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Jose Pekerman: Struggling Manchester United striker Falcao must feel comfortable and trusted

Misfiring Manchester United striker Radamel Falcao must be made to feel at home at Old Trafford if he is to produce his worldbeating best, according to Colombia head coach Jose Pekerman.

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Falcao, 29, has underwhelmed and been under-utilised since joining the Premier League giants on a season-long loan from Monaco last summer.

‘El Tigre’ was expected to add a fearsome goal threat to the club’s attack but has struck just four times in 22 appearances, looking a shadow of the player that excelled prior to suffering a serious knee injury in January 2014.

There were flashes of the old performer in Colombia’s 6-0 friendly demolition of Bahrain last Thursday however, scoring twice and assisting Carlos Bacca’s opener.

Speaking in Abu Dhabi ahead of tonight’s friendly against Kuwait (20:00) at Zayed Sports City, Pekerman revealed his approach to bringing out the superstar centre forward’s finest form.

He said: “What I want to talk about with Falcao is that when he is with the Colombian national team he feels like he is in his own home. He has the confidence and easy feeling to accomplish the aims of his team-mates and the coaches.

“He is used to our way of playing and our style. He is already adapted and physically, we saw he is well against Bahrain. When he is physically well, he has no problem to show his best game. In regards to his injury, he will slowly be able to show he is able to come back to his level.”

He added: “There was a little bit of imprecision and miscontrol, but that is only natural as that part suffers most when you do not get many minutes. We want him to be happy and see that he is well.”

Colombia have been unable to call on the services of Real Madrid’s 2014 World Cup Golden Boot winner James Rodriguez because of injury.

But a plethora of star names will be in action tonight, including Arsenal goalkeeper David Ospina, Internazionale midfielder Fredy Guarin and PSV Eindhoven fullback Santiago Arias.

Yet winger Juan Cuadrado – who shone during his nation’s run to the quarter-finals in Brazil – has endured similar disappointment to Falcao since joining Chelsea in January. The £26.8 million (Dh146.4m) signing has made just six appearances, logging a paltry 21 minutes in March.

“Cuadrado, is also feeling the lack of playing time,” Pekerman added. “He was a bit isolated from the collective of our game. But, he always imposes his energy, speed and dynamic.”

Pekerman has tried to freshen up his squad for their Middle Eastern tour, calling up youngsters such as Deportivo Cali striker Rafael Santos Borre, Deportes Tolima midfielder Wilmar Barrios and Standard Liege defender Darwin Andrade.

Those players should get valuable minutes in the run up to this summer’s Copa America against weak opponents who lost all three Group A fixtures during January’s Asian Cup.

“We are betting on the growth of the young players now, so they later on they can provide more for the first team,” Pekerman said.

“We respect all teams, it is important to play against teams with less experience. Playing against different teams help you observe different systems and players.”


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