Felipe Caicedo

This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is Caicedo and the second or maternal family name is Corozo.

Felipe Caicedo

Caicedo while playing for Levante UD
Personal information
Full name	Felipe Salvador Caicedo Corozo
Date of birth	5 September 1988 (1988-09-05)
Place of birth	Guayaquil, Ecuador
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Lokomotiv Moscow
Number	25
Youth career
2002–2004	Barcelona SC
2004–2005	Rocafuerte
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2006–2008	Basel	45	(11)
2008–2011	Manchester City	27	(5)
2009	→ Sporting CP (loan)	7	(0)
2010	→ Málaga (loan)	18	(4)
2010–2011	→ Levante (loan)	27	(13)
2011–	Lokomotiv Moscow	10	(6)
National team‡
2005–	Ecuador	32	(5)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 28 November 2011. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20 July 2011

Felipe Salvador Caicedo Corozo (born 5 September 1988 in Guayaquil) is an Ecuadorian association footballer who plays as a striker for Lokomotiv Moscow.

Club career

Basel

Caicedo was signed by Swiss Super League side FC Basel from Rocafuerte in his native Ecuador during the Swiss 2005–06 season for an undisclosed fee while he was just 17 years old. Due to his youth, he was trained in the minor divisions. He went on to play 20 games for Basel in the following 2006–07 season, accompanied by three Swiss League goals. Clubs from La Liga, Premier League, and Serie A were monitoring his progress, with Milan said to have made an inquiry in the winter of 2007.

Manchester City

On 31 January 2008, it was announced that Manchester City had secured Caicedo's services on a four-and-a-half year deal through a £5.2 million transfer fee (€7 million), which would make his sale one of the highest transfers in the history of the Swiss League. His transfer to Manchester City was completed after Caicedo was granted a work permit. Caicedo was described by his manager as "one of the great South American talents" and was also compared to the Brazilian Adriano. He made his debut on 10 February 2008, in a 2–1 away win against rivals Manchester United, coming on in the second half. He ended the season with 10 appearances in the Premier League, all of them coming on as a substitute.

Caicedo scored his first goal for City the following season in an UEFA Cup game against Racing de Santander. He scored his second consecutive goal with a back heel in a league game against West Bromwich Albion, but the goal was initially ruled as an own goal, as it hit the post and then the goalkeeper before finally going in. The goal was later given back to Caicedo after reconsideration from the Dubious Goals Committee. After these solid performances, both coming off the bench, club manager Mark Hughes gave him the opportunity to start his first game in the league and he went on to score for the third game in a row, this time scoring the first two goals against Hull City on 26 December 2008, in a 5–1 victory, taking his goal tally up to four. He started against Blackburn Rovers on 28 December 2008. Caicedo opened the scoring in the first leg of the UEFA Cup last 16 tie with Aalborg BK at the City of Manchester Stadium. Manchester City won the game 2–0. Caicedo scored his sixth goal of the season for Manchester City against Hamburger SV on 16 April 2009, but City was eliminated from the cup due to 4–3 aggregate defeat. Caicedo impressed a large number of Manchester City fans that season with his strong performances as a single striker with the ability to hold up the ball in key areas and shrug off defenders. Caicedo's seventh City goal came in City's 3–1 home win over Blackburn Rovers on 2 May. Caicedo scored his eighth goal for Manchester City in the 1–0 win over Bolton Wanderers on the last day of the season at the City of Manchester Stadium.

Sporting CP

At the start of the 2009–10 season, Caicedo was tipped to leave City in order to get more playing time, especially after the club signed fellow forwards Roque Santa Cruz, Emmanuel Adebayor, and Carlos Tévez. So, on 23 July 2009, Sporting Clube de Portugal and Manchester City reached a one-year loan deal with option of a permanent deal, that would allow him to be part of their squad for the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League, potentially allowing Caicedo a year to develop himself as a forward before returning to Manchester City. Caicedo, however, found it difficult at Sporting and his loan deal was cut short in January 2010.

Málaga

After Sporting decided to end Caicedo's loan spell at the club, other clubs showed interest in the Manchester City striker, Málaga CF and Hull City amongst them. On 8 January 2010, Caicedo decided to join Málaga on loan, rejecting an offer from Hull City.

He scored his first La Liga goal for Málaga with a beautiful individual effort against Racing de Santander, helping Málaga win 3–0. On the final matchday of the domestic season, Málaga required a point to stay above the relegation zone, where they faced Real Madrid at home at La Rosaleda. Caicedo started and provided a wonderful assist for Duda to open the scoring in the ninth minute. Real Madrid levelled after the break through Rafael van der Vaart, but the early goal was enough for Málaga to avoid relegation.

Levante

Felipe Caideo shoots for goal in a Levante-Sporting de Gijón match.

Just one hour before the deadline of the Spanish summer transfer window (24:00 CEST), Caicedo completed a loan move to freshly-promoted Levante UD for the 2010–11 season. This revitalized his career, where by December 2010, he had contributed seven goals in 12 appearances; included in these seven goals was a brace scored against Racing de Santander on 21 November 2010. Along with a Christian Stuani strike, Levante went on to win 3–1, picking themselves out of the relegation zone after a miserable four match losing streak.

Levante lost on 18 December 2010 to Athletic Bilbao by a score of 2–1. Caicedo scored the only goal for the hosts. This was the last game before the winter break and started an abismal five game losing streak for Levante that left them at the bottom of the Liga table. Levante turned this around on 29 January 2011 when they welcomed Getafe CF. Caicedo added the second goal of a 2–0 win and lifted the relegation strugglers from the bottom of the zone.

On 11 May, Caicedo scored his 13th league goal of a successful campaign against FC Barcelona at the Estadi Ciutat de València. Caicedo finished the ball in fine fashion, after capitalizing on defender Gerard Piqué's error. The game ended in a 1–1 draw, which handed Barcelona their third-straight La Liga title. The crucial point for Levante put them five points above the relegation zone with two games remaining. Caicedo's thirteen league goals helped to secure Levante's place in La Liga for a second season.

Following his time in Spain, reports showed that he traveled to Moscow because of interest from Russian Premier League clubs Lokomotiv Moscow and Anzhi Makhachkala.

Lokomotiv

On 25 July 2011, Caicedo signed a four-year contract with Lokomotiv Moscow for a fee of €7.5 million and was handed the number 25 jersey.

Career statistics

As of 16 February 2012

Club	Season	League		Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Basel	2006–07	27	7	0	0	–		–		27	7
	2007–08	18	4	0	0	–		4	0	22	4
	Total	45	11	0	0	–		4	0	49	11
Manchester City	2007–08	10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	10	0
	2008–09	17	5	1	0	1	0	5	3	24	8
	Total	27	5	1	0	1	0	5	3	34	8
Sporting CP	2009–10	7	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	10	0
	Total	7	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	10	0
Málaga	2009–10	18	4	0	0	–		–		18	4
	Total	18	4	0	0	–		–		18	4
Levante	2010–11	27	13	2	1	–		–		29	14
	Total	27	13	2	1	–		–		29	14
Lokomotiv M.	2011–12	9	4	0	0	–		6	2	15	6
	Total	9	4	0	0	–		6	2	15	6
Career Total		133	37	3	1	1	0	18	5	155	43

International career

Previous to his move to FC Basel, he had earned a few caps for the Ecuadorian football team, including a friendly match at the age of 16 against Italy in mid-2005, despite failing to get a call-up for the 2006 FIFA World Cup squad. Caicedo has represented Ecuador at under-20 and at full international level. In 2007, he was selected to play for Ecuador in the 2007 South American Youth Championship. Moreover, Caicedo was chosen to play for Ecuador's senior team by coach Luis Fernando Suárez for two international friendlies against the United States, in which he scored one goal, and Mexico on 25 and 28 March 2007, respectively.

Caicedo was picked for the Ecuador squad to compete in the 2007 Copa America and given the number 10 shirt. He made appearances in all three losses to Chile, Mexico, and Brazil as a substitute.

He is considered by many people including journalists as the second-best Ecuadorian player of this generation, only after Manchester United's winger Antonio Valencia^{[citation needed]}. On 10 February 2009, Caicedo scored the winning goal in a 3–2 victory against England's U-21 team.

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	March 25, 2007	Raymond James Stadium, Florida, United States	United States	1–1	1–3	International friendly
2	September 8, 2007	Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, Quito, Ecuador	El Salvador	2–0	5–1	International friendly
3	September 6, 2008	Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, Quito, Ecuador	Bolivia	1–0	3–1	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
4	July 13, 2011	Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes, Córdoba, Argentina	Brazil	1–1	2–4	2011 Copa América
5	July 13, 2011	Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes, Córdoba, Argentina	Brazil	2–2	2–4	2011 Copa América

Honours

Manchester City

• Vodacom Challenge Runner-up: 2009

External links

• Felipe Caicedo career stats at Soccerbase
• Official Website
• ESPN Profile