#2 A late bloomer
Carlos Bacca hadn’t played in a professional league until he was 23.
“It wasn’t until 2009, at the age of 23 that I played in my professional league match. I had a hard time as a child and when I started making money I thought I had made it, but I was wrong. I picked myself up and carried on. The brave are not those who let themselves sink but those who rise up stronger,” he says.
Bacca returned to Atletico Junior after a few loan spells to play in the Colombian League where he became the top scorer.
"I felt that my chance would come and that I had what it took to seize it. And when I got my opportunity with Junior it filled me with even more belief," he admitted.
After three years with his parent-club, he made his long overdue switch to Europe, where he signed for Club Brugge in 2012.
