Ultimate Barclaysmen: Juan Pablo Angel became a goal-scoring 'beast' at Aston Villa

Angel was destined to become a household name from the very start of his career. He developed at Atletico Nacional, winning the Colombian title in 1994, as he scored the winner in a crucial derby against Independiente Medellin.

His performances in his homeland across four years convinced River Plate to spirit Angel away to Argentina, where he was bought as the replacement for the departing Hernan Crespo, who was on his way to his own legendary status.

In 132 games, Angel scored 62 times for River, winning the Primera Division Apertura in 1999 and the Clausara in 2000. Confusingly, however, he struggled to make an impact at international level before his move to England, making his debut for Colombia in 1996 but winning only six caps before 2000.

He was not selected for the 1998 World Cup, and ended his international career with a mere 33 caps.

In 2001, Aston Villa took a punt. They spent a club-record fee of £9.5 million to sign Angel, eclipsing the £7m deal that saw Stan Collymore join the club in 1997.

It took a little bit of time for the striker to settle in the Midlands though; in nine Premier League appearances in 2000-01, he scored just once, a clever volleyed finish against Coventry City. In 2001, he did play a part in Villa winning the Intertoto Cup, scoring twice in the final’s second leg. Angel has since confirmed that his wife fell ill when they moved to England, and that the stress of her condition, amid his own adaptation issues, dovetailed to make life at Villa Park exceedingly difficult.

It was under David O’Leary that Angel finally reached his peak. After two more middling seasons, in 2003-04, the Colombian appeared to finally live up to his potential, scoring over 20 goals in all competitions, including 16 strikes in the Premier League.

Only Thierry Henry, Alan Shearer, Louis Saha, Ruud van Nistelrooy, and Mikael Forssell - the latter of whom is another true 'Barclaysman' - scored more. That haul included a stunning strike against Bolton Wanderers from the edge of the box that arrowed into the top corner, a brilliantly instinctive first-time finish that summed up Angel as a player.

Darius Vassell summed up Angel’s Villa career in a slightly mournful tribute to his former strike partner. Indeed, the pair scored 24 goals between them in the 2001-02 Premier League season, and 25 between them in 2003-04. But the former England striker was saddened by the fact that his partnership with the Colombian didn’t last, wondering exactly how good they could have been had they been given more time together.

He told Villa’s website: “I think Juan Pablo and I scored about 30 goals between us one season. Juan Pablo was on fire at that point. I was there chipping in and doing my bit too. It was a great partnership and it was such a shame it didn't last. I wished we could have kept it going longer.

“Who knows how good it could have become? It was great playing with him. No-one had heard of him! He broke through and everyone took notice of him. He was such a beast in the air, incredible and his ability to finish was superb.

“I had a great rapport with him. He was a clever player. He was the first player who helped me exploit my pace. He could flick it around the corner for me. He won every header - I would just run in. He made it easy for me. I missed that when he didn't play. I never really had that again. Juan Pablo helped put me on the scene. I wished the pairing had lasted a lot longer.

“It looked a bright partnership. Juan Pablo was still young and hungry. There should have been a lot more seasons of Vassell and Angel. We could have flourished.”

Angel wrote himself into Villa folklore and, at the time of writing, only three players have scored more goals than his 44 for the club in the Premier League era: Dwight Yorke, Ollie Watkins and Gabriel Agbonlahor.

But his form was patchy. In 2004-05, he managed just seven goals, and the following campaign, could only net three. And after Martin O’Neill was appointed as manager and forwards John Carew and Ashley Young arrived at the same as Agbonlahor's emergence, Angel fell down the pecking order at Villa Park.

So in 2007, having scored 62 goals in 205 appearances for the club, he made the decision to bring the curtain down on his Villa career and head to the United States with the New York Red Bulls. He moved on a free transfer but did so with plenty of goodwill from the Villa support who had watched him become a reliable Premier League frontman.

Angel's peak had clearly come and gone, but in the U.S., he was able to return his former prolific self. He helped the Red Bulls reach their first-ever MLS Cup final in 2008, and eventually scored 61 goals for the club before joining LA Galaxy in 2011. However, he would barely last half a season with the club before being traded to Chivas USA to make room for Robbie Keane's arrival.

Angel scored seven goals in nine games for Chivas before making himself available in the MLS draft pool in 2012 after his contract expired, but went undrafted, and subsequently rejoined boyhood club Atletico Nacional.

There, he accepted a huge pay cut, earning 10 percent of his former salary in MLS, and he became their top scorer as they won the Colombian title once again.

Fittingly, the penultimate game of his career would come in the Copa Sudamericana final of 2014, when Nacional played another of his former clubs, River Plate. Nacional lost over two legs, but Angel reflected afterwards: “I am closing my career in a final with the two clubs I love the most. I am overjoyed because that will be the last image that stays with me from football. I have lots of conflicting feelings; it is a wonderful way to end my career, as good as it gets.”

Angel is currently working as an advisor back in MLS with LAFC, where his son, Tomas, is currently under contract as he looks to replicate his father's excellent career. Juan Pablo, meanwhile, remains revered at Villa, a legend of the club who came from nothing and became one of the best strikers to ever to wear the claret and blue. And on top of that, a true Barclaysman to boot.