In the Champions League, Club Brugge will cross swords with Atlético Madrid on Wednesday evening. The match will undoubtedly be followed by a lot of European scouts. One of the names they will examine closely is Joel Ordoñez.
When Club Brugge paid around 4 million euros to acquire the defender from Independiente del Valle in the summer of 2022, eyebrows were raised here and there. It was therefore a considerable sum of money for a player with less than 20 matches with the big boys. But it turned out to be a nice investment.
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Strong defender
After maturing for a while at Club Nxt, Ordoñez moved to the first team and there he grew into a permanent strongman. The defender also impressed in the Champions League. In the meantime, he became a regular in the Ecuador national team, which impressively qualified for the World Cup.
In recent months, Ordoñez continued to confirm his high level. In the crucial UCL match against Olympique Marseille, for example, he was outstanding again. In the meantime, the defender has made a name for himself in Europe. In the run-up to the match against Atlético, ‘Marca’ even provides an extensive analysis of the Ecuadorian.
Physical miracle
The major Spanish sports newspaper calls Ordoñez the ‘defensive rock’ of Club Brugge. Miguel Ángel Ramírez, who managed him as boss of the youth academy at Independiente, is also heard. “Without the ball he is a physical wonder. He is very strong in duels, uses his body well and is strong in the air. In Belgium he has also improved enormously on the ball. He had a hard time with that at Independiente, but Club Brugge has given him the tools to improve in this area,” said the Spanish trainer.
Ramirez is convinced that Ordoñez has the potential to make it in a top European competition in the long term. According to him, it is not illogical that Club has so far ignored several million offers. “He has had offers from the Premier League and from France, but the club wanted to keep him because they believe his value will increase. They realize he is still developing and that he can still make progress in many areas.”
