FIFA counts down to the 10th FIFA Futsal World Cup™ by recalling 10 of the competition’s best-ever moments. The first spotlights a mind-blowing Falcao dribble.
They say nobody remembers misses. Brazilians will attest otherwise. Pele pulled off the most iconic dummy in football history to con Ladislao Mazurkiewicz, before dragging his shot inches wide in the 1970 FIFA World Cup™ semi-finals. At the same stage of France 1998, Ronaldo charged from his own half into the Netherlands penalty area, only to be thwarted by a herculean Frank de Boer block.
The crossbar denied Ronaldinho scoring arguably his best-ever goal for Barcelona against Athletic Bilbao in 2007, while Rod Fanni hooked Lucas Moura’s dink off the line after an exceptional, electric charge for Paris Saint-Germain in ‘Le Classique’. None of those compared to what a court phenom did at the FIFA Futsal World Cup Chinese Taipei 2004™. Andreu had just fired Spain ahead when he picked up possession on the left. In an instant, Falcao pounced, flicking the ball away with his outstretched leg.
Retaining possession seemed impossible as the Brazil No12 got to it on the touchline. With his back to play, however, he outrageously rolled it through Andreu’s legs with the underside of his foot.
Falcao was then ambushed by a pack of wolves. Somehow, he shook off Kike and Andreu, employed a drag-back to deceive Javi Rodriguez, and slickly side-stepped Kike. Now he was surrounded by three biting Spaniards. Instinctively, Falcao executed one the most extraordinary tricks in futsal history, the ball glued to his left wand as he did a 270° turn to escape his astounded adversaries.
He was now seven yards out, one-on-one with Luis Amado, who did well to rush from his line. It wasn’t an easy chance and Falcao shot narrowly wide. Inches had denied what would have been the greatest goal ever scored in the FIFA Futsal World Cup, and saw Brazil miss out on the final for the first time. After a 2-2 draw, they lost 5-4 on penalties.
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Falcao’s mythical dribble, during which he rode eight challenges in seven seconds, will never be lost from any futsal fan’s memory. “It was the greatest play I’ve ever seen, that anyone has ever seen,” said team-mate Simi. “You need to see the replay in slow motion to even comprehend what he did.
Falcao’s genius was incomparable.” “He made the extraordinary seem possible,” said Franklin. “That would have been the greatest goal we’ve ever seen.” The miss irked Falcao: “Yes, I regret it not going in,” he said years later. “It’s the one I most regret not going in.”
