After a blistering 2010-11 season, which saw his remarkable tally of 17 goals in 14 Europa League games break Jurgen Klinsmann's European scoring record (15) and fire Porto to glory in the competition, Falcao has established himself as one of the most fearsome and coveted strikers in world football.
Moving from his native Colombia to River Plate as a 14-year-old, Falcao was relentless in his desire to become a professional footballer and his battling spirit - coupled with netting two goals on his debut - quickly won over the Argentinean fans, who nicknamed him El Tigre - The Tiger.
A serious knee injury in 2006 threatened to hamper his development but after a tough 12 months, he returned to form and was River's top scorer as they sealed the 2008 Clausura title. The talented Colombian's performances had not gone unnoticed, however, and Porto snapped him up in 2009 to replace outgoing star Lisandro Lopez.
His impact was immediate, as he fast became one of Portuguese football's most prolific strikers, netting 34 goals in all competitions and claiming the winner as Porto won the domestic Cup. Falcao's league form was less spectacular in his second season but his outstanding record in Europe alerted some of the continent's biggest clubs and he was strongly linked to a reunion with former boss Andre Villas-Boas at Chelsea.
On 18 August 2011, Porto announced they had agreed a fee with Atlético Madrid for the transfer of Falcao. The transfer fee was €40 million with the fee potentially rising to 47 million based on performance-based clauses, making it the most expensive in the club's history. On 3 November, Falcao netted a goal in Atlético's 4–0 triumph over Udinese, the goal meant that Falcao had scored 19 goals in his last 18 Europa League games.
For the first leg of the 2011–12 Europa league semifinals against Valencia, Falcao scored a double in a 4–2 victory while making Atletico Madrid the first team to win 10 straight matches in a single Europa League season. Falcao added to his Europa League tally in the final against fellow La Liga side Athletic Bilbao, netting Atletico's opening 2 goals in a 3–0 triumph at the Arena Națională in Bucharest on Wednesday 9 May 2012. In doing so, Falcao not only became the top goal scorer in a Europa league season again but became the first player in history to win two consecutive Europa League/UEFA Cup titles with two different teams.
In all competitions, Falcao had scored a record of 36 goals for Atletico Madrid, the highest amount by any player in a first season playing for Atletico Madrid.
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