Moises Caicedo recent signing with Brighton & Hove Albion shows that something good is happening to Ecuadorian football.
Caicedo, who was starring in BabaScouted a year ago after only six senior appearances, symbolises a wider phenomenon.
🇪🇨 Now that's a first! 😍🔎
— BabaGol (@BabaGol_) February 1, 2021
March 2020: Featuring in #BabaScouted
February 2021: signed by @OfficialBHAFC
Moises Caicedo didn't have a market value a year ago, now he is ready to play on the biggest stage in Europe!
Remember where you heard it first:https://t.co/KSBCsD0EkX pic.twitter.com/MDmF3hnbbk
The past couple of years marked an unprecedented renaissance for the South American country that is not used to naming football fame and fortune its own. It wasn’t until the 21st century that the national team managed to qualify for the World Cup (although making it 3 times). The only club to catch a glimpse of international glory was Liga de Quito back in 2008 with a Copa Libertadores title. Independiente Del Valle (2016) and Barcelona back in the nineties made it as far as the tournament's runner-up.
But something has changed over the last couple of years, especially with the youth National Team. The U-20 Ecuadorians amazed the continent and won the U-20 South American championship for the first time. A few months later, the talented squad would show that it was no coincidence, grabbing the 3rd place in the U-20 World Cup in Poland. There’s a bright future ahead of the young men, and much of the credit for this optimistic forecast goes to the 19-year-old midfielder, Moises Caicedo.
Aged 18 Moises Caicedo made his Ecuador debut, aged 19 he will make his Brighton and Hove Albion debut? #BHAFC pic.twitter.com/glN6cxPH6U
— We're On Our Way (@WOOWREPORTS) February 1, 2021
From 0 to 100, in a year
Moisés Isaac Caicedo Corozo was born on November 2nd, 2001, the youngest among 10 siblings, in the small town of Santo Domingo, located a few hours’ drives from Quito. It was a tough environment to grow up in, poverty-stricken with gangs roaming the streets. His parents managed to put together enough money to buy their son proper football boots, leading ‘Moi’ to promise himself to become a professional footballer, so he could one day repay his parents with a more comfortable life.
Moises dreams were modest, fit for a small-town boy. He had his eyes on Independiente Del Valle, not one of the major clubs in Ecuador. He started to play in Espoli and Colorados Sporting before joining Del Valle at the age of 13. Due to his family’s situation, one of Independiente Del Valle’s staff members took him under his custody by giving him food and arranging transportation to team practices. He played in all the club's youth departments, and in 2020 helped the U-20 team win the U-20 Copa Libertadores for the first time. Caicedo scored a last-minute equalizer in the semifinal against Flamengo and sent the game to a Penalty shootout, in which Del Valle won 5-4. In the final, they beat River Plate 2-1.
His form with the youth team earned him an invitation to the senior squad led by Miguel Ángel Ramírez, who coached him on the youth squad a year earlier. On October 1st, 2019, when he was only 17 years old, and 10 months, he made his first-team debut. Despite losing to Liga de Quito, ‘Moi’ was one of the best players on the pitch. The young talent and his coach have a very close relationship: “He helped me a lot and gave me pieces of advice. He is a great friend and a great coach,” said Caicedo.
His good performances brought the senior National Team coach, Gustavo Alfaro, to invite Caicedo for the 2022 World Cup qualifiers opening match. With COVID-19 slowing things down, Caicedo had time to adjust himself to this new level of play. On October 9 2020, his debut was in the 1-0 loss against Argentina with Leo Messi. 4 days later, he scored his first goal in Ecuador’s 4-2 win over Uruguay. ‘Moi’ became the youngest player to ever score for the ‘Tri’ (18 years and 347 days), breaking Antonio Valencia’s record (19 years and 235 days). He also became the first player born in the 21st century and scored in the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers. Caicedo became a regular starter in Alfaro’s team, which is ranked 3rd in the qualifiers group at the moment.
Despite starting his career as a centre midfielder and sometimes defensive midfielder, his development started when he moved to play a bit further ahead as an attacking midfielder. “As a centre midfielder, his game was more conservative. Switching to a more forward position surely improved his last pass and encouraged him to try long-distance shots or finish plays inside the box,” Ramirez said.
🇪🇨⚽ 18 year old Moisés Caicedo gave @IDV_EC the lead with an excellent goal against @Flamengo in the #Libertadores pic.twitter.com/8U4ycT103u
— CONMEBOL Libertadores (@TheLibertadores) September 18, 2020
If Caicedo was Brazilian
Caicedo is marked as one of the greatest talents in South America by many scouts. Brighton eventually paid £4M for the young Ecuadorian, after interest from several clubs, including Manchester United. “If he was Brazilian or Argentinian, his value was £40M”, say the experts, suggesting that an Ecuadorian passport and a lower price tag made his leap to European football possible.
"I play well at “5” and like to cheer and encourage my teammates to push forward. My role model is N’Golo Kante, a wonderful player who runs all over the field for 90 minutes”, says Caicedo. In Ecuador, they already marked him as “the chosen one”. He is dynamic, strong, plays with confidence, fast, and has good long-distance shots. “‘Moi’ represents the new era of Ecuadorian football - full-on pressure for the entire 90 minutes, fighting like they were playing futsal. While Antonio Valencia is considered the greatest Ecuadorian player of all-time, Caicedo catches up with him in giant strides. Three and half years ago, he uploaded a photo with his parents on his Instagram account and wrote: “One day you’ll be proud of me”. They are already proud of him, without a doubt. Now it’s Moises’ time to bring pride to his entire nation.
Photo via Brighton & Hove Albion official Twitter account.
