IF Moises Caicedo had got his way three months ago, he would be chasing title glory in the heart of the Arsenal engine room.
Instead he is still running the midfield of a Brighton side two steps away from a first ever FA Cup triumph.
As consolation prizes go, a Wembley winners’ medal with the Seagulls next month is not a bad alternative — before another likely scramble to sign him in the summer.
Especially for a 21-year-old who only made his Premier League debut last April, yet has become yet another rags-to-riches star for a club that seems to churn them out by the month.
This time 12 months ago Caicedo was a mystery man to even Brighton fans, with just a couple of first-team cameos after arriving as an Ecuador unknown in 2021.
Fast forward to the last transfer window and they turned down three bids from the Gunners — the last for £70million.
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It was an eye-watering offer for a £3.6m snip from Independiente del Valle, who is now also on the radar of Liverpool and Newcastle.
And a player who aims to inspire Brighton to an FA Cup semi-final win over Manchester United.
Not bad for a kid whose early football was played on Santo Domingo’s dusty streets and many families endured a life of poverty.
Caicedo’s was one of them, his parents doing menial jobs to survive – as did the man whose chance meeting with the South American was ultimately a game changer.
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Ivan Guerra, an ex-journeyman player, was a community coach giving the town’s youngsters somewhere to play for a few hours a week.
Guerra still remembers the moment he first spotted the player who will one day become the costliest footballer Ecuador has ever produced.
He revealed: “I had moved back to Santo Domingo because my grandparents had inherited some land, I had nowhere to live and got a job as part of a new community project.
“We called it Barcelona Guayaquil after a famous Ecuador club, but it was hard to make ends meet.
“There was no pitch, goalposts were a pile of stones, and there was certainly no money. But I set up a team to give the young ones a chance to play football.
“I will never forget turning into Mujer Trabajadora street and seeing Moi kicking a ball against the wall.
“There was just something about the way he was striking it, using both feet, that stood out. I asked if he wanted to play in a team and he jumped at the chance.”
With no ground, all fixtures had to be played away — causing more problems.
Caicedo and his pals helped Guerra raise the cash to hire a mini-bus by cleaning cars, collecting bottles and the like, and their kit was gifted from other local sides.
But they stuck at it and after one game against a Quito-based police academy side called Espoli, their opponents asked EIGHT Santo Domingo players for trials.
Caicedo was one and was soon making a name for himself on a bigger stage in the country’s capital, before Brighton pounced.
Yet for all he now earns his living nearly 6,000 miles from home, Caicedo has never forgotten his roots and remains close to the man who first spotted him.
So much so they jointly set up the Moises Caicedo & Ivan Guerra Escuelita de Futbol for youngsters from four to 16 in his homeland.
Guerra added: “Moi has never has forgotten how his own family struggled. I helped Moi with food or when he needed football boots then, and he’s helping so many now.
“Everyone in Santo Domingo is so proud to see him playing for Brighton and Ecuador — and no one more than me.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
