For Jorge Célic, the coach of the South American champions with the Tricolor U20 in Chile 2019 and the bronze medal winner with Ecuador at the World Championship of that category in Poland 2019, Allen Obando is the center forward of the future of the senior national team. Along with Enner Valencia, 34 years old and still without an heir, in the ‘line of succession’ appears a young number 9 born on June 13, 2006, 1.84 meters tall, who belongs to Barcelona SC.

Today, Obando is in Indonesia where Ecuador is playing the U-17 World Cup, with a strong chance of qualifying for the second round after drawing 1-1 with the home team, beating Morocco 2-0 and preparing to face Panama this Thursday (from 07:00, Ecuadorian time).

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In the program New generation Tri 2, which is broadcast this Tuesday from 18:00 on EL UNIVERSO’s social networks and YouTube, Obando is a guest. The striker spoke to Marco López before joining the delegation that moved to Asia for the FIFA World Cup.

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The dream of the U-17 World Cup

For Obando, “the biggest dream I have is to be able to play in the U-17 World Cup and that is a source of pride for me.” And it was fulfilled. But before, he said, there was “a real process that was very difficult, in the beginning it was very difficult because every time there was a new coach in the U-17. Before the South American (played in Quito Guayaquil), we changed coaches and when the last one came, Diego Martínez (replacement for Jimmy Brano, fired after qualifying), we adjusted to various things with him. And now we have really created one big cluster”.

Obando told this story about his beginnings and coming to the Canarian club: “I started in Esmeraldas, in a small school and went through several, from the age of 5 until now, when I play in the first league.” He also said that before joining the popular Astillero team, he was “in a football school called Sport. There I had to do tests in Barcelona in Esmeraldas, which at that time belonged to the Alfaro Moreno Academy. Then I played friendlies in Santo Domingo and from there I jumped to Barcelona SC in Guayaquil.

Arrival in Barcelona SC

And how was the change from Esmeraldas to the main port? Obando recalls: “I arrived in Guayaquil with my family, but in addition to me, four other boys arrived who tried out for Barcelona SC. We arrived at the clubhouse in Samanes VII and that’s where it all started… I started adjusting to being with each of my teammates. In the beginning it was complicated because I was little. I started at under 11 and am now in first grade. “It was a valued process and it was really, really important.”

Fortunately, Obando does not forget Célic, who was instrumental in his appearance in the highest category of the Pro League, on August 8, 2022 when he was 16 years old. He played 5 minutes and came on in place of Adonis Preciado in the 4-1 win over Mushuc Run, at the Monumental Banco Pichincha.

“Really, I didn’t expect the opportunity he gave me, because at the time I was in the under-17 category at Barcelona SC. Professor Célico watched our matches and that’s where it all started, because of the goals he was scoring. He raised me and gave me the confidence that I can be in the first team, says u A new generation from Tri 2, for SPACE.

Obando revealed which models he tries to imitate as a centre-forward: “I always admired Lionel Messi when I was little when he played for FC Barcelona. Messi and Neymar, always both. Now the player I admire the most is Victor Osimhen (Nigerian from Naples) and Romeo Lukaku (Belgian, from Roma), because of my position, which is center forward. I watch videos of their matches and analyze how they move. That’s very important to me, because I’m a striker and I want to incorporate what I see.” (D)