Caicedo’s leap

The first time I saw Moisés Caicedo play in a highly competitive environment, it gave me a proper picture of his level.

It was over the Easter period of 2019, for the youth team of Ecuadorian club Independiente del Valle, at a tournament in San Sebastián, organised by Real Sociedad. I was director of youth development at Independiente, and we had been invited to the tournament by Roberto Olabe, Real's director of football. Some of the best Under-18 teams in La Liga were there.

I had been told about Moisés, but when I took over at Independiente in 2018, he was in the final stages of recovering from a knee injury for which he had undergone surgery several times. So I hadn’t seen him play much.

For us it was a very important event, because it was going to test our players and find out their level. Competitions in Ecuador didn't give us all the information we wanted about them, because there was a big difference between Independiente and the other teams. But in San Sebastián the boys did a great job and reached the final. Only Celta Vigo – coached by Claudio Giráldez, who is now their first-team manager – were able to beat us.

The tournament was aimed at the generation born in 2002, but we could also take five players born in 2001. One of those five was Moisés. It was there, in an environment with maximum competition, that it became clear to me how he had enormous potential.

“My position was to be caretaker until the club found another manager, but the plans went in a different direction”

That Independiente Under-18 team played in a 4-3-3 formation, with Moisés as a pivot. However, his position changed when I took over the first team. It was a move that happened during that tournament, and in a totally unexpected way.

I had been in youth football all my career, since I left home in Gran Canaria many years before. I was 100 per cent focused on that role, and I loved it. I'd worked at UD Las Palmas, Deportivo Alavés and the Aspire academy before taking on Independiente's youth teams in June 2018.

In the middle of a match in that San Sebastián tournament, though, the club called to tell me that I had to take the first flight available to Ecuador. “Ismael Rescalvo is leaving for Emelec and we need you to take charge of the situation until we find another manager.” That was more or less how the conversation went.

Initially, my position was to be caretaker until the club found another manager, but the plans went in a different direction. We had good results and played well, which convinced the directors to keep me on. “Who better than you for the job?” they said. “With you we will have continuity, promoting the boys from the academy to the first team, with the same game model.”

“When you deal with such young and talented players, you can’t treat them all the same”

Moisés started training with us in the first team after we won the Copa Sudamericana in 2019, doing pre-season in 2020. He was very young, but it was clear to me that he was ready to take the leap, without intermediate steps through the reserve team.

The first moments, however, were not easy for him. He struggled to adapt to the tempo of the game and to keep up with the level of his teammates.

After drills when he didn’t manage to reach the same standard as his teammates, Moisés would withdraw a little from the group and cry with anger and frustration. Why? He wanted to reach that level and, at the same time, I also pushed him very hard. At times, more than I should have, admittedly. But I was sure he would get there.

When you deal with such young and talented players, you can’t treat them all the same. Sometimes I was very strict with Moisés, because I thought that would make him better. But the same approach may not work with another kid. That is why you have to talk a lot with them, and listen to them.

“At that time I didn’t know what he had done, but when I found out, we talked about it between the two of us”

Moisés and I spent a lot of time together, with discussions where he would tell me about his doubts or needs. Although, with such young players, you can't always give them everything they ask for. They must also know where their limits are, because through their careers they are going to come up against those limits. They must learn to manage them.

I remember he asked me for a day off to celebrate his 18th birthday with his family. “No,” I told him. “Injured players don't get days off. Recovery is the most important thing.” Although I know he didn’t agree with me, he told me that he accepted it.

Some time later, I found out that he had left to celebrate with his family on his birthday. At the time, I didn’t know what he had done. When I found out, we talked about it between the two of us. I asked him: “Moisés, why did you do that?” He explained that he wanted to be with his family on that birthday, because he was sure it was the last one he was going to be at home.

What he did wasn’t right, let’s be clear, but on the other hand I understand why he did it. And we are talking about such a young lad, too. The maturing process – to be a professional in every sense of the word – comes little by little. It is not easy to manage everything so quickly, especially if you are far from home.

“We called him ‘El Pulpo’ (The Octopus), because his legs went everywhere to get the ball”

I am not just talking about what happens off the field – I am also talking about the game itself. Moisés had played as a pivot in all the youth teams, but in the first team he had to get used to playing as a number eight in our 4-3-3. Why did I change his position, even though I knew it would be difficult for him? We simply saw that, as an eight, he had great impact in the final third of the pitch.

Moisés is a player with good passing and finishing skills from the second line. He scored goals for us, and was also an important player in the first line of the press. At Independiente we played a number eight up front, either to press with the striker/number 10, or in a 4-4-2 formation.

Moisés had the legs to make the first line of the press with the striker and steal the ball. It was spectacular to watch him in matches, as well as in training with his teammates. We called him ‘El Pulpo’ (The Octopus), because his legs went everywhere to get the ball.

We also helped him improve with several technical aspects of his game. That included long-range shooting, which is so important for a midfielder. He is a very hard-working boy, which is another key to making him a special player. After training, he would stay on the pitch with a teammate to practise his long shots, especially the way he hit the ball to get a longer and more precise shot.

All of his hard work helped him adapt to the demands of the first team. He became not just another player, but the best. In a short space of time, Moisés, at just 18, had become indispensable.

“He needed time, including a loan spell in Belgium, before he showed his great level at Brighton, and now Chelsea”

By 2020, top clubs from all over the world started calling to make offers for him. Especially after our thrashing of Flamengo in the group stage of the Copa Libertadores, and a great all-round performance in the league. We knew then it was going to be impossible to keep him at Independiente for much longer .

In one of our many conversations, he asked me if I thought he was ready for something more – specifically, going to Europe. I was totally honest with him: “You have everything to be able to make the leap.”

I was not wrong, but it was impossible for me to get it wrong because of the qualities that Moisés has. It is not easy for a young player to adapt to the pace and intensity of the Premier League, especially if you come from South America. He needed time, including a loan spell in Belgium, before he showed his great level at Brighton, and now Chelsea.

As a coach who has spent more time in youth football than as a first-team manager, I am happy to have helped players – not least ‘Caice’ – to grow, develop and reach their highest level. It’s not that I am his mentor, or that I taught him anything. More that I had the great fortune of accompanying him on his journey.

Hopefully at some point in our careers, we will cross paths again. Who knows, maybe in England? That would be quite something.