17 seasons had to pass for Monaco to win a League title again in 2017. Falcao had been chosen by the president of the club, Dmitri Yevguénievich Rybolóvlev, to lead a project that was successful almost four years after the Tiger arrived in the Principality. Five years later, the club spoke exclusively with the Colombian to have more details of a campaign full of glory where they learned that, “the dynamics of winning takes you alone” to the objectives.
From 2013 to 2014 and 2016 to 2019 Radamel Falcao García was defending the colors of a team that he also considers as “a place where they always gave me support, darling, I felt very loved. Where my first daughter (Dominique) was born, I also have another who was born in Monaco (Annete), so it’s a place I’ll never forget.” With 140 games played, 83 goals, 12 assists and a League title, the striker is the idol of a city where he felt protected.
Falcao and the base for the Monaco project
“I had the opportunity to visit Monaco in 2013. There we met Dmitri, he conveyed to me his goal of forming a strong team to return to Europe, to enter the Champions League. I found that idea very interesting, they wanted me to lead that project and it was something I was looking for at the time.”began by saying the Tiger about the team that began to be assembled in the 13/14 season together with James, Subasic, Fabinho, Carrasco and others that Claudio Ranieri directed at that time.
“The first season we got very important players, It seems to me that Dmitri made a great effort to bring these players, to put Monaco in the place it deserved to be. Almost the entire team had arrived, we were new, we did not know each other, there were many young people too. There was a bit of nervousness in the pre-season, but then with the first game we won in Bordeaux. Then the team was gaining confidence, growing level and we painted to fight for the title to PSG”, that season they were second, 9 points behind the champion.
The injury and the marketing push that boosted with James
On January 24, 2014, Falcao suffered a torn cruciate ligament in his right knee in a French Cup match against Chasselay, the injury prevented him from playing the World Cup in Brazil and finishing the season with the clubhowever, the Tiger highlighted the objectives that were achieved.
“In the middle of the season I had the unfortunate injury that did not allow me to participate in the tournament. But I think that Monaco to be the first season in a process that is generally longer, he quickly achieved the goal of returning to the Champions League”.
Having great figures in the club gave him greater visibility worldwide and made it grow in terms of the brand and the number of followers. “In some way we contributed so that the eyes of the world of football fell on Monaco, at that time there was a lot of expectation, with the arrival of all the players who did it in 2013, from different parts of the world they followed their footballers. In Colombia we are 50 million people and practically with the arrival of James and mine, the whole country turned to follow Monacoto swell and I think we helped the team grow in that area of communication, marketing and be better known worldwide”.
Winning the Champions, his debt in France
“I still needed to win the Champions League, we were very close in 2017, with a very young team. Perhaps the majority of players were not in the prime of their career or their footballing ability. We managed to get very far in a competition where generally the strongest teams, who have been playing together for many years, where experience makes a difference. With that youth and the ability of each player, we managed to reach the Champions League semi-final”.
“It seems to me that at that time nobody was betting on Monaco to win the League or to reach the stage we reached in the Champions League. Simply in the month of August when we were going to play against Fenerbahce, the first key of the UCL I told them that there was an impressive group with a lot of quality, that we were not aware that we had it, but there it was and we just needed to work as a team, be supportive ” .
Great match at Etihad against City and the key to winning Ligue 1
“I think the month of February or January was very important, because we played the derby against Nice at home and that’s when we started to get close or passed them. In February we played the round of 16 against City, we played an impressive game in Manchester, we didn’t manage to win, but we realized that we had played as equals against them in their field and perhaps they had beaten us because of more experience. Then we beat them at home and in the League I don’t know if we went to Nice or matched it, there we realized that the team had remained very firm for 4 months of the season and that we had reached the final stretch alive and we were strong candidates ” .
Jardim was important to manage the group and win the league against PSG, who finished second with 8 points. “A wonderful working group, we all got along well, the coaching staff knew how to handle this type of footballer and the team ended up improving a lot and having an impressive collective and individual performance that surprised all of Europe. In the end, the victories take you, because it was one every three days and the dynamics of winning take you alone”.
The Ligue1 of 16/17, more than a title for Falcao
“That night was very special, I had gone through very difficult times due to the injury, complicated seasons without much continuity. I knew that I was in optimal conditions to continue playing at the highest level and to be able to enjoy this with my family, my children, it was the first time They saw us celebrate a title. My father was also there, who is no longer with us, experiencing all those emotions with them is unforgettable. I think it is one of the most beautiful memories I have of my sports career. I enjoyed it a lot and it was for me like a great victory beyond the title.”.
Monaco starting roster 16/17: Danijel Subasic; Djibril Sidibe, Kamil Glik, Jemerson, Benjamin Mendy; Bernardo Silva, Joao Moutinho, Fabinho, Thomas Lemar; Kylian Mbappé and Radamel Falcao.
DT: Leonardo Jardim.
