He arrived in the summer just two weeks before the transfer deadline – and delivered immediately. Piero Hincapie, 20-year-old defender from Ecuador, surprised even his coach with his lack of adjustment problems.
His record reads like that of a veteran. In only one of his 30 competitive appearances for Bayer 04 this season was Piero Hincapie not up to scratch. In the 0:2 defeat against VfL Wolfsburg on the 10th
Yes, otherwise the defender, who can play both in the centre and on the left, delivers his performances with the reliability of a Swiss clockwork. In 19 graded league games, he comes to an average grade of 3.26 and, apart from the Wolfsburg game, was never graded worse than a 4.0. The same applies to five graded Europa League appearances (grade average 3.1).
“We are positively surprised at how he has done so far – both nationally and internationally,” says Gerardo Seoane, who is not so much surprised by the player’s performance, but by the fact that the talent did not need a start-up period. Because: “In terms of potential, we knew that he would play well in the Bundesliga. But Seoane had not expected a South American to come to Europe and withstand the pressure and intensity straight away.
Even the missed preparation due to the late transfer was no obstacle. Because Hincapie, who arrived from Cordoba for €6.4 million from CA Talleres, has the ability to adapt at breakneck speed. “With him you always have the feeling: the hurdle is so high, now he jumps over it. Then it’s a little higher and he jumps over it again. He adapts very quickly,” is the verdict of his coach.
Restrained in the dressing room – “Football language on the pitch “
With his performances and mentality, Hincapie has already taken on his first leadership roles, although he lacks the verbal tools to do so. He emerges as a leader despite the language barrier. “Not so much in the dressing room – he doesn’t speak English or German, which is difficult – but on the pitch he already communicates in the language of football,” Seoane describes it.
A defender “by nature “
Hincapie, a strong defender with great composure on the ball and good passing, is a full-blooded defender, he said. “He’s just a defender by nature, just likes to defend and make sure the others defend as well. There he already takes on a leadership role. In the dressing room it’s a bit more difficult.”
There, apart from the South American faction, he can only communicate with Portuguese-speaking Edmond Tapsoba and Jonathan Tah with his Spanish. “Sometimes,” says Seoane, “he still has difficulty expressing himself. “
Purely verbal. On the pitch, Hincapie, who qualified for the World Cup in Qatar as a regular with Ecuador, is anything but tongue-tied.
