Another day since Alfredo Morelos has been out on international duty, another comment on his ability from an international teammate. This time from Radamel Falcao.
Quoted in the Daily Record, Colombia’s all-time top scorer was full of compliments for the Rangers forward. He called him an “intelligent player” with real “quality”. Falcao even said he had already “formed an understanding” with Morelos.
It’s high praise indeed from the legendary striker – so what is he seeing that certain voices in this country don’t?
It’s not just Monaco’s Radamel Falcao either. Bayern Munich midfielder James Rodriguez described Alfredo Morelos as the “future of football in Colombia” [originally quoted in The Daily Record].
These aren’t two no mark Scottish Premiership players turned pundits. These are international superstars, two players who could stake a claim to almost any squad in world football.
Different sentiment towards Morelos in Scotland
Yet the likes of Chris Sutton refer to the player as “buffalo brains”. He is regularly lambasted for silly, if not harmless, incidents off the ball. Over analysing and demonising the player is part and parcel with matchday review shows.
But rarely is he positively commented on. Rarely is there real acknowledgement of the player’s ability. And if there is, it’s with a reluctance and slowly followed by ifs and buts.
There’s more outrage about Morelos’ reacting to a dodgy freekick than there is to Aberdeen fans unfurling offensive banners or Kirk Broadfoot slyly raking the Colombian’s Achilles.
The question is, why? It’s probably more to do with the colour of his top than anything else, but Morelos’ exposure to the international stage is showing these pundits up.
There’s a top player there – let’s enjoy him while we can. And after delighting fans with a new contract, it could be for a little while longer yet.
