mental support within the team and can serve as a ‘super sub’ on the ground. “We are in the process of building the team right now and we are putting young players in. Falcao is still a player to contribute to the national team. Even if he can’t run 90 minutes, he can run 15, 20, or 30 minutes. He said last year (against Paraguay) he scored as soon as he came on as a substitute.”
Falcao was brought in as a substitute in the 37th minute of the 2-2 match against Korea. But he didn’t do much of anything. It remains to be seen whether he will improve his condition in the game against Japan and repay coach Lorenzo’s trust.