Saturday 27 June 2015 11:03, UK
With the Premier League big guns linked with Carlos Bacca, Adam Bate looks at what the striker offers.
As a teenager, Radamel Falcao was scoring braces for River Plate and receiving standing ovations from the 50,000 fans at el Monumental. Mario Balotelli was an Italy international with a Champions League winners’ medal. But Carlos Bacca? He was a part-time fisherman and bus conductor.
No matter. It’s Bacca who Liverpool and Manchester United are reportedly looking to in order to fulfil the job description that the aforementioned duo failed to deliver upon. It goes to show you never can tell.
“At 20 I was living in my village, Puerto Colombia, working as a bus driver's assistant,” Bacca told Marca. “Life was far from easy. Next I had to work as a ticket collector on the buses because I come from a poor family and had to earn money to help them out.
“The doors of football had been closed to me for some time and at my age, it wasn’t something I could count on anymore. But that year I trialled for Junior de Barranquilla and, thank God, they took me.”
I had a hard time as a child and when I started making money I thought I had made it, but I was wrong.
What happened next was a recurring theme of Bacca’s career. He was faced with a challenge, stuttered at first and then overcame it. As observers of Balotelli might attest, fame and fortune can compromise talent and Bacca admits that the transition to the professional game at 22 was tough.
“I had a hard time as a child and when I started making money I thought I had made it, but I was wrong,” he added in that 2013 interview. “I picked myself up and carried on. The brave are not those who let themselves sink but those who rise up stronger.”
Bacca found religion. He top scored in the opening phase of Colombia’s league season in 2010, the latter part of the 2011 version, almost joined Lokomotiv Moscow and eventually pitched up at Belgian side Club Brugge in a €2.5million deal later that year.
And so to the next stumbling block. The cultural change that comes with a move to Europe can hardly be overstated and Bacca was soon accused of being unfit and written off as a flop after scoring only once in his first nine appearances.
Club Brugge striker coach Kenneth Brylle was supportive. “He isn’t yet up to the mark physically,” said Brylle. “He’ll get there though but it will take longer than first thought.” After his first pre-season in Europe, Bacca promptly scored in the first eight games of the 2012/13 season.
This form earned him a switch to Sevilla and that debut season saw him bag a double against Real Madrid and named as Spanish football’s signing of the season by Marca. The 2014/15 campaign went even better, featuring 20 goals in La Liga and culminating in Europa League glory.
So what would the Premier League be getting in Bacca? A finisher. Bacca found the net with a greater percentage of his shots than the other four La Liga players to score 20 times or more in 2014/15 - and significantly more often than anyone in the red of United or Liverpool last season.
Pace is a key quality and his fondness for breaking the offside trap means he stretches defences. Bacca is not a link man – a pass completion rate below 70 per cent is indicative of that – but he might offer the harrying that Liverpool missed without Luis Suarez.
Equally, this characteristic could fit well with Louis van Gaal’s interpretation of the centre-forward role. Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville highlighted that Wayne Rooney had been trained not to go searching for the ball and instead create space for others. This is Bacca’s game.
He wants more and more. Every time he’s on the pitch he wants to grow. You can call it hunger.
Most of all, there is his attitude. “Bacca has great skills and qualities and is extraordinarily competitive,” said Sevilla coach Unai Emery recently. “He wants more and more. Every time he’s on the pitch he wants to grow. You can call it hunger. He wants the ceiling to be higher and higher.”
Playing for either Van Gaal or Brendan Rodgers would be test. But Bacca has been challenged every step of the way and keeps finding the answers. Maybe he lacks the pedigree of Falcao or Balotelli, but fans of both clubs know this can count for little. Bacca has the quality – and the heart – to make an impact.
