Copa América is about to wrap up and it is not a risk at all to say that Piero Hincapié has been one of the big revelations of the tournament. The Ecuadorian central defender has shined at his debut with the ‘Tri’ national team and has proved that he is a key player for his country. The present and future ahead of this 19 years old guy is pretty exciting.
Background and present:
Hincapié was formed at the best academy in Ecuador and one of the most important ones in South America at the moment. Independiente del Valle´s work method are an example for the entire continent and, as a result, have attracted foreign coaches. In fact, there are multiple Spanish people who work there. Miguel ángel Ramírez´s case is well-known thanks to his successful time as the first team´s head coach.

Hincapié signed for Talleres de Córdoba in August 2020, an Argentinian first division club. Starting defender Juan Komar´s injury gave him the opportunity to get more minutes and now he has become a key player for his team. This outstanding development has allowed him to make his debut with the first Ecuadorian first team without having even played with the U-20.
This way, his performing at the Copa América has been more than decent, but not excellent. He had some small mistakes during the group stage, but the big one came against Argentina in the quarter-finals, which has tarnished his great tournament. However, it is common to make mistakes at such a young age and even more for defenders.
His game characteristics:
Piiero Hincapié is a left-foot player. Current football demands exactly central defenders that dominate the left foot and who are able to start the play from backwards properly. This is his case, as he stands out for being very technical. his ability to make both short and long accurate passes, added to his great game vision and tactical intelligence make him an authentic ‘modern football central defender’.
All these abilities usually tend to go against defensive solidity. There are multiple cases in Spain, where it is pretty common to find these kind of players all around. However, Hincapié proves that both aspects can play a part together. From the physical point of view (he is 1,84 meters tall) he is very fast and a tough player to crash with in 50/50 balls. He is very aggressive and, in fact, his rush provokes some mistakes on him.
Despite this fact, he tends to make right choices when deciding if tackling or not thanks to his intelligence and vision, and he has showed great aptitudes on his movements. Ball in the air battles are probably his weakest aspect, but it is not that bad either. This is why he has such a tremendous potential: he has more than enough conditions to succeed and his lacks are natural at his young age. He can certainly become a top player with the right mentality.
Future in Europe:
Hincapié was asked at an interview for Futbolémico –Radio Impacto– on July 1st about his most immediate future. He said that he can´t promise to the Talleres´fans that he will stay at the club and the truth is that there are offers and interests from several European teams.
Talleres´ President André Fassi said to ElDesmarque that they have received offers from Germany and Italy. He also talked about a negotiation going on with an Italian club: “There are multiple options but no deal reached yet. It could be either now or in December”, he said.
Some media are giving names like Lazio and Bayern Múnich. On the other hand, journalist Nicolò Schira, who is specialized on the transfer market news, has recently informed that Shakhtar Donetsk have also joined the bid.
“I would like to play in Spain, but first I have to go to smaller clubs in order to progress towards the top level”
Piero Hincapié on his interview to Futbolémico
Hincapié will have to make a right choice on his next adventure and his intentions seemed to be the appropriate ones. We will keep an eye on his career and we also invite you to remember his name. He will make it far with the convenient work and required time.
Translated by Guillermo Bermejo.