Leicy Santos’ first World Cup, that of Canada 2015, was learning. He arrived at just 19 years old and as a substitute for the great figure of that team, Yoreli Rincón, today absent due to a technical decision. Today, the number 10 jersey is his and his talent is still intact.
Leicy Santos arrives much more mature
ALEJANDRO MATÍAS / KRONOS AGENCY
The one born in Lorica arrives much more maturewith international experience (he comes from Atlético de Madrid, with whom he won the Copa de la Reina this year, but in which he has had to fight a lot against injuries. He had already won, just arrived in Europe, the Spanish Super Cup in 2021 .
“From a very young age I really liked soccer and that is where my love for playing begins. I didn’t care about criticism: many people criticized me, but I always had the support of my parents. My dad played and he, somehow, understood that it was soccer that I liked and that I was passionate about playing. I decided to come looking for a dream, to fight for a dream, and fortunately things were happening to me. That game was like a hobby for me, and later it became more important and I took it seriously, as a profession.”recorded by Leicy in 2017.
(Also: DT from Ireland recounts the panic of his footballers vs. Colombia: “They feared for their bodies”).
He started playing soccer in his town, to follow the example of his father, who even played for the Córdoba teams. At first, his mother didn’t really believe that sports could be his way of life. Today he is as happy as or happier than Leicy. At the age of 13, he was already part of the Colombian U-17 team. Then she and her family went on an adventure and tried their luck in Bogotá. At first they had a hard time: they arrived without moving and ended up sleeping on the floor with her parents and her brother in a house in the La Gaitana neighborhood. And even she had to play with broken cleats. The mother of a classmate of hers, Gabriela Huertas, bought her new ones.
He was in the Besser club, from Bogotá, and in 2015 he played in the University League of the United States, with the Iowa Central Community College. He also played in the 2016 Copa Libertadores with Generaciones Palmiranas. When she started the professional women’s league, she enrolled in Santa Fe, where she put together a team with the firm intention, like the men’s, of being the first champion. She did it with honors, in 2017, with 11 goals in 16 games. One of them was the one that sealed the title, against Huila in El Campín, with more than 33,000 spectators in the stands. The dream was fulfilled.
He arrived at Atlético de Madrid in August 2019, shortly after helping the National Team achieve what, to date, is the most important title in its history, the gold medal at the Pan American Games in Lima. He has already played 117 games with the mattresses, contributing 16 goals and 15 assists. But he wants to keep growing. The first World Cup was learning. The one of Australia and New Zealand aims to be the one of the consolidation of him.
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