Falcao, Ertek and the fatal moment

What is undoubtedly good news for the rest of the teams in Brazil for the FIFA World Cup is a Greek tragedy for the Colombians – Radamel Falcao Garcia is out of the World Cup.

An untimely injury suffered during the last match played for Monaco in the French Cup not only left Colombia without their best player but also deprives the fans the opportunity to enjoy one of the most exquisite scorers of the past 20 years.

Jose Pekerman’s now must replace his key player and also must rebuild the mood of the rest of the team, who know without their best player on the field, the dream of winning the World Cup is becoming more distant.

The end of the World Cup dream for Falcao also marked the beginning of the nightmare of Soner Ertek, the Chasselay defender whose challenge caused the Colombian’s cruciate ligament injury.

Ertek, who was ostracized, has become known to everyone but not for the reasons Soner had wanted.

This player, who developed his career in the lowest category of French football, turned into the number one enemy for all Colombians.

The poor Ertek now must bear the cross of being the villain of the movie, the same role as players such as Ghanaian player Kevin-Prince Boateng, who on the eve of the 2010 World Cup injured Germany’s Michael Ballack.

It’s also similar to the case of Argentine Aldo Duscher and David Beckham.

In a Champions League match, the Deportivo La Coruna midfielder caused the Spice Boy to miss the World Cup 2002.

The tackle, which was not even sanctioned by the German referee Markus Merk, created an unusual stir in the British Isles and stirred old animosities between nations.

England fans shouted “Duscher animal!”, the British media guessed the Argentine player had been taught by coach Marcelo Bielsa to injured Beckham and even then-Prime Minister Tony Blair spoke publicly about it.

Football needs these villains, even when perhaps they themselves reject that role.

We all want, both in football and in life, to be heroes but that’s never easy. For one to be praised the other should be condemned.

Meanwhile toast to Ertek Sonner and Aldo Duscher, the villains, who in one way or another were/are loaded with a weight no one would want.

Maybe history will repeat itself in the future and during that fatal moment, a moment that determines everything, a new Falcao – who is a new Ertek – will return.