Radamel Falcao is part-Yorkshireman… but now aims to knock England out of World Cup
Fearsome forward is chief among Gareth Southgate's worries ahead of last 16 clash, but he could also have been lining up for the Three Lions
ON Tuesday night in Moscow, Radamel Falcao will be giving England's defence nightmares as he and his Colombia side look to knock them out of the World Cup.
But he could have been lining up for the Three Lions instead.
Falcao, who spent two disastrous seasons in England on loan with Manchester United and Chelsea, has roots in the country that go back generations.
His great-grandfather George King was born in Selby, North Yorkshire, and was an accountant by trade, and a keen golfer
He moved to Colombia with his wife in 1932 to work for the United Fruit Company.
His wife died in childbirth and he later remarried a Colombian woman called Juliana, and they had five children together, including Falcao's grandmother Denis.
One branch up the family tree too far for a citizenship application, Falcao nonetheless has not forgotten his English ancestry.
Speaking to in 2014, he said: "I'm proud of my English blood. My grandfather was English and also a sportsman."
Early in his career, Falcao's father, Radamel Garcia, tried to secure an English passport for his son to ease his passage to Europe, where his career could take off.
But with citizenship qualifications only apply to those two generations removed, the request was denied.
Garcia said: "He was probably about 13 so I went down to the embassy thinking that a British passport would help him with a move to Europe. Unfortunately it got rejected."
Falcao would get his big break in 2009 with Porto, and latterly Atletico Madrid and Monaco, but had great-grandfather George stayed in Selby, could he have been lining up alongside Harry Kane in Russia?
It should not be forgotten of course that Falcao's footballing identity is Colombian to its core.
Born in Santa Marta, the home of national team icon Carlos Valderrama, his skills were forged in the fire of his surrounding neighbourhood, taking beatings in kick-arounds not just from bigger kids but also the rubble-lined pitches he made his own, even before his fifth birthday.
When that anniversary came, Falcao's family upped sticks for Venezuela, where El Tigre's unrelenting fighting spirit only grew.
Garcia recalled: "I remember one day he came to me with a bloody nose suffered when one of the kids had thrown a ball at his face.
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"He begged me to teach him how to play baseball, Venezuela's national sport, to stop the other kids making fun of him."
That determination and drive brought Falcao to where he is now, captain of Colombia and still one of the most feared strikers in Europe, setting to rest the trauma of missing Brazil four years ago through injury.
Gareth Southgate's well-marshalled defence will face its first real test in the clash on Tuesday, and should James Rodriguez not recover in time, all eyes will be on Falcao.
His far-flung roots would not prevent him celebrating, should he add to his 30 international goals, but they will be lingering in the back of his mind. It could all have been so different.
