Football features

New Brighton signing Moises Caicedo is one of those few people who can look back on 2020 with immense pleasure.
At the start of the year the teenage Ecuadorian was not yet a first choice player with his club, Independiente del Valle.

Hot prospect Moises Caicedo has signed for Brighton for a bargain £4millionCredit: AFP – Getty

Box to box midfielder Caicedo is one of the most promising players to come out of South America in recent yearsCredit: Getty Images – Getty

By the end he was a full international, fighting and winning midfield battles against the likes of Uruguay and Colombia in World Cup qualification.
He was seen as one of the hottest properties in South American football.  It is a fair bet that if he were Brazilian the transfer fee might have been considerably higher than the reported £4 million.
Caicedo hurdled every obstacle in style last year. He looked instantly at home first in domestic football, then in South America’s Champions League and then as a senior international.
He had thought of himself as primarily a defensive midfielder, a specialist in breaking up attacks in the mould of Chelsea’s N’Golo Kante.

It soon became clear to himself and everyone else that he could do much more, that he had the engine, the ability and the calm to run the game from box to box.
He has been well taught. For a decade and a half, little Independiente del Valle have been specialising in youth development.
They have excellent facilities and bring over highly regarded youth coaches from Spain, while Caicedo has proved an excellent student.
Moises Caicedo the footballer has shown that he is ready for the challenge ahead. The question now is whether Moises Caicedo the human being is ready.

Lionel Messi is closed down by the energetic Caicedo in a World Cup qualifierCredit: AFP – Getty

Caicedo showed in games against Uruguay and Argentina he was the real dealCredit: Getty Images – Getty

At 19, Caicedo should have a big future ahead of himCredit: Getty Images – Getty
The European market is no longer particularly interested in players based in South America who are in their mid 20s. They want them young. The price is cheaper, and, it is thought, the adaptation process is easier.
That may be true on the pitch. There are clear advantages in working with the player as soon as possible, getting him used to a quicker style of play where he has to take rapid decisions.
The problems are more likely to come off the field. A 19 year old footballer, like Caicedo, may well be young for his age – shielded from some of the usual adolescent rites of passage by a total focus on football.
There are obvious risks in plucking someone of this age away from his native culture and language. The young player can easily feel lost and disorientated.
The good news in this case is that, according to Graham Potter, Brighton have resisted the temptation of sending Caicedo out on loan.
This seems attractive on paper; there is the chance of regular first team football. But there are huge pitfalls.
Being loaned to club with no long term stake in the player’s development can be an awful experience, especially for South American players.
They want to feel special. They have often come up the ranks being made to feel special. All too easily they can feel the cold of an unwelcoming dressing room filled by players with whom they cannot communicate.

Caicedo will need time to settle in his new surroundings in England

Brighton manager Graham Potter has said Caicedo won’t be sent on loan and will be helped to adapt to his new environmentCredit: PA:Press Association

Many a career has lost momentum as a consequence. And momentum was one of the best things about Moises Caicedo in 2020.
It is pleasing to hear, then, that Potter has identified the priority.
“He’ll stay with us,” said the Brighton boss, “and we’ll help him settle in. The main thing is for him to adapt to his new surroundings” – and then start showing for Brighton what he was doing last year for club and country.

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MIGHT the successor to Zinedine Zidane at Real Madrid come straight out of South America?
It is a possibility that is being taken seriously in Argentina, where there is speculation that Marcelo Gallardo might be seen as the man to take charge of the Spanish giants.

River Plate coach Marcelo Gallardo is being touted as a future Real Madrid managerCredit: Reuters

It comes amid speculation Zizou could be off at the end of the season.
Gallardo turned 45 last week. He has spent the last six and a half of those years in Buenos Aires with River Plate.
These days in European football it is very hard to find coaches who have spent a similar amount of time with the same club.
In South America it is barely believable. Two years is typically considered a marathon stint.

To stay at the helm of a big club for almost seven years and counting is an extraordinary achievement – proof that, in an ever changing environment where players are always being sold, the coach has managed to keep his team competitive.
And in the case of Gallardo, he has kept River Plate both competitive and attractive. The players have changed, the tactical systems have changed – Gallardo has a number of different formations up his sleeve – but the overall approach has been a constant.
His team are possession based, moving the ball well and looking to pass their way through the opposing defence.
It is his ability to handle change that, it is argued, makes him so attractive to Real Madrid.

In his time with the club Zidane has displayed an undoubted talent for working with top stars.

Gallardo has built an attractive and competitive River Plate team in his six and a half years with the clubCredit: Getty – Contributor

Master tactician Gallardo has even earned the nickname ‘Napoleon’ because of his strategic knowledgeCredit: AP:Associated Press
The doubts are whether he is good at dealing with the transitions, of rebuilding the side and getting the best out of the club’s collection of highly promising youngsters.
It helps that Gallardo has European experience as a player. An attacking midfielder good enough to win over 40 caps for Argentina, he enjoyed a fine spell with Monaco, where he won the French league, and had a season with Paris Saint Germain.
Apart from River Plate, his only coaching experience came with a year in Uruguay in charge of Nacional, the club where he ended his playing days. 
This would make him something of a gamble for Real Madrid. But he is no pushover.
Gallardo’s baby faced looks won him the nickname of ‘the doll’ when he first started playing. Since then, though, he has picked up another nickname – Napoleon, a tribute to his talent for strategy.

Gallardo experienced playing in Europe with MonacoCredit: Reuters

A job managing a European giant could be in Gallardo’s near futureCredit: Getty – Pool

If Real Madrid is seen as too big a step, then the modern day Napoleon might well feel at home in France.
With Andres Villas-Boas under pressure at Marseille, taking over there could be another possibility.
Whatever the route taken by Marcelo Gallardo, Napoleon’s second conquest of Europe is surely being plotted in Argentina. More