The only thing different about Falcao? His hair!
HE MAY be wearing blue these days, and the hair is more coiffured than when he arrived in England almost a year ago, but Manchester United fans would have had no trouble recognising Radamel Falcao yesterday.
If Jose Mourinho genuinely believes he can restore the Colombian hit-man to his former glory, there was little evidence of it during a 45-minute run-out for his new club Chelsea at Wembley.
These are early days, of course. Give the man a chance. But United fans spent most of last season telling each other the same thing, until Louis van Gaal ran out of patience and concluded that Falcao’s contribution did not merit spending the £ 40million- plus it would have taken to sign him permanently from Monaco. He had already cost £25m in loan fees and his £285,000-a-week wages for a modest return of four goals from 29 games.
Chelsea’s commitment is significantly less. Falcao has taken a £145,000 wage cut in an attempt to prove that he can succeed in the Premier League and become one of the most feared strikers in world football once again. He scored 62 goals in two seasons at FC Porto and another 70 in the following two years at Atletico Madrid.
This included a hat-trick when Atletico routed Chelsea in the 2012 European Super Cup and it is that Falcao — not the pale imitation at Old Trafford last season — who their fans hope will re- emerge under Mourinho’s guidance.
Others, certainly at United, have their doubts in light of the knee injuries that seem to have taken their toll at the age of 29. Falcao cut a familiar figure at Wembley after coming on as a half-time replacement for Loic Remy.
The effort is still there, no doubt about that, but Falcao resembles a rag doll on the pitch, bouncing off opponents and never quite at ease with the physicality of the Premier League. Laurent Koscielny had little trouble snuffing out the threat for Arsenal.
Nor has the man they call El Tigre lost any of his tenacity. That was apparent from a dust-up with Mikel Arteta after Nemanja Matic was hacked down late in the game, which led to referee Anthony Taylor stepping in to separate the two players. But Chelsea fans want to see Falcao scrapping for balls in the box and sniffing out scoring opportunities like he did in his pomp, not engaging in a bit of ‘handbags’ with opponents near the halfway line.
When a half-chance offered itself as the ball bounced in the Arsenal box, a man who was once deadly in the air stumbled clumsily into the back of Arteta and Per Mertesacker while Kurt Zouma climbed above all three of them, conceding a needless free-kick.
Mourinho shares the same agent as Falcao, Jorge Mendes, and has vowed to help him ‘reach his level again’. But he does not have the same depth of attacking options to draw on as Van Gaal if the gamble backfires.
Diego Costa’s fitness, in particular, is a major concern as Chelsea prepare to defend their Premier League title. The Spain striker was missing for a total of 73 days with hamstring trouble in his first season in England. The same issue meant he was unavailable yesterday.
Mourinho admitted that he does not know if Costa will be fit for the opening game at home to Swansea on Saturday, with Chelsea facing title rivals Manchester City a week later.
That would leave Mourinho with Remy, who was hardly a handful at Wembley, and Falcao, who is set to start in the final pre-season game against Fiorentina at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.
‘If we don’t have Diego I’m happy with the strikers we have,’ said Mourinho. ‘ I don’t know ( on Costa). You think I’m lying but I’m not lying. The next time you ask me I prefer not to answer.
‘If next Friday you ask me if he will play against Swansea, I don’t answer, because maybe yes, maybe no. I prefer not to answer. Let’s see. But Falcao will have a bit more football. He will play against Fiorentina from the start, Remy again, too. Lack of sharpness is normal. Falcao started training one week ago.’
Time will tell if Mourinho’s faith is rewarded and Falcao can truly get back to his best.
But United fans have been here before. They will recognise the hope that ultimately ended in disappointment. It was evident at Wembley again yesterday.