Europa League quality - Falcao and Nedved

Is it possible to become a world class player playing in the UEFA Europa League?

It’s widely thought that top players cannot become recognised as exceptional talents when competing in Europe’s second tier competition but there are many footballers that would disagree with such a theory.

The Europa League, once known as the UEFA Cup, was designed for teams who were not amongst their countries’ elite to have a chance at European glory.

In years gone by, a number of players have used this competition as a propeller to stardom and have caused the big clubs to cough up large sums of money in exchange for their signature.

Total Football's Kuvan Sidhu looks at one striker currently in his prime and a player who first came to stardom in the secondary European club competition in the 1990s. 

Falcao among the best

Radamel Falcao is regarded by many pundits as the best striker in the world. He is the perfect example of a player who was made by the UEFA Europa League.

The Colombian striker first joined FC Porto in 2009 for a fee of £3.5m.

He first took centre stage in the 2010-11 campaign which saw the Portuguese side win the competition under Andre Villas-Boas.

Falcao (pictured) was the top scorer in the competition notching 17 goals, seeing him surpass Jurgen Klinsmann’s record of 15 goals in a single annual club European competition.

He also completed the tournament with the winning goal in the Dublin final against fellow Portuguese team Sporting Braga.

Following his success, Falcao was then sold for a hefty fee of £38m to Atletico Madrid, who were seeking a replacement for departed star striker Sergio Aguero.

The pressure was on the Colombian but he certainly did not disappoint with 36 goals in his first season for his new club.

He then took centre stage again as he led Atletico to Europa League glory last season, becoming the top scorer in the competition for a second consecutive year with 12 goals.

With a supreme display of finishing, Falcao scored a brace in the final, in an all-Spanish showdown against Athletic Bilbao.

Since then, Falcao has become the first player in history to score a hat-trick in a UEFA Super Cup final, in a devastating display against current UEFA Champions League holders Chelsea.

He has now been told he may leave in the 2013 transfer window with bidding starting at £40m.

There is no doubting his quality and awareness for finding the back of the net.

Nedved was full of Czech class

In the 1995-96 UEFA Cup campaign, Europe got to see the first glimpses of talented Sparta Prague playmaker Pavel Nedved.

The Czech was vastly influential in his teams’ European campaign contributing with five goals.

Sparta were beaten in the semi-final by Bordeaux but Nedved was impressive throughout the competition, earning himself an international call up from his native Czech Republic for Euro 96.

He starred throughout the tournament, scoring a goal against Italy in the group stages as the Czechs reached the final.

Nedved's glittering performances caught the eye of Italian club Lazio. He would complete a move to the Serie A giants that summer and continue to create a name for himself.

In his second year at Lazio, he played a big role in helping his team progress through to the UEFA Cup final where they were beaten by fellow Italian side Inter Milan.

After five excellent years in Rome, Juventus showed interest in the classy Czech and paid a fee of around £40m to acquire his signature in the summer of 2001.

Nedved was instrumental in leading Juventus to the UEFA Champions League final in 2003 but was forced to sit out due to an accumulation of yellow cards.

Juve lost the game on penalties to Italian rivals AC Milan at Old Trafford but it was a year which ended in reward for Nedved as he won the European Football of the Year award.

He retired in February 2009 but will always be remembered as one of the most talented two-footed footballers the world has ever seen.

The UEFA Europa League has proved to be the perfect platform for young talents to make a name and propel themselves to new heights within the footballing world.

By Kuvan Sidhu