Piero Hincapie: Leverkusen wonderkid dubbed 'South America's best young defender'
https://www.goal.com/en/news/piero-hincapie-leverkusen-wonderkid-south-america-best-young/1bpavxoyofl6o1kpjlwf0du5ct
The 19-year-old shone at the Copa America for Ecuador before the Bundesliga outfit beat off strong competition to sign him for €6m over the summer
When Bayern Munich beat Bayer Leverkusen 5-1 in a top-of-the-table Bundesliga clash on October 17, it was seen as just another example of how big the gap is between the German champions and the rest.
What was largely ignored, however, was just how well Leverkusen had done to find themselves going toe-to-toe with Bayern in the early weeks of the campaign, particularly at the back.
The retirements of the Bender twins, Sven and Lars, and the departure of defensive leader Alesksandar Dragovic, left gaps for director of football Simon Rolfes to fill over the summer.
An injury sustained by 2020's breakout star Edmond Tapsoba has left them even more short-handed, but they went into that Bayern game having conceded just six goals in their opening six Bundesliga games – the second-best record in the league.
And had they not been without one of the new stars of their defence against Julian Nagelsmann's side, then Leverkusen might have been able to put up more of a fight against the Bavarians.
Piero Hincapie was forced to sit out the game having only just arrived back in Germany from representing Ecuador in World Cup qualifying, and given the teenager's record since his summer arrival at the BayArena, he could have been a difference-maker.
Leverkusen have not lost a match when Hincapie has been on the pitch this season, winning five of the seven games he has featured in following his €6 million (£5m/$7m) move from Argentina in August.
Some will say that keeping Robert Lewandowski and Co. at bay might have been beyond the 19-year-old, but Hincapie has shown in his career already that he has the capabilities to compete against some of the world's best attacking players.
Called-up as an uncapped player to Ecuador's Copa America squad, Hincapie was thrust straight into the starting line-up for his country's tournament opener against Colombia, and played every minute of their run to the quarter-finals.
Facing down the likes of Lionel Messi, Roberto Firmino and Vinicius Junior, the centre-back belied his lack of experience with some eye-catching displays.
"We have been watching him for a long time,” Rolfes said when Hincapie's move to Leverkusen was announced. “His very good performance against absolutely world-class players at the major continental tournament in South America confirmed our assessment that Piero has a very promising future."
snip