When a 29 year old Felipe Caicedo stepped off the plane from Barcelona based club RCD Espanyol for a fee of €2.5 million, little was expected from the striker. Not merely because he had only achieved an underwhelming 19 goals in 3 years at the club, but also that of the large, looming shadow that any Lazio striker is unfortunately put under; that of Ciro Immobile.
From the moment his feet touched Galilei Airport, Felipe must’ve known playing in a position where such a legendary figure at the club still stands would not be a simple task.
Even from his debut against SPAL where he came off the bench in the 85th minute, his fate was almost set there and then as a Lazio super sub. It didn’t take long for the Ecuadorian to hear his first roar of the Lazio faithful as after coming on as a substitute against Sampdoria, stole the show by stealing the winner in injury time. This last gasp scoring style seemed to stick with Felipe as he is now the player with the most goals after 90 minutes in the history of the Calcio A.
From his debut in the 17/18 season, where he managed only 6 goals in 33 appearances for the Biancocelesti, Caicedo has managed to maintain a slightly unremarkable average goal to game ratio in the seasons that he has worn the famous sky blue shirt.
6 goals in 33 appearances
17/18 Season
The 18/19 season and 19/20 saw an improvement in his performance despite the striker now reaching his early 30’s. Both seasons saw him collect a 9 goal tally in 38 appearances for his second season and in 33 appearances for his third.
The third season was also somewhat of a milestone as it saw Lazio become the club that Caicedo has played for most in his career; surpassing his 93 appearances for Espanyol.
Although his start to his fourth season at Lazio has been somewhat slow, only netting 3 goals so far, his worth in the team and flickers of football genius are still seen in his game; most notably the most recent clash of Calcio A giants Juventus and Lazio.
It was no surprise Cristiano Ronaldo’s name can be seen on the scoresheet as, per usual, the Portuguese God netted a 15th minute goal for “The Old Lady” which saw them take the lead for almost all of the game. It was only when a 95th minute glimmer of hope, or as Cristiano’s former manager Sir Alex Ferguson would call “Kitchen Sink Time”, saw an assist from fellow South American, Correa, allow Felipe to maintain his super sub status and allow Laziali to steal a point from Champions Juventus as soon as the whistle blew.
Of course, his age and struggle to maintain form may see Felipe struggle to find a place in the team as months and seasons go on, with potential younger signings in the attacking position always a possibility; however being the key player in a match of this multitude will definitely make Inzaghi think twice.
Max Payne 