Colombia’s Women’s World Cup star Linda Caicedo overcame ovarian cancer aged 15 to achieve her football dream… and having helped send Germany packing, England are now in the dazzling forward’s sights!
- The forward, 18, scored in Colombia’s games with South Korea and Germany
- England’s Lionesses could come up against Caicedo in the quarter-finals
- Click here to watch Mail Sport’s brand new show ‘It’s All Kicking Off’ in full
Linda Caicedo’s twinkle toes have already sent Germany packing and the breakout star of the Women’s World Cup now has England in her sights.
The Colombian sensation, just 18, has dazzled audiences worldwide during the tournament – but she has already overcome so much merely to make it onto the football field.
Three years ago, Caicedo was battling ovarian cancer amid the depths of the Covid-19 pandemic and her prospects of even playing the game again, let alone gracing a World Cup, were uncertain.
Fortunately Caicedo, who was just 15 when diagnosed, recovered from her illness and resumed a career that has now assumed a stratospheric trajectory.
Her goals against South Korea and Germany have illuminated the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, helping Colombia reach the knockout stages for only the second time.
Colombia forward Linda Caicedo has been a breakout star of the 2023 Women’s World Cup
The 18-year-old forward scored in Colombia’s group games against South Korea and Germany
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They beat Jamaica in their last-16 fixture on Tuesday to set up a quarter-final clash with reigning European champions England.
Sarina Wiegman and her Lionesses, considered one of the World Cup favourites, will be all-too-aware that Real Madrid forward Caicedo can hurt them if not on their guard.
You only have to look at the way she demonstrated silky footwork to bamboozle two German defenders before curling the ball into the top corner to score.
That goal helped Colombia on their way to a surprise 2-1 win and just a few days later Germany, ranked world No 2 and always considered among the fancied teams, were flying home.
Colombia lost their final group game 1-0 to Morocco but still finished top of Group H and nobody will particularly fancy coming up against them.
Caicedo became the youngest player to score more than once at a Women’s World Cup since the Brazilian great Marta (who was 17 at the time) and Canada’s Kara Lang (16) did so in 2003.
Now Caicedo is being called the ‘Colombian Neymar’, in reference to another Brazilian great. Comparisons to either Neymar or Marta are high praise indeed.
Linda Lizeth Caicedo Alegria was born in a small farming town called Candelaria, located 27km from Cali, one of Colombia’s largest cities.
In 2020, aged 15, Caicedo was diagnosed with ovarian cancer during the Covid pandemic
Caicedo feared she wouldn’t be able to play again but made a recovery within a few months
The forward was named Player of the Match after Colombia beat Germany 2-1 in Sydney
Aged just five, she walked on to a football pitch at Club Real Juanchito clutching the hand of her mother Herlinda and an extraordinary journey began.
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No doubt her mum was searching for an outlet for the young girl who was ‘kicking everything at home,’ including utensils and even her dolls.
Though the local football academy was just for boys, club president Rafael Murillo was so enamoured by Caicedo’s skills he mentored her and found her a women’s team, Generaciones Palmiranas.
Remarkably, Caicedo was on the radar of the Colombia national team coach Nelson Abadia at just 12 years of age, such was her ability.
By the age of 14, she had made her professional debut for America de Cali, scoring what proved to be the winning goal in the match. She would finish that season as the league’s top goalscorer.
She transferred to city rivals Deportivo Cali in February 2020 but it was at that point Caicedo’s career took a dramatic turn.
The teenager started suffering from abdominal pains and she was initially treated for gastritis. But the pain didn’t go away and doctors would eventually diagnose ovarian cancer.
Caicedo underwent surgery two weeks later to remove the tumour, which included the removal of one of her ovaries.
She understandably struggled with doctors’ instructions not to play football but as Covid tightened its grip around the world, there was no football to be played anyway.
Abadia reassured Caicedo the cancer wasn’t the end of her football dreams.
‘I was going into surgery one day and I felt really bad, like I could not play top level football again,’ she recalled.
‘But he said “relax, you will come back”.’
After a six-month course of chemotherapy, Caicedo did just that, returning to training just days after being declared cancer-free in September 2020.
World Cup star Caicedo greets excited schoolchildren during a training session in Bogota
Her football journey started on these pitches in Villagorgona in Colombia’s Valle del Cauca
Rafael Murillo was the founder of Juanchito Real Football Club and an early mentor of Caicedo
Her parents Mauro and Helinda Alegria with a poster of their daughter at their home
A collection of memorabilia from Caicedo’s fledgling career in the home of her parents
‘I feel that it helps you to grow for better or for worse. It was a bad experience, but then it turned into something positive,’ Caicedo has said.
She was successfully reintegrated into the Deportivo Cali team and by 2022, Caicedo remarkably played in four different tournaments for Colombia’s teams – the South American Under-17 Championship, the Under-20 Women’s World Cup, the Under-17 World Cup and the Copa America Femenina.
In the latter, Caicedo was named the best player of the tournament despite Colombia’s narrow 1-0 loss to Brazil in the final.
Her performances landed her a dream move to Spanish giants Real Madrid just before her 18th birthday in February 2023.
There were renewed concerns over Caicedo’s health when she collapsed clutching her chest while running during a World Cup training session before the Germany match.
The Caicedo family home is already turning into a shine of their daughter’s football exploits
Footage showed the 18-year-old clutching her chest before falling to the ground in training
Caicedo was unconscious and was rushed to hospital before being released on Friday
Further concerns of Caicedo’s health were raised when she fell to the turf against Germany
Medical staff said Caicedo was ‘very tired’ and ‘what happened was just a symptom of all the stress and physical demands’ – and she was able to recover to face Germany.
But medics raced onto the pitch when she collapsed again in the Germany game to spark further concerns.
Already a household name and poster girl back home in Colombia, Caicedo’s performances at the World Cup have now made her famous around the whole world.
England have been warned.
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