Felipe Caicedo played for Lazio from 2017 to 2021.
Born in 1988 in Guayaquil City on September 5 1988, he moved to Europe in 2006 at the age of 17 when he joined Basel from his hometown team Rocafuerte. Despite initially playing in the youth team, he was able to play 30 games in all competitions for the Swiss club with 9 goals.
In January 2008 he was sold to Manchester City, playing 10 games as substitute in his first half season. He played 25 games in the 2008-09 season and scored seven goals, a good performance but being physically big he needed to play more to get into a decent form so for the next two years he played on loan in three different clubs: Sporting Lisbon for six months, Malaga for the rest of 2010 and Levante in 2010-11. His spell in the Valencian club really put him the spotlight and for the next three years he played for Lokomotiv Moscow. In January 2014 he joined Al-Jazira but at the end of the season he was a free agent.
From 2014 to 2017 he was back in the Liga playing for Espanyol. For the Spanish club he played almost 100 games but only scored 19 times.
In the summer of 2017 Lazio needed a player that could come on from the bench when Ciro Immobile was tiring. Someone who would not complain if he did not play too often, but also someone likable, who could get on with the rest of the group. Igli Tare thought Caicedo was the ideal player.
His first year was not an easy one. Immobile was on fire and scored almost every match. The fans were not impressed and a missed chance in the last away match against Crotone made everybody think that the earlier he left the club, the better. Everybody except me, of course.
The fans started to appreciate Caicedo in 2018-19. Immobile was out for a number of matches due to injury and Caicedo finally had the opportunity to demonstrate his ability as a team player and also as a goal scorer. He scored an important goal in the derby against Roma and was fundamental in the dying minutes of the Coppa Italia final when a defensive clearance became an assist for Correa’s 2-0. Him coming on for an out of form Immobile was really one of the decisive moves in securing Lazio wining the trophy.
In 2019-20 we can welcome the Caicedo zone. He had already scored a decisive goal in injury time in Genoa against Sampdoria in 2017, but in the 2019-20 season it became a speciality. Injury time goals against Sassuolo, Juventus and especially Cagliari secured vital wins for Lazio. The 98th minute header against Cagliari was epic and gave the Ecuadorian Legend Status. Two more injury time goals in the 2020-21 season against Juventus and Torino allowed him to be the record man in Italian football for goals scored in injury time.
In four years, Caicedo played 105 times in Serie A (28 goals), 8 times in Coppa Italia, 20 games in Europa League with 4 goals, 5 matches in Champions League (1 goal) and one Italian Super Coppa match. He won three trophies: twice the Super Coppa and one Coppa Italia.
After having started the pre season training under Maurizio Sarri, the big Ecuadorian realised it was time to move on. He joined Genoa on the last day of the summer transfer window in the summer of 2021. Plagued by injury in the beginning of the season, he played just 9 matches before being sent to Inter on loan, where he did not leave a mark.
In 2022-23 he played for Abha Club in Saudi Arabia. He now is looking for a team.
Felipe Caicedo was one of the most important players of the Ecuador national team. He played 68 times for his country and scored 22 goals. He quit when the Ecuadorian Federation sacked Manager Gustavo Quinteros. Caicedo participated in the Copa America 2007 and 2011 (with two goals against Brazil) as well as the 2014 World Cup
Caicedone is one of the most loved players in recent times, a favourite for the fans who do not stop sending him their love via social media even if he does not play for Lazio anymore.
Lazio Career
Season | Total games (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions League | Europa League | Super Coppa |
2017-18 | 33 (6) | 22 (3) | 2 | - | 9 (3) | - |
2018-19 | 38 (9) | 28 (8) | 5 | - | 5 (1) | - |
2019-20 | 38 (9) | 30 (9) | 1 | - | 6 | 1 |
2020-21 | 30 (9) | 25 (8) | - | 5 (1) | - | - |
Totals | 139 (33) | 105 (28) | 8 | 5 (1) | 20 (4) | 1 |
Sources