Willian Pacho and Moises Caicedo, inseparable friends turned rivals for PSG v Chelsea | OneFootball

Ecuador’s adored pair Willian Pacho and Moises Caicedo, both 24, will be on opposite sides when PSG host Chelsea in the Champions League last-16 first leg on Wednesday at 21:00. According to L'Équipe, their bond stretches back to their teenage years.

Born 17 days apart and 85 kilometres from each other, they became team-mates, close friends and national symbols. They were once represented by the same agent and are said to speak constantly.

Both came through Independiente del Valle’s 14.3-hectare base in Sangolqui, near Quito, where their faces now front the stadium at 2,500 metres. Coach Miguel Angel Ramirez handed them senior debuts in late 2019 and remembers them as always together, humble, reserved and hard-working, devout and proud of modest roots.

He recalls a single lapse, skipping classes, which brought punishment, otherwise their attitude commanded respect. Tireless on the pitch, they were bright company away from it.

Last year Pacho lifted the Champions League and Caicedo the Club World Cup, sparking nationwide joy. The National Assembly honoured them with a symbolic sporting merit award as Ecuador battles gang and narcotrafficking violence, averaging 25 homicides per day in 2025 in a nation of 18 million.

Yuri Solano, the coach who won the U20 Copa Libertadores with them against River Plate and Enzo Fernandez six years ago, hails big hearts, Pacho’s hunger and Caicedo’s fierce competitive streak.

Both passed through Belgium, Pacho at Royal Antwerp and Caicedo at Beerschot, and are now leaders for Ecuador, where Pacho has 32 caps and 2 goals, Caicedo 58 and 3. They still room together with the national team and are among six captains under Sebastian Beccacece alongside Piero Hincapié of Arsenal, but they will be foes again at Stamford Bridge six days after Paris.

Source: L'Équipe