By Alexandra Valencia
QUITO, June 1 (Reuters) – Dusty pitches tucked amid poverty and childhood dreams of wearing Ecuador’s jersey shaped the early steps of several national team players who will now fulfil their ambition of representing their country at the World Cup.
Jordy Caicedo, Joel Ordonez and Nilson Angulo are some of the players sharing similar back stories marked by hardship and perseverance.
Caicedo, 28, grew up in a marginal and dangerous neighbourhood in the southern city of Machala. “I’m a kid from the streets of Ecuador who basically had to cling to soccer to help my family move forward,” he told ESPN in January.
Ordonez, 22, lived in a suburb of Guayaquil. He now plays for Club Brugge, and media reports have linked him with a post-World Cup move to Juventus. His family made sacrifices so that he could swap improvised street pitches for a training centre an hour away.
The most emblematic rise, however, is that of Chelsea midfielder Moises Caicedo, 24, who will play at his second World Cup after starting out on a humble pitch known as “El Hueco” in Santo Domingo.
“Moises was among the kids who always had their goals very clear,” said Galo Rodriguez, a former youth coach of Caicedo at Independiente del Valle who also managed Paris St-Germain defender Willian Pacho and Arsenal’s Piero Hincapie.
“The kids who succeeded were those who always thought big, were very disciplined and worked for it,” Rodriguez told Reuters.
The dreams of Pacho and Sunderland forward Angulo were forged in Quininde, near the Colombian border, where soccer represents a path out of poverty.
“It’s a dream. I’m achieving things I once saw in other players,” said Pacho, who wears number 51 in tribute to his mother, who died on the day he made his professional debut.
Playing in their fifth World Cup, Ecuador hope to surpass their last-16 finish at Germany 2006.
Coach Sebastian Beccacece has credited the players’ humility and family support for their historic second-place finish in South American qualifying, behind world champions Argentina.
“Reaching this level reflects remarkable strength of spirit,” said the 45-year-old Argentine.
Ecuador reached the 2024 Copa America quarter-finals but were eliminated by eventual winners Argentina in a penalty shootout.
The South American side start their Group E campaign against Ivory Coast on June 14 in Philadelphia before facing Curacao in Kansas City and Germany in New Jersey.
(Reporting by Alexandra Valencia; Writing by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Javier Leira and Ken Ferris)
