The scoring explosion of Juan Riquelme Angulo Caicedo has generated great excitement in Ecuadorian football. The 16-year-old 'pearl' has shone in the South American U-15 that takes place in Bolivia, scoring 4 goals in 6 games. This performance would have led FC Barcelona to pay attention to him.
According to 'SPORT', the Barça talent scouts are closely following who the Ecuadorian sports press already knows as the 'new Haaland'. And, beyond his explosion in the continental tournament, the one from San Lorenzo has also been leaving excellent sensations with the Under-20 subsidiary of Independiente del Valle.
Angulo will turn 17 in January and, although he would have to wait at least one more year to reach Europe, Barça and other greats are following in his footsteps. Despite his height (1.93 m.) and corpulence, he is a very fast forward with a remarkable punch, in addition to attacking spaces in the rival field very well.
The precedent that brings Barça closer to the new Ecuadorian 'pearl'
The youth player and his family have a close history with Barça that could give the culés some advantage when negotiating. The forward was baptized Juan Riquelme in honor of the former Argentine midfielder, Juan Román Riquelme, who made the leap to Europe with Barça in 2002/03.
Although the Boca Juniors idol did not have a successful time with the Barça team, Barça's proximity to Argentine football has always been an open door for other South American footballers. In the case of Angulo, we will have to wait if he finally manages to maintain the level shown in the U-15 tournament with Ecuador.
The last South American 'pearl' that Barça 'catch' after one of the CONMEBOL championships was Vitor Roque. 'Tigrinho', today at Betis, exploded in the 2023 U-20 championship with Brazil, where he scored 6 goals and won the title and the 'MVP' of the tournament played in Colombia.