Player of the Tournament at the 2022 Copa America Femenina, the 18-year-old forward will be one of the best young players in Australia and New Zealand
Linda Caicedo might only be 18 years old, but she’s already racked up a list of milestones that some players don’t even hit across an entire career. She’s twice lifted a league title, won a Golden Boot award, played a youth World Cup final, reached the same stage at a home Copa America and signed for one of the biggest clubs in the world, Real Madrid. This summer, with Colombia, she’ll add her first senior World Cup to that glowing CV, too.
In and amongst it all, she also overcame an experience that no one would ever want to endure, one that almost ended her career before it had barely begun. Aged 15, having already had her breakthrough in the Colombian top-flight, Caicedo was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
“At the time, I didn't think I could play professionally again because of all the treatments and surgeries I had to go through,” the forward told . “Mentally, it was a very difficult moment in my life. I'm forever grateful that it happened when I was very young. I was able to recover, I also had my family's support, and I feel very good now. What happened made me grow. I feel thankful and happy to be here.”
Caicedo’s mature reflection on such an experience shows what a wise head she has on such young shoulders. It’s a trait that shows on the pitch, too, whether it results in her wearing the captain’s armband, making smart decisions with the ball or working hard to fulfil responsibilities that benefit the whole team.
Alongside her extraordinary talent, it’s another reason why she is one of the most highly-rated young players on this planet. Let GOAL introduce you to a player set for superstardom…
Deportivo CaliWhere it began
Despite no one in her family playing the sport, Caicedo took up football at the age of five, first in a boys’ team and later with girls. When she was 11 years old, the forward joined Atlas, the sports school of former Colombia national team player Carolina Pineda. It was there that Melissa Ortiz, who went to the 2012 Olympic Games with Colombia, first saw her play.
“She was like 14 years old,” Ortiz tells GOAL. “I even told her now-agent, 'You need to sign her!' and he eventually did. I just remember thinking, 'She's going to be the next big thing'.”
Caicedo's next steps would see her represent her region in tournaments, then the youth national teams, before a move to America de Cali aged 14. In her first season with the club, she won the Golden Boot and inspired them to a first-ever league title, earning herself a senior national team debut as a result.
Although too young to play in the Copa Libertadores after helping America qualify, she would debut in the competition two years later for the club’s rivals, Deportivo Cali. Caicedo made the switch in early 2020 and would have another league title to her name in her second season.
AdvertisementGettyThe big break
The hype around Caicedo had been building steadily for some time – but 2022 was her big year. Colombia hosted Copa America and it was a tournament that their teenage forward took by storm.
Caicedo scored the only goal in the semi-final against Argentina and was then named the Most Valuable Player of the final, though her country were defeated 1-0 by Brazil. In the end, she also scooped up the Player of the Tournament award, having fully asserted herself on the senior stage during the month of July.
A month later, she scored twice as Colombia reached the knockout stages of the U20 Women's World Cup for just the second time, topping a group that Germany crashed out of. In October, she bettered that, making history as part of the first Colombia team ever to reach a World Cup final as she captained the U17s to the showpiece match in India. Spain beat them by the finest of margins in a 1-0 result, as Caicedo collected the Silver Ball and Bronze Boot awards to go with her runners-up medal.
Time after time she was asked to deliver and, time after time, she did. It was the year that really put Caicedo’s name in lights.
GettyHow it's going
Things have only got better in the months since, with Caicedo signing for Real Madrid in February, just a few days after celebrating her 18th birthday. She’s already making her mark with Las Blancas, scoring a huge extra-time goal against Villarreal as part of the team’s run to the Copa de la Reina final.
While gaining huge experience in Spain, she’s continued to be a key figure for country and is now heading to her first senior World Cup – her third at any level in 12 months.
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GettyBiggest strengths
Capable of playing out wide or more centrally, Caicedo’s lightning pace, goalscoring instincts and confidence in taking players on are all big strengths of her game that make her such a dangerous proposition for opposing defences.
When she does get into those good areas, the teenager can finish well because of her ability to use both feet, too. Throw in her desire to work hard for her team, either in tracking back or pressing high, and she is an asset on both sides of the ball.
Caicedo’s character is another part of what makes her a great footballer. For one, she is a great leader, often wearing the captain’s armband for Colombia’s youth teams and proving to be a motivating presence for her team-mates.
She’s also a player who speaks often about enjoying herself on the pitch and has an incredibly humble attitude, previously describing her humility and joyfulness as her strengths. There’s no doubt those qualities have helped her thrive despite so much hype and pressure from the outside.
“I still have a long way to go,” she told GOAL last year. “I am only 17 years old. I haven't won anything in the national team yet. I don't have a historical record, so I want to improve in that.
“I am very young and I have a lot of tournaments ahead of me, so that is what I am doing, I am believing and I hope people will know me for that, for my joy, for the way I lived soccer, and that is how I always want to be known everywhere.”