Felipe Caicedo reflected on his departure from Lazio, the qualities of Ciro Immobile and the failed Scudetto fight in the 2019-20 season.
The Ecuadorian forward spent four years with the Biancocelesti from 2017 to 2021, becoming a fan favourite with his late goals and consistently high work rate. Caicedo scored 33 goals and provided 15 assists in 139 games, often proving the difference maker when coming off the bench.
After brief spells with Genoa and Inter, Caicedo joined Saudi side Abha Club in the summer, signing a one-year contract.
Speaking to Il Messaggero (via LazioNews24), Caicedo first discussed why he left Lazio in the summer of 2021.
Everything is fine here, especially now that I’ve started winning, but I would have stayed at Lazio for life. I don’t know who decided I had to leave, I have a big regret, unfortunately things didn’t turn out the way I wanted.
Yet my heart remained there, I have many good memories, I always follow the team and cheer. I would come back and I would come back in a heartbeat in January if they called me back.
He touched on his relationship with the Biancocelesti fans.
I know, I know, they message me and I still get excited by all this affection. In particular, this week I realised that there is a lot of talk about me because the bomber got injured.
It will be difficult to give up a phenomenon like Ciro, he’s an absolute leader, just look at him.
The Ecuadorian forward remembered the difficulties of settling in the Italian capital.
My first year was tough too, but after that everything went great. I settled in and we all know the story.
Lazio and their fans are a difficult club to conquer, because they are ambitious and always look up.
I was the back up for one of the strongest strikers in Italy, but with hard work and the help of staff and teammates I carved out my valuable space.
He gave his thoughts on Lazio talisman Ciro Immobile.
Immobile has a mental strength that no one else has and he drags the whole squad. In my opinion the natural replacement is Pedro, he has played as a centre forward in the past. I definitely see him more than Milinkovic-Savic in attack.
It is clear that it is complicated to replace Ciro, but now the whole Lazio team has a clear identity, they play with the entire collective and I am convinced they can finish in the top four.
Congratulations to Sarri and the club for the work done. It’s not easy to fight against clubs with huge capital and always manage to get to the top.
Finally, Caicedo reflected on Lazio’s collapsed title challenge in the 2019-20 season, the campaign which was derailed by the COVID pandemic.
Damn COVID, we were strong, solid on the pitch and in spirit. Everything was going perfectly. The 2019-2020 season was wonderful because we all believed in the Scudetto, I shouted it more than the others, with courage.
For this reason, apart from the joy of the derby, perhaps the most important goal I scored was the one against Cagliari. I was in ecstasy, it gave us the blow to get to the top, and then the goal against Juve, before that terrible stop.
