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The Colombian striker banged in the goals from all angles, broke Jurgen Klinsmann’s record and scored against Braga in the final

FEATURE
By Subhankar Mondal

And then there were 17. When Fredy Guarin floated in a perfect cross from the right against Braga in the Europa League final on Wednesday night, Porto’s Radamel Falcao inevitably headed home.

It was a fitting end to the 2010-11 Europa League campaign for the Colombia international striker, who had already shattered Jurgen Klinsmann’s record of 15 UEFA Cup goals against Villarreal during the semi-finals.

MORE

• Porto 1-0 Braga: Falcao heads Dragons to Europa League glory
• Falcao speaks of 'unique moment'
• Hulk & Falcao and Europe’s other best combination of 2010-11
• Falcao breaks Jurgen Klinsmann’s record in Europa League
• World player of the week: Radamel Falcao - Porto

Signed from River Plate in the summer of 2009, Falcao finished the 2009-10 campaign with 25 goals and three assists in 28 league appearances. This season he ended up with 16 strikes in the Portuguese first division, but led Porto to a European triumph with a record 17 goals, including three hat-tricks.

And it’s not that Falcao poached the goals by sitting in the opposition penalty box waiting for a loose ball to fall his way. The 25-year-old scored with his right foot, his left and also found the target with his head.

It has been a complete goalscoring demonstration from Falcao, and here is his list of goals in the Europa League:

September 16, 2010 Porto 3-0 Rapid Wien

Falcao scored the second goal in this group match and it came after 65 minutes. He fired home an instinctive right-footed shot to beat Raimund Hedl in the Rapid Wien goal.

September 30, 2010 CSKA Sofia 0-1 Porto

Falcao’s goal after 16 minutes proved to be the difference between the two teams. He latched on to Hulk’s pass and sent the ball past CSKA goalkeeper Rais M'Bohli from 12 yards out.

October 21, 2010 Besiktas 1-3 Porto

The Colombian opened the scoring after 26 minutes when he headed home from a corner.

November 4, 2010 Porto 1-1 Besiktas

Falcao continued to bang in the goals for the Portuguese giants, and this time he found the target from the penalty spot on 36 minutes. He was the one to earn it in the first place, having been brought down by Besiktas goalkeeper Hakan Arikan.

Match made in heaven | Falcao and strike partner Hulk

December 2, 2010 Rapid Wien 1-3 Porto

The 25-year-old bagged a sensational hat-trick to continue his incredible scoring record in the Europa League. He took advantage of Ragnvald Soma's inablility to intercept Nicolas Otamendi's long ball and beat Hedl with ease. That was on 42 minutes.

Falcao then netted twice in the last four minutes to win the match for Porto - his second coming from close range and his third a gift from Hedl, who fumbled Hulk’s strike from 20 yards.

April 7, 2011 Porto 5-1 Spartak Moscow

Falcao had failed to find the target in the earlier rounds but this time he banged in a perfect hat-trick. The Colombian scored his first goal with a low, diving header from an Alvaro Pereira cross from the left.

The forward's second came on 84 minutes when he got between two Spartak defenders and volleyed home a left-wing cross, and wrapped up his hat-trick in injury time when he glanced home Fernando Belluschi's free-kick.

April 14, 2011 Spartak Moscow 2-5 Porto

Falcao was again on target in the second-leg, this time in the early minutes of the second-half. He headed in a flick-on from a corner as Porto completed a 10-3 aggregate demolition.

April 28, 2011 Porto 5-1 Villarreal

Falcao was at the heart of a stunning second-half cameback from the Portuguese champions as he netted four times. The former River Plate hitman equalised for the Dragons four minutes after the restart with a penalty and scored his second on 67 minutes with a simple tap-in from close range.

On the spot | One of four v Villarreal

He found the target twice in the final 15 minutes with two brilliant headers – the first one saw him dive low on the ground and direct the ball into the top corner and the second was a header from James Rodriguez's corner across the face of the goal into the far side of the net.

May 5, 2011 Villarreal 3-2 Porto

Three minutes into the second-half at El Madrigal, Falcao breached Villarreal’s citadel when he slotted home Fredy Guarin's pass. It was the forward’s 16th goal of the Europa League campaign, taking him past Jurgen Klinsmann’s record of 15 for Bayern Munich in 1995-96.

May 18, 2011 Porto 1-0 Braga

Falcao proved his scoring calibre in the final in Dublin when he sent in an unstoppable header from a perfectly placed cross from Fredy Guarin on the right wing. It was his 17th goal in the competition, a record that could remain intact for years to come.

Winner | Falcao clinches the final for Porto

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