For Patrickson Delgado, from Ibarra born on October 17, 2003, the first leg of 2023 was not good. All the favorable comments that the national and world press published about him, before the start of the South American U-20 tournament – ​​which ended in Colombia last February – did not reflect on the steering wheel.

Coach Jimmy Bran is not the only one left out of the squad that has qualified for the World Cup in Argentina, which starts next weekend. Neither will Delgado, who has been highlighted by several news agencies, European newspapers and FIFA as the most important player in Ecuador, and is ranked among the most important footballers to watch in the Conmebol under-20 competition.

Miguel Bravo was appointed instead of Bran. But also, Delgado’s name was not considered in the final list for the 2023 World Cup; he was replaced by the promising Kendry Páez, a figurehead for the Ecuadorian under-17 national team, a team that also sealed his World Cup passport in the aforementioned division as runners-up in South America.

FIFA awards

What happened to Delgado? FIFA said on its website for the young tricolor, formerly of the South American U-20, that he is “a gifted technician who can progress on the pitch and occupy more advanced positions. He stands out with his connected play thanks to his ability to receive, control, discover his best-placed team-mate and pass balls”.

FIFA added that it “came from the inexhaustible quarry of Independiente del Valle, the main reference of the team.” But Delgado arrived with a poor background as when he joined the national team in the Keuken Kampioen Divisie competition, the Dutch second division, he had managed just six games and barely 166 minutes for Ajax B.

In the debut of Ecuador against Chile (1-1), after the eulogy of the newspaper AS from French press agency (AFP), and since Delgado is the only U-20 footballer who belongs to a European club, it was surprising that this footballer did not play that day. Patrickson is fine. We take it in a process that goes little by little. We don’t want to expose the player because he didn’t have many minutes in Ajax,” explained Bran.

Kendry Paez

Delgado saw action in seven of the remaining eight games played by Ecuador, but did not complete 90 minutes in any of them (he was benched again against Uruguay in the group stage). It was with difficulty that the Tricolori entered the World Cup, on the closing date of the final hexagon.

In a midfield devoid of ideas, Delgado could not be the creative solution expected of a 19-year-old. The poor performance of the Ajax players, the deficient work of coach Bran -later removed from duty-, and the notable role of Kendry Páez in the South American U-17 team decided the fate of ibarreño for the U-20 World Cup.

The urgent need for creative imagination in the U-20 national team, which will make its debut next Saturday against the United States in the World Cup, is the main reason that Páez has been called up to the senior category in which he operates. DT Bravo left out Delgado, who did not play in South America despite the many opportunities he had (out of a possible 630 minutes on the field, the Ajax man played 408).

On 28 January 2022, Ajax, the most traditional and prestigious club in the Netherlands – birthplace of crack Johan Cruyff – announced on that date the signing of Ecuadorian Patrickson Delgado, from Independiente del Valle, as a player on loan with an option to buy until June 2023.

Statistics in Ajax

Argentinian journalist César Luis Melo, who preempted the Ecuadorian Football Association last January by breaking the news that Gustavo Alfaro would not continue as Tri’s DT, reported on May 5 that Dutch leaders had “informed” their Ecuadorian counterparts that they “will not exercise” Delgado’s purchase option.

Almost a week ago, Independiente confirmed what Melo said, when Santiago Morales, the general manager of the AFNA entity, stated that Delgado “has the door open” to return as he will not continue in Europe.

Delgado is poor at Ajax. According to the specialized portal Transfermarkt, out of 15 second league matches, he played 90 minutes in only one; He has two games of 5 minutes each and a couple in which he entered for 89 minutes. No assists or goals. Out of 1350 possible minutes, he played only 386 on the field.

Those from Valle demanded 2.5 million dollars for Delgado’s passage, but today the market value of the 19-year-old midfielder, according to Transfermarkt, is 300,000 euros ($325,833). (D)