Goal : Nominated for the coveted Ballon d’Or by virtue of a strike rate bettered only by his fellow Liga poster boys Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo over the past 12 months, Atletico Madrid’s goalscoring machine Radamel Falcao could be forgiven for allowing his newfound fame and notoriety to go to his head.
The 26-year-old has scored at a scarcely credible rate over the last three seasons, more than 100 for his former club Porto and current employer combined, but remains uneasy at comparisons that are increasingly being drawn between himself Messi and Ronaldo.
Hard work, dedication and persistence, allied to a remarkable knack of being in the right place at the right time, have been the key to the Colombian’s remarkable record since he swapped the blue of Porto for the red of Atletico following the Portuguese side’s Europa League triumph 18 months ago and no amount of personal acclaim is likely to change his approach.