Leonardo Realpe was born in Quinindé, Esmeraldas, 22 years ago. The centre-back emerged from Independiente del Valle where he played barely thirteen games between the first division, Copa Ecuador and Sudamericana, enough for Brazil’s Red Bull Bragantino to have him on their radar until his transfer is finalised.

With the club from Pelé’s country, Realpe has made 62 appearances with the new team and scored one goal, reports the specialized portal Transfermarkt. There he is a teammate of José Hurtado, another defender from the lower divisions of the Sangolquí club. Realpe was interviewed in the show La Nueva Generación de la Tri 2, on EL UNIVERS (it airs on Tuesdays, from 6:00 p.m., on YouTube and this paper’s social networks).

Anderson Julio has two dreams: to play with the Ecuadorian team in the qualifiers and retire in the Quito league

About his stay in Bragança Paulista, the city he arrived in 2020, Realpe says: “I feel good. In the beginning it was a bit difficult because of the language, the new culture. I was very young, but I managed to manage and adapt in the best way. I learned (the language) in the dressing room, listening to music and watching movies in Portuguese. Now everything is all right.”

Realpe says it was important to him that Red Bull Bragantino decided to hire Hurtado. Andrés Hurtado, “Come in a good way because with two people who speak Spanish everything will be easier. But I also knew how to get along well with my teammates from Brazil.”

Allen Obando wants to play like Victor Osimhen and Romeo Lukaku while enjoying his dream: playing in the U-17 World Cup

The man from Esmeralda reveals what his dreams are: “It was hard to get used to it and to earn my position here in Brazil. But I knew how to understand that my process, that I have to work hard and hopefully continue like this, with the ownership that I have to achieve other goals like going to Europe.”

José Hurtado: ‘Everyone is talking about Ecuador and its extraordinary generation. I want to make history with the national team’

But there is something else: “When I was little, I set myself a goal: to enter the national team. I want to play in the Copa América and the World Cup. It would mean a lot to me and to all the Ecuadorian players. I want to earn a place in the Tricolor.” Realpe has two games against Ecuador, both under the leadership of Félix Sánchez Bas (“he gives a lot of confidence to the new ones, he suggests to us not to despair”). He played in a friendly against Costa Rica last June and 20 minutes in a 2-1 win over Uruguay in a 2026 World Cup qualifier.

At the end of the conversation, Realpe admits: “I am experiencing one of the best moments of my career. Independiente del Valle has a good project. Most of us who left the club are in the national team. I follow what Independiente is doing, (but) Barcelona is the team in my heart. As and every little boy dreamed of playing for an idol one day. When that happens, I’ll have a story outside of Ecuador.” (D)