Diego Forlan will be writing a weekly column for The National, appearing each Friday. The former Manchester United, Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid striker has been the top scorer in Europe twice and won the Golden Boot at the 2010 World Cup. He currently plays in Japan for Cerezo Osaka. Forlan's column will be written with the assistance of European football correspondent Andy Mitten.
I was in a restaurant in Buenos Aires when a young man came to introduce himself. I already knew that it was Radamel Falcao, then a striker with River Plate. He'd just played in a team which had beaten rivals Boca Juniors and he was out celebrating with friends.
I was seven years older and playing in Europe with Atletico Madrid. I was seen as a player who'd left South America and been a success, winning Golden Boots at different clubs.
I'm friendly, I've never changed, but some people can be intimidated to approach you, especially younger footballers. Radamel wasn't and we spoke about what it was like to be foreigners playing in Argentina, about the great derbies of the city. I said Independiente v Racing was the best, with two stadiums side by side. He obviously opted for Boca v River.
Read more: Richard Jolly on Radamel Falcao's startlingly rapid decline with Manchester United
I liked Falcao and watched his career progress. He was a star at River and earned a move to Europe with Porto where he kept on scoring. His great quality was that he could smell the goal. Technique, speed, strength and style all came second to him scoring. He has that instinct.
Our paths would soon cross again, in 2011. My time was coming to an end in Spain and I was moving to Inter Milan. My replacement in Madrid would be Falcao. We trained together for a week and watched the first home game of the season together in the stands. We should have been on the pitch as Atletico drew 0-0 with Osasuna and needed a goalscorer.
We were both just back from the Copa America and had much in common. I joked about Uruguay being South American champions; Falcao explained how there was a great generation of young Colombian players coming through.
My departure hadn't been confirmed but I told him that night that I was leaving. He said he needed a house and asked about renting mine. He came around with his wife and I showed him about and told him I'd be leaving everything there for him.
I rented the house to another Atletico player but continued to watch Falcao carry on scoring. He never stopped playing and he never stopped scoring - for Porto, Colombia and then Atletico. He played throughout the year and was in that rhythm of playing and scoring every week and that's the best place you can be when you're a striker. The Atletico fans took to him like they'd taken to me - passionate, loud supporters.
Then he went to Monaco where he got seriously injured after rupturing his cruciate ligament. There was pressure on him to make it back for the World Cup last summer with Colombia; maybe too much, for it was unrealistic.
Falcao had played very little football when he signed for
, the world's greatest football club, the one Barcelona and Real Madrid copy their commercial ideas from, last September. Because Falcao had built this huge reputation and because he was earning a lot of money, great things were expected but it was never going to be straightforward.
Nobody comes back from a serious injury and is the same after a month or even three months. You should play in the reserves; you get your muscle back and regain your match rhythm. Psychologically, you need to build your confidence back up and you hope there are no complications. Even in a settled side it's hard.
Falcao suffered his injury one year ago tomorrow, January 23, 2014. Without ever getting back to becoming a regular starter with Monaco he moved to a new country to join a new club with a new manager who also has to prove himself in a way Alex Ferguson never did.
He had to fit in with alongside several other new players using more than one system - though as a leading striker it doesn't really affect you if it's 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 or 3-5-2.
He'd been the main striker at River, Porto, Atletico and Monaco. At United he is in competition with big names like Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie, plus other strikers, the hungry youngsters like James Wilson. He isn't up and coming like I was when I was at Old Trafford, he has a reputation for being one of the best in the world and because he is earning a lot of money, Falcao was under pressure to be brilliant straight away, but football isn't like that.
His other problem is that he has gone from being a striker who plays every game to one who has played only 14 times in five months - and started only eight games. With no European football, United's infrequent matches haven't helped, so Falcao has started, on average, once every three weeks.
Whatever the reasons, that's not enough. Nowhere near. I'm a striker and you want to be playing twice a week. Living in England or playing in the
is no problem for an intelligent, strong striker like him, but you need to be playing, you need minutes.
Being on loan will bring more pressure as he's effectively on a season-long trial and expected to score in every game, but I'm convinced Falcao will come good again, even if it is not at Manchester United.
He just needs time and minutes, but trust me, he's top-quality.
Diego says watch out for ...
Valencia v Sevilla, Sunday
Fourth v fifth in Spain at the Mestalla. I liked playing there, with its towering stands. Better than playing in Sevilla where the weather could be really hot, but I liked the Andalusian people.
With the top three likely to be Madrid, Barca and Atletico, these two are battling for fourth.
Valencia are back after a poor season. Sevilla are coached by former Valencia manager Unai Emery, who likes to use set pieces.
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