Alfred Caicedo Mina will turn 19 on September 10, but he has already left Ecuador for Belgian football. The Emerald side confirms that national team players who are considered promising by European national team members and scouts are leaving the country more and more early. And some, as in the case of Caicedo, are well-known and rarely seen on national floors. Many become news when they are recruited by a team from the Old Continent, big or not.

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With only eleven matches in the Pro League tournament with Aucas – only three of which lasted 90 minutes -, with only three appearances for the U-20 team, all of a friendly nature in 2022, the Aucas prospect made his name heard and had media relevance when he was announced as a signing for KRC Genk to join Jong Genk, the daughter team of that Belgian first division team that is famous in Ecuador for playing in the tricolor of the World Cup: Ángelo Preciado.

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Alfred Caicedo. Photo: Taken from the web portal krcgenk.be

In the third broadcast of the program ‘La nueva generación de la Tri’, which EL UNIVERSO broadcasts on YouTube and the newspaper’s social networks this Tuesday starting at 12 o’clock, Alfred Caicedo speaks from Belgium about his adaptation, a process that includes calls to his mother to guide him to preparation of Ecuadorian food. “He tells me that I have to spice things up. I miss my coat,” says the young tricolor.

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Speaking to Bryan Jiménez, the versatile defender (he can play on the right or left, but admits he is more comfortable on the right) said he is “very happy” in his new role. Caicedo told how he could have been a Liga de Quito player and how the coronavirus pandemic affected his arrival in Aucas and how he reacted when he found out he was going to Belgium.

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“Alfred has reached the current leader of the tournament and one of the best coaching clubs in Europe. He will start adaptation in Jong Genk at only 18 years old,” Kancha, the agency that represents the footballer, announced via Instagram when the transfer was confirmed four months ago.

KRC Genk hired Caicedo for four and a half years; i.e. until June 2027. Due to his youth, the Ecuadorian was enrolled in Jong Genk, a coaching team, a branch of KRC Genk, which competes in the Challenger Pro League (Belgium’s second division).

From Quito to Belgium

Alfredo Caicedo’s sporting life can be briefly summarized: he completed his training phase in Clan Juvenil (2018) and in North America (2019), according to the official website of the Ecuadorian Football Federation (FEF). The Esmeraldas native joined Aucas in 2021 and on April 18 of that year he made his first league debut in a 2-1 defeat against Olmedo at the Gonzalo Pozo Ripalda Stadium. Caicedo entered, at the behest of Argentine coach Héctor Bidoglio, in the 74th minute instead of Janus Vivaro.

After the negotiations were completed, the eastern detachment announced a publish Farewell to Alfredo Caicedo. “Alfred was part of the project implemented by Aucas, whose main goal is the comprehensive training of the athletes who make it up, the results of which are reflected in the excellent work in the training departments and the international projection of our players.”

According to the specialized portal Transfermarkt, he has made six appearances with Jong Genk since arriving in Belgium last January (one match in the Challenger Pro League and five in the CPL Relegation-Playoff). With the team KRC Genk sub.19, Caicedo from Esmeralda started two matches of the UEFA Youth League. (D)