Moises Caicedo is the youngest of ten siblings, his father owned a rickshaw(Keke Napep) and his mother washed clothes for extra cash.
In his first-ever Instagram post, a picture he took in 2017 with his parents, he promised them, “One Day You Will Be Proud Of Me” and he has fulfilled that promise.
The journey wasn’t easy but it was worth it.
Caicedo was born in the rough corner of Santo Domingo filled with gang-related issues.
They had a large family and even though they were poor, they had a strong family bond as everyone looked out for each other.
Caicedo started playing football at the age of 5 with his elder brothers who didn’t take it easy on him.
When he was asked, he said, he learned football the hard way.
One morning, young Caicedo was smacking the ball against the wall of his house when he caught the eye of a local coach called Ivan Guerra.
The coach loved the way Caicedo was striking the ball with both feet, he approached him and asked him to join his team named “Barcelona”.
Ivan became Caicedo’s godfather, buying him football boots, paying his transport fare to practice, and helping his family out with food when they had none.
According to Caicedo, Ivan was the only one who believed in him.
By the age of 13, Caicedo was picked to play in a regional eleven after which he joined the youth ranks of a professional club called, Espoli.
2 years later, one of his brothers got him a trial at Independiente which he passed, joining the youth team.
Everything looked to be going well until he had a serious knee injury.
He tore his ACL, it was so serious that he had surgery on it more than once.
He had to spend 10 months recovering from the injury at the age of just 16.
He recovered and came back and was even better, he captained Independiente Under-18’s to a South American Tournament where he impressed everyone.
No one understood how a boy who had just recovered from a 10-month injury could still be that good.
Caicedo was only 17 when he transitioned onto the Independiente first team and according to his manager, Ramirez, was their best player at 17.
In 2020, Caicedo was playing at the Under-20 Copa Libertadores in Paraguay, his manager flew him back in the middle of the tournament to help them win a league match, the following day, he flew back to Paraguay where he helped the Independiente Under-20’s become champions against Enzo Fernandes, River Plate.
He was only 18 at this stage.
Also that year, he received his national team call-up to the Ecuadorian national team.
At 19, he was playing and scoring for the Ecuador National team where he became the best player in the team.
He was nicknamed “The Octopus” by his teammates at Independiente for his combative style of play.
He was one of the hottest prospects in South America and the scouts came calling with Brighton winning the battle for his signature
Brighton signed him for £4.5M in 2021 with his club keeping 20% of his training rights and will get more than £20M from his record-breaking move to Chelsea.
For a year Brighton loaned him to Belgium club, Beerschot where it took him a while to settle, and when he did, he shone like always and this earned him a place in the Brighton first team.
His fame never got to him, he always went back home to Ecuador and his community to give back.
Immediately after the World Cup, he went home, to play in a football tournament he sponsored, giving football kits to his local team.
He’s a family man and always wants his family around, with his mum staying with him in the Uk.
No matter how big you get, you don’t forget your root and the people who helped you stand when you were struggling.
The truth is we don’t have any excuse to give up in life, your background shouldn’t be an excuse anymore.
Keep pushing yourself, your victory is very close, don’t give up now, and trust me one day, you will thank yourself for it.
Even if you won’t do it for yourself, do it for your family like Caicedo, decide to be great in life for your family’s sake!!!
DO NOT GIVE UP!!!!
Credit: Sports Dokita
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