Although all the reflectors point to Lionel Messi at Inter Miami, in his shadow there is another figure who, unlike the Argentine, generates more hate than love and it is not precisely because of his sporting performance.
This is the Ecuadorian player Leonardo Campana who with his goals led the South Florida club to a new final in American soccer. The 23-year-old striker was in charge of scoring two of the three goals with which Inter earned their place in the US Open Cup title, the oldest tournament in the US.
Campana’s two goals against FC Cincinnati last week put him back on the radar and many wondered who this striker is who, although he did not play in the World Cup in Qatar, could be part of Ecuador’s squad for the start from the Qualifiers to the 2026 World Cup.
sports career
Campana made his country’s soccer debut at Barcelona SC in 2019, the same year in which he was called up to the South American U-20 team, where he finished as a scorer with 6 goals in 9 games; However, he could not repeat the history in the World Cup of the category, since he left blank in the 7 games he played.
After passing through the national team and his good time at Barcelona, he was transferred to Wolverhampton in the Premier League, but he did not play there for a minute.
Then, he was loaned to Farmalicao from Portugal and then to Grasshoppers from Switzerland. At the beginning of 2022 he landed at David Beckham’s Inter, where he has had his best performance so far: in his first season he scored 12 goals in 28 games, while in the current season he has 6 goals in 26 matches after recovering from injury .
Since he became available to the team again, Gerardo “Tata” Martino has him as a substitute, but when he enters the field he shows that he should already be taken into account as a starter along with Messi, who scored both goals for him against Cincinnati.
But Campana is not recognized by his compatriots as a footballer with projection who can lead the “Tri” to a new classification for a World Cup for the elderly, on the contrary, they criticize his participation because of his origins and social class.
Bell, richer than Messi
And it is that bell comes from a wealthy and very influential family from Guayaquil, Ecuador, so much so that his heritage exceeds that of Messi, who stands as the great figure of Inter Miami.
To begin with, Campana is the grandson of Isabel Noboa, one of the most successful businesswomen in Ecuador, and of Isidro Romero, who built the stadium for Barcelona SC, the team in which he made his debut.
But his ties with the wealthiest society in the neighboring country do not end there. One of his great-uncles is Álvaro Noboa, a powerful businessman and one of the largest banana exporters in the world with Industrial Molinera and Exportadora Bananera Noboa.
Also, a second uncle of his could be the next president of Ecuador. Campana is the second-degree nephew of right-wing businessman Daniel Noboa Azín, who will contest the second round of the presidential elections against Luisa González, the Correísmo candidate, on October 15.
All these family connections with influential figures in Ecuadorian society make Campana part of one of the richest and most powerful circles in that country. In fact, the footballer’s family assets amount to 1,000 million dollars, much higher than that of his teammate Messi, which is estimated to be 500 million dollars.
This figure makes many Ecuadorians criticize him and reject his participation in soccer, since in that country it is particular for a young man with his social status to be a soccer player, generating an environment of discrimination.
2023-08-28 05:27:33
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