After catching the eye in youth soccer in Bogota, Falcao was offered a trial by Argentinean giants River Plate and impressed.
Being only 14, he found life hard in a big city far away from his family but persistence paid off and he made his debut at the age of 20, scoring two goals in his first start.
Falcao was scoring with regularity until sustaining a serious knee injury in 2006. He returned to form and fitness in 2007, scoring a hat-trick against Botafogo and bagging his first goal against fierce rivals Boca Juniors.
His goals helped River to the 2008 Clausura title, and he resided at the top of the club’s goalscoring charts before Porto came calling in July 2009.

Falcao hit the ground running in Portugal, and finished his first season as the league’s second top scorer with 25 goals.
A goal in the cup final win over Grupo Desportivo Chaves meant he finished the campaign with 34 goals in all competitions.
The following season, as Porto swept all before them, Falcao was less prolific in the league, instead saving his best for the Europa League and setting that incredible record. Falcao was a prominent figure as the club won the League, Cup and Europa League treble.

Falcao netted his first goal for Colombia in a 1-0 friendly win over Montenegro in 2007. Most of his goals have come in friendly matches, but Colombia look to have found themselves a prolific marksmen for several years to come.