Best Football/Soccer Players in 2012

He is considered by many experts to be one of the best strikers in the world, [6][7][8][9] having surpassed Jürgen Klinsmann's record of 15 goals (17) in a single annual international club football European competition UEFA Champions League/UEFA Europa League campaign. He also played a key role in guiding Porto to a second UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League title, as well as finishing undefeated in the 2010–11 Primeira Liga season. In July 2011, Falcao was regarded as the fifth best player in Europe during the 2010–11 season through balloting by 53 sportswriters of the UEFA member associations. Falcao had also received the Portuguese Golden Ball award in 2011, becoming the first Colombian to do so.[10] Falcao had won the GQ Spain award for sportsman of the year 2012.[11] In 2012, Falcao was listed 6th in The 100 best footballers in the world by The Guardian.[12]

In his last three seasons at Atletico and Porto, Falcao has scored over 100 goals.[13] Falcao had played a key role in Atlético Madrid's 12 match winning streak in a single Europa League season, becoming the first team to do so.[14] At the same time, Falcao became the first player in history to win two consecutive European titles with two different teams while at the same time becoming the top goal scorer for those two teams.[15] Falcao had another historical achievement winning his first UEFA Super Cup in 2012, while becoming the first player in history to score a hat trick in the contest, since its reform in 1998.[16] Falcao's most noticeable trait aside from his ability to play well with both feet and a strong header despite his size, would be his impressive goal ratio and goal by minute ratio that even exceeds world top players Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.[17][18] On 9 December 2012, Falcao became one of the few players in La Liga history to score 5 goals in one game after accomplishing this in a 6–0 home victory against Deportivo de La Coruña.[19][20]