Linda Caicedo lands at Real Madrid

Linda Caicedo, new player of the Spanish soccer team Real Madrid.Real Madrid

Colombian soccer player Linda Caicedo has had an intense week.

On Tuesday she played a friendly in Mexico with the Colombian team, on Wednesday she turned 18, on Thursday she arrived in Spain and this Friday her great dream has come true: she has signed with the women's Real Madrid.

"Linda Caicedo is already a Madridista!" The merengue club announced when welcoming her with a series of messages on her social networks.

It is a young team, registered in 2020 and still under the shadow of Barcelona.

However, the desire for growth and the expectations placed on Caicedo are evident.

😁 @Linda__caicedo is already a Madridista!

👋 #WelcomeLinda pic.twitter.com/7QdvmEf8Mc

— Real Madrid CF (@realmadridfem) February 24, 2023

Real Madrid is the most valuable soccer club in the world in financial terms, according to

magazine .

But their performance in the women's league is far from reflecting the strength that does exist in the men's competitions.

Barcelona, ​​the classic rival of the Madrid team, is the champion of the Spanish Women's First Division.

The challenge is to dethrone the eternal rivals.

On the other hand, the signing encourages illusions about Caicedo's upward trajectory.

The soccer player had a great 2022: she was chosen as the best player in the 2022 Women's Copa América and the best young soccer player in the world in a classification of the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS, for its acronym in English).

Her pending dream, however, was to project her career abroad, something that was not possible until she reached the age of majority.

Now, Real Madrid is the opportunity.

Caicedo will be the first Colombian woman to land in the white club and she will join a squad that already includes two other Latin Americans, the Mexican Kenti Robles and the Brazilian Kathellen.

Speculation about the transfer continued until the last minute.

Caicedo had offers from the most successful clubs up to now, such as Barcelona or English Chelsea.

However, he chose a young team.

The Madrid project needs achievements in the women's branch to be able to compete with Barcelona.

Caicedo arrived in Spain on Thursday, after participating with her teammates from the Colombian team in the

, in Monterrey (Mexico).

She smiled, she said that she was happy and put her signing in context: “It's important.

Not only for me, but for women's football in the country."

She knows that her figure projects many more players who have overcome a hostile environment.

Colombian soccer players have denounced in recent years the precarious working conditions they face and have maintained a long pulse with managers.

Colombian soccer shone in 2022 when Caicedo and her teammates reached the final of the U-17 Women's Soccer World Cup in India.

The support of the Colombians remained solid despite the distance of more than 15,000 kilometers and gave visibility to the female branch of this sport.

The promises for better working conditions came later: the Sports Minister, María Isabel Urrutia, told this newspaper that in 2023 the professional women's soccer league was going to last 11 months.

However, in February the Major Division of Colombian Soccer (Dimayor) announced that it would only be for five months.

The figure of Caicedo provokes excitement among her teammates, sports fans and Colombians in general.

Carolina Jaramillo, author of

, she explained a few days ago to this newspaper that she attracts the athlete because she is someone young and happy who wants to "conquer the world."

"She represents a black player, from a humble class, who got ahead and is now in the elite," she emphasized.

Something similar was said by former soccer player Nicole Regnier: "She is without a doubt the most talented player ever born in Colombia."

The athlete began playing for América de Cali in 2019. She was 14 years old and was the League champion and scorer.

The following year, she moved to her backyard rival, Deportivo de Cali.

There she lifted the top local trophy again in 2021. However, her greatest achievement came last year, when the U-17 women's team became the first Colombian team to reach the World Cup final.

Caicedo won the Silver Ball and the Bronze Boot.

Also in the Copa América, with her as a figure, Colombia qualified for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand that is being held this year.

The next game for the Real Madrid women's team is against Alhama, on March 4.

The expectations placed on Caicedo are high, but specialists like Nicole Regnier do not doubt that he will do very well.

"I am sure that it will fit perfectly, it will be a matter of a short time for it to adapt and start to shine," she told this newspaper.

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