Piero Hincapie is a (still) blank slate in German football. The Leverkusen man has already been able to prove himself against the big players.
“A compliment to the scouting department in Leverkusen,” praised Reiner Calmund, long-time boss of the Werkself, in an interview with SPOX and goal the initial soaring of the team, which came to an abrupt end with the 1: 5 defeat against FC Bayern Munich (for the time being).
The losses of the experienced Bender twins and of Aleksandar Dragovic as well as the failure of the top performer Edmond Tapsoba, who was injured at the beginning of the season, were ideally absorbed on the defensive. “The newcomers Mitchel Bakker, Odilon Kossounou and also Piero Hincapie, who came a little later, hit the ground right away,” added Calmund.
Up until the duel with the record champions, Bayer had only conceded seven Bundesliga goals – at the time the second-best figure on the German top floor. 19-year-old Hincapie, in particular, who has only been part of the team since mid-August, has a true success rate in Bayer’s outfit: if the central defender was on the pitch, no game was lost (seven games, five wins, two draws, five goals conceded) ).
The Ecuadorian was not used against Bayern because he had just returned from the international match in Colombia.
Piero Hincapie: Services against Messi and Co. as a confirmation
It was also the national team that attracted the attention of the youngster, who is highly regarded in South America.
At the last Copa America, Hincapie was one of the tournament’s greatest discoveries. The left-footed player celebrated his senior national team debut on the first day of the group against Colombia – and then played the full distance in all pairings up to the quarter-final against Argentina. The youngster also convinced against the Albiceleste around Lionel Messi or Brazil with Roberto Firmino and Vinicius Junior.
“Of course we have been watching him for a long time,” said Leverkusen’s sporting director Simon Rolfes when the Hincapie deal was announced: “His very good performance against absolute world-class players at the major continental tournament in South America confirmed our assessment that Piero was a very promising one Has a future. “
Piero Hincapie: The modern central defender
Hincapie made his first footballing attempts in his home country at CS Norte America and Deportivo Azogues before he moved to the junior academy of Independiente del Valle at the age of 14. It is considered the best in the country and one of the most important in all of South America.
From a young age, Hincapie stood out as a modern central defender: The defender is technically adept and strong in building up the game. In the group stage of the Copa America, Hincapie played the most passes forward (89). Despite his age, the national player already exudes a lot of calm on the ball. Added to this is his strength in one-on-one combat, although at 1.84 meters he still has development potential when it comes to aerial duels.
Hincapie made his professional debut at Independiente in August 2019. The teenager also impressed on an international basis that summer when he led the Ecuadorian U17s as captain at the South American Championship and attracted interest from home and abroad. In total, Hincapie made three appearances at Independiente. The move to Argentina to Club Atletico Talleres followed in summer 2020.
Club President Andres Fassi was blown away by his new protégé and described Hincapie as “the best young female defender in Latin America”.
Hincapie is 50 percent owned by a company
At Talleres, Hincapie only stayed 22 competitive games. Because just a year later he moved on to Bayer Leverkusen. The Werkself paid a transfer fee of almost six million euros for the ten-time national player, whose transfer rights are 50 percent owned by the Mexican soccer group Grupo Pachuca, and provided the jewel with a five-year contract.
The Bundesliga team prevailed against well-known competition. Of the Mundo Deportivo According to FC Bayern Munich, PSG, AS Roma, AC Milan and Atletico Madrid, Hincapie was among the others.
Hincapie: A lot of praise and the big dream of Spain
Hincapie gave up being close to his homeland and followed the call from Germany. Despite his young age and the first step across the Atlantic, he also built on his strengths in Leverkusen.
In the Europa League match at Celtic Glasgow (4-0), Hincapie made his starting line-up debut and scored his first professional goal straight away. “In the last two or three missions we noticed that he is totally resistant to stress when it comes to the atmosphere,” enthused head coach Gerardo Seoane afterwards: “He stayed very calm, had a good game resolution and won many duels. The goal was the icing on the cake, since it is of course not his main task. “
The young Ecuadorian also received a lot of praise at the national team level. “Piero serves as an example because we are talking about a very self-sacrificing boy who fought a lot for what he got,” said national coach Gustavo Alfaro once about Hincapie. It is a message “for everyone who plays football in Ecuador that sacrifices sometimes have their price. The national team’s jersey can take you to a completely different place than you might have dreamed of.”
Hincapie himself is pursuing a very specific dream: Southern Europe should one day become one. “I would like to play in Spain,” he revealed in an interview with Futbolemico.
But until then “I have to go to smaller clubs to work my way to the top.” The first step has been successful so far.
