To really explain how important and in demand teenager Linda Caicedo is to Colombia, you have to go back 12 months, to a time before she was a Real Madrid superstar and tearing the best teams apart at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
As a mere 17-year-old playing back home for Deportivo Cali, in the space of four months Caicedo represented her country at World Cups at both under 17 and under 20 level, as well as the senior team at the Copa America, such is the level she is able to play at.
For most, senior level wouldn’t even be a question right now, but for Caicedo and Colombia, it’s only natural.
Fast forward a year and she is still a teenager, but plays for one of the biggest clubs in the world and just 10 months on from playing in the under 17 tournament, she is now starring against some who are twice her age.
If it wasn’t her solo run and finish from the edge of the box against Korea Republic, it was the quick feet and shuffle to take two of Germany’s elite level defenders out of the game before curling an unstoppable effort past one of the best goalkeepers in the world.
Such is Caicedo’s brilliance, her Xg this tournament so far is just 0.15, yet she has two goals in Colombia’s three group games which have hugely contributed to Nelson Abadia’s side winning Group H and progressing to a winnable second round tie with Jamaica.
:star:️ POTM: @Linda__caicedo - :flag-co: Colombia 2-0 South Korea :kr:
— WhoScored.com (@whoscored-alerts) July 25, 2023
:bow_and_arrow: Shots - 2
:soccer:️ Goals - 1
:drooling_face: Dribbles - 3
:closed_lock_with_key: Key passes - 2
:face_with_head_bandage: Times fouled - 2
:muscle: Tackles - 2
:thermometer: WS Rating - 8.14#FIFAWWC pic.twitter.com/l97J827wN1
Her rise has been remarkable, both for on and off pitch reasons. When the last World Cup was taking place four years ago in France, Caicedo was just 14 years old, but she was already very much on the radar back home, having started playing for top division side America de Cali.
She scored on her debut, ended the 2019 campaign as the top scorer in the Colombian league as America de Cali won their first league title. Did I say she was 14?
In 2020, she switched to Deportivo Cali, where she would remain until the biggest and best in Europe came calling late last year. But she had to overcome much more than any normal 15-year-old during the 2020 season.
In February, Caicedo was initially misdiagnosed after constant stomach pains. It turned out she had ovarian cancer, and began chemotherapy in March, missing six months of the season and only returning at the very end of the campaign.
But Caicedo bounced back, better than ever. In 2021, the now 16-year-old was the top scorer in the Copa Libertadores, South America’s premier club competition, and was named in the tournament’s Best XI come the end of the year.
Her talent had no bounds, her roof no ceiling.
When it comes to last year. At the Copa America, Caiciedo scored the winner in the semi-final against Argentina to lead Colombia to a final against Brazil, and again she was named the best player of the tournament, even among many superstars much more experienced than her.
At the under 17 World Cup later in the year, she scored four goals to help Colombia reach another final, and it was by now the rest of the world was starting to pay attention to Linda Caicedo.
When it came to leaving, over 40 clubs showed interest in the Colombian sensation. That stretched across Europe, as well as both North and South America. FIFA regulations restrict how you can approach a player under the age of 18, but on the night of her birthday while away with the national team, her management received countless emails from the biggest and best making official offers to gain her signature.
In previous conversations, Real Madrid had an already made an impact on her, with their vision to build a Champions League winning team around young players such as Caicedo.
Now, she has taken that talent to the world stage and at just 18 is spear-heading Colombia’s run to the second round. Aside from her impressive brace of goals, she has created five clear chances for her teammates, completed 83% of her 90 attempted passes, while also chipping in defensively. Her 29 recoveries is one of the highest tallies in the tournament.
She has been aided by an all-round solid Colombia side from back to front. This isn’t a one-woman army. Whether it’s been Catalina Perez in goal, the rock-solid Jorelyn Carabali at the heart of defence, the tenacious duo of Lorena Bedoya and Daniela Montoya in the midfield or the bullish Mayra Ramirez who has led the line superbly, this is a Colombia side to be taken seriously with or without Caicedo.
She has though shown how her versatility and ability can punish in different ways. Against Germany, she purposefully pulled out to the left on every occasion to exploit the gaps left by the attack-minded Svenja Huth who was filling in as a makeshift defender.
Against Morocco, she almost played with a free role. Sometimes she was left, sometimes she was right, sometimes she was down the middle. Caicedo is good enough to play several roles, and alongside Lauren James has fulfilled the excitement and reputation that went before her going into this tournament, and there is still so, so much more to come.
