By Jose Castro
After nine rounds of the 2022 MLS Season, teams are starting to establish their aspirations for the remainder of the season, some of them already are clear candidates to contend for the MLS Cup and the Supporters’ Shield, while another group are trying to recover from a bad start.
Who is Leonardo Campana, the Ecuadorian who plays as a striker for Inter Miami CF?
Teams like Los Angeles FC, Philadelphia Union, New York RB, Austin FC or LA Galaxy want to keep the momentum going as they’ve become the top teams in each of their conferences, while others like New England Revolution, Colombus Crew or Seattle Sounders have disappointed after the good season they had last year.
One of the things that has prevailed in MLS throughout the years is the diversity of nationalities that there’s in every club, and at least for the 2022 MLS Season, the Ecuadorians have become some of the protagonists in the first quarter of the season, especially Leonardo Campana, who has scored five goals and is looking to become the Golden Boot.
Although they’re spread all over the United States, from Los Angeles to Orlando, from Seattle to North Carolina, there’s a few teams that have reunited Tricolores under the same jersey. Currently there’s 12 Ecuadorians playing in MLS and here is a list of the teams they play for in the 2022 Season:
The 21-year-old has become one of the best strikers in the 2022 MLS Season, as he’s scored five goals and assisted one time in the eight games that Inter Miami has played so far. Campana arrived in MLS this season on a loan with option to buy out of Premier League side Wolves.
The 23-year-old midfielder arrived at Los Angeles FC for the 2020 MLS Season out of CD Universidad Católica for $3 million. Since his arrival at LAFC he has become a regular in the starting XI of the Black & Gold, as he’s started on 64 games, scoring seven goals and assisting on 10 occasions.
"Chiqui" Palacios joined LAFC six months before Cifuentes arrived. The 22-year-old left-back joined the Black & Gold out of SD Aucas after a brief stint in Eredivisie side Willem II. In the three and a half seasons he’s being in LAFC, he’s played 59 games, assisting five times.
The 25-year-old defensive midfielder joined The Lions back in 2019 out of Club Independiente del Valle. So far, he’s played 73 games for Orlando, as he missed half of last season due to a leg injury, although he was renewed for the current season.
After spending the past two years in Liga MX side CD Toluca, Michael Estrada joined DC United on a season-long loan with option to buy. So far, he’s still adapting to MLS, as he’s played only five games, although that hasn’t stopped him from scoring, as he already found the net three times.
The 26-year-old center back joined Colorado Rapids for the 2022 MLS Season once the season already started, after spending last year playing for FC Cincinnati. So far, Vallecilla hasn’t become a regular for the Orange and Blue, as he’s played just two games.
The 23-year-old right-back arrived at MLS for the 2021 season out of CD Aucas. Even if he’s under contract until the end of the 2023 season, he still hasn’t found the regularity that he hoped he’d achieve when he joined Chicago Fire. So far, he’s played 25 games.
Prior the start of the current season, the 20-year-old midfielder was the only Ecuadorian player in MLS that actually plays in Canada. Vite joined the Caps over the past summer transfer window, although he didn’t play a single game last season; for the current season he’s played all the Whitecaps games.
After being part of Emelec U-20 squad, Luis Fernández moved to the US, where he played for Clemson Tigers in College and joined Vancouver Whitecaps via Draft. For now, he’s part of the reserves team of the Caps, playing in the MLS Next Pro League.
Franco joined the newest MLS franchise on a 1-year loan out of Brazilian side Atletico Mineiro, where he played the past two years. So far, he’s played eight of the nine games that Charlotte has disputed in the season, where he already had his first assistance.
Alcívar joined Charlotte FC for the first season in the MLS alongside Alan Franco. The 22-year-old defensive midfielder arrived at MLS out of LDU Quito, where he started his professional career in 2019. So far, he’s played seven games for The Minted, scoring one goal and assisting one time.
The 27-year-old center back has been one of the most regular players for Seattle Sounders since he joined them back in 2019 out of Barcelona SC. In the current season, he’s played seven games for the Sounders in MLS, as well as seven games in the CONCACAF Champions League, where Seattle reached the final.
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