The Colombian forward stunned crowds and ruffled some big names in the Premier League in his spells at Wigan and Fulham
'The Barclays'. While the Premier League was technically sponsored by the aforementioned bank between 2001-16, the period which is so wistfully looked back upon by fans of a certain vintage is the first decade of the 2000s.
After its initial emergence in 1992, the English top-flight enjoyed a secondary boom in popularity following the turn of the millennium, as overseas television deals and a secondary influx of foreign stars gave the league a truly global appeal. It played host to a number of the games modern icons, too, with Cristiano Ronaldo, Thierry Henry and Didier Drogba among those who lit up the Premier League on a weekly basis.
When fans refer to 'The Barclays', though, it is not those household names they are referring to. Instead it is the players who were largely in the background when it came to being headline-grabbing, but were seen as key cogs in the Premier League machine by die-hard fans, while still able to produce moments of magic on occasion.
These players have come to be known as the 'Barclaysmen', but what made them so beloved, and what became of them once their Barclays life was over? Here at GOAL, we will endeavour to find out with our latest series, 'Ultimate Barclaysmen'.
You know him by his cornrows and his collection of cool strikes. For those who grew up watching the Barclays era, Hugo Rodallega undoubtedly falls into the bracket of cult hero, with the South American assassin providing many stunning moments over his spells at Wigan and Fulham. Some may argue he should have stepped up to a higher level, but the way he worked his magic for teams trapped in relegation battles only gave his career more of an endearing quality. This is his story.
AFPWhere he came from
Raised in a village outside of Cali in Colombia, Rodallega was the youngest of three children. While many players from the South American nation speak of the poverty and crime of their youth, Rodallega is somewhat more upbeat about the area in which he was raised.
"It's a quiet, humble place. I wouldn't call it poor. I lived with my parents and my two older sisters. Unfortunately, Colombia is seen as somewhere where you will get kidnapped, robbed and killed – and that used to be the case. It was very dangerous," he said in 2010. "But in the last five years or so, it is a completely different country. There are a lot of tourists from Europe; they come to the beach and people are starting to say nice things about us. They have got rid of a lot of the drug trafficking, they have controlled the police and the army and it's a safer place now. Luckily nothing bad ever happened to me or my family."
His career started in amateur football before he got his professional break with Deportes Quindio, where he impressed enough to catch the attention of big boys Deportivo Cali, who snapped him up at the age of 20. He enjoyed an excellent season there, scoring 12 goals to finish joint top scorer as the team won the Primera A Campeonato Finalizacion in 2005.
He didn't hang around for long, either, as a move to Mexico beckoned with Monterrey, and soon moved to fellow Primera Division side Necaxa. It was with the Aguascalientes club that he really stood out, scoring an awesome 25 goals in just 52 matches.
It was no wonder, then, that Premier League interest followed and in January 2009, he was snapped up by Wigan, where he joined the likes of Mido, Lee Cattermole, Maynor Figueroa and Mario Melchiot in a team managed by Steve Bruce.
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The 23-year-old joined a Latics side in excellent shape midway through the 2008-09 campaign, sitting seventh in the Premier League when he made his debut at the end of January. He had some time to settle in, starting only one of their first seven games after his arrival, but he burst into life in the last two weeks.
The Colombian's first Premier League goal was a beauty. His free-kick unsettled the goalkeeper and snuck in to equalise against West Brom, though they went on to lose 3-1. Four days later, he left Nemanja Vidic looking foolish on the ground as he won the battle for a long ball and calmly tucked it beyond Edwin van der Sar to open the scoring against Sir Alex Ferguson's men, who won 2-1. After seeing his goals cancelled out twice in a row, he made sure his next one would be crucial, with his strike in the last game of the season ensuring Wigan ended with a 1-0 win.
If that half-season didn't make the rest of the league sit up and pay attention, Rodallega made sure everyone knew what he could do in the first game of the next campaign when he whacked in a stunning volley from outside the box as Wigan started with a 1-0 win against Aston Villa. After that, the Latics won almost every time Rodallega scored as they got the better of West Ham, Chelsea and Liverpool with him on the scoresheet. Wigan were still in danger of being relegated when they hosted Arsenal late in the season, but the situation looked hopeless as they were 2-0 down with 10 minutes left. Then-manager Roberto Martinez, who had replaced Bruce in June 2009, saw his side pull off an insane comeback, though, complete with a stoppage-time winner set up by the Colombian.
Rodallega proved even more crucial as Wigan endured a troublesome 2010-11 season. He netted the only goal in their first Premier League win against Tottenham, earned draws with Bolton and Liverpool and then orchestrated a 2-1 victory over Wolves with a goal and an assist. The following week, he haunted Arsenal again when he headed onto the unfortunate Sebastien Squillaci to score a late equaliser.
His goals were always important, but one goes down as the most important of all. Wigan were on their way down in the last game of the season away to a notoriously stubborn Stoke team and with 13 minutes to go, the situation looked dire. Up stepped Rodallega, lashing in the decisive goal as the Latics left with three points and their future in the top-flight secured for another season.
The attacker's final season at Wigan was horrific as he made clear in January that he would be leaving, telling Colombian radio: "It is likely that these will be my last three months with Wigan." He would go on to let his contract run down before joining Fulham. Rodallega came back to haunt his former side with his first Cottagers goal, too, beating the Latics 2-1. His debut year was far from ideal, though, as he dropped out of the starting XI and saw his playing time dry up at the end of the season.
The second season was even worse as injuries plagued his campaign and he had a falling out with then-coach Rene Muelensteen. Tensions were high as Fulham spent nearly the whole season in the relegation zone, but Rodallega gave them hope of survival near the end with a late winner against Villa.
"He said that he would come on, and that he would score, and so I put him in. He did just what he promised," said then-coach Felix Magath.
A week later, he settled matters against fellow relegation candidates Norwich, but Fulham simply couldn't get out of the bottom three after getting two points from the next four matches.
Getty/GOAL'Better than Messi'?
There is one story that has followed Rodallega around for almost his entire professional career: the claim he said he is better than Lionel Messi.
The pair, alongside the likes of David Silva, Pablo Zabaleta, Ryan Babel and John Obi Mikel were impressing at the U20 South American Championship, but Rodallega was the cream of the crop. He scored a stunning 11 goals – six more than joint-second top scorer Messi – as Colombia won the crown, and he was asked how he compares to the rising Barcelona star. The story swept across Argentina, Colombia and elsewhere that Rodallega, who was still playing for Deportivo Cali, believes he's better than Messi.
It stuck with him for years, and he finally spoke out 15 years later when asked about it, saying: "That day the journalist asked: 'Do you think you are the best in the tournament?' And I said to him: 'I don't think I am the best in the tournament, but we are first with Colombia, I am a goalscorer and I feel very good, no, I am the best in the tournament, but I don't think I am better than Messi'."
He added in another telling: "I spoke to [Messi], I spoke to Zabaleta years later, when we were in England, Zabaleta was at Manchester City and when we faced each other we stayed talking, he asked me and we talked about it. I also spoke to Messi in Holland and it was clear that that never happened, but nothing, Messi asked me the same thing and then he told me, 'don't pay attention to the press, they're idiots.'"
Of course, comparisons to Messi may be ridiculous for almost anyone whose initials are not C and R, let alone a player who didn't reach a higher level than mid-table Premier League clubs. However, Rodallega's career could have gone in a much different direction than it did, with Arsenal among the teams interested in signing him from Wigan.
"Arsenal are interested in me and this is a club I have always liked," he said in 2011. "There are many teams interested, it's true. Villarreal, Sevilla, Arsenal also have some interest, Everton of England."
He said of Arsenal in another interview: “It is not only from this year, last year there was also interest. It is a team that has always wanted to have my services and that makes me feel satisfied and proud, and shows that I have been doing a good job at Wigan. We are handling the issue very calmly and prudently, as should be done with a club as big as Arsenal. I have had very good steps in the teams where I have been. Getting to Arsenal would be one of the main objectives. It is a challenge that one sets oneself as a child and I think that if it comes to fruition it would be like fulfilling a dream."
Indeed, there were several directions his career could have gone. After he was released by Fulham in 2015, his dream was to play for America de Cali in his homeland, if only for his dying father.
"I called [the club president] to tell him about my situation, what my father is going through, and I told him that I want to play for America to please him, it's his wish," he said. "My father doesn't want me to leave him alone, he wants me to be close. He's in a very complicated situation now and we want to please him in every way we can. I visit him every day and he always expects me to bring him good news."
A month later, his father passed away.
Getty Images SportMoving on
After two seasons culminated in relegation with Fulham, Rodallega stuck around for a third year at Craven Cottage and was a rare spark for the London club. Their misery continued as they sunk towards the bottom half of the Championship, but their South American forward was back to his best. He ended the season with 10, often important, goals as they finished 17th – just 11 points clear of the danger zone, which included his former team Wigan.
Fulham could not afford to keep paying grand wages as they were left fighting to avoid relegation to League One instead of promotion back to the top-flight. Rodallega was one of many stars released after one season in the second tier, bringing an end to his time in England.
While he went on to a new adventure in Turkey, Fulham fell as low as a 20th place finish in the Championship in 2015-16, though they reached the promotion play-offs the following campaign.
