Less than a week after winning the League Cup, Inter Miami reached another final in American football with Lionel Messi. This time, the pink team went on the defensive for the US Open Cup title after beating Cincinnati in a very close game that had to be decided on penalties. The Heron team made a remarkable comeback, recovering from a 2-0 loss, a feat which, despite having one of their managers in ‘Lio’ (who provided two assists), credited the Ecuadorian striker as the most outstanding Leonardo Campana.
The 23-year-old footballer appeared at the moment his side needed him most to score a brace and level the score. As a result, “Tata” Martino’s side managed to force an overtime period in which they finally equalized 3-3 and later won 5-4 in the starting series after 12 steps.
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In this way, Campana will set out in search of his second official title at Inter Miami, with which he is living one of the best moments of his career after the disappointment of not being called up World Cup Qatar 2022 with the Ecuadorian team.
Who is Leonardo Campana?
at 23 years, Leonardo Campana Romero He remains one of the most iconic players of the team that won the South America U-20 in 2019. At that tournament, he finished as a scorer with 6 goals in 9 games, although he was unable to repeat his personal success in the World Championship category (0 goals in 7 games) beyond the bronze medal that the Tri achieved.
In the same year he had already made his official debut with Barcelona SC in his country, where he had played in lower divisions since he was 16. He was transferred to the Premier League to Wolverhampton in January 2020 but did not play a minute. Because of this, he was loaned out to Farmalicao from Portugal and then to Grasshoppers from Switzerland.
In early 2022, he landed in the United States to join Inter Miami in the MLS, a team in which he had his best performance to date: in his debut season he scored 12 goals in 28 games, while in the current season he has 6 Goals in 26 games. In fact, he is the club’s second-highest goalscorer in history, although not even his good performances earned him a World Cup consideration.
Leonardo Campana’s last two goals came from assists by Messi. Photo: EFE
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What did Leonardo Campana say after not being called up for Qatar 2022?
Although many Ecuadorian fans and media saw the forward as a potential favorite for then-coach Gustavo Alfaro’s World Cup, DT did not include him on their list. Regarding this, the player revealed in an interview that being banned from the tournament hurt him.
“I had a very good season last year. I had a small injury but I made it to the World Cup. I think I deserved it, but for God’s sake I couldn’t be there, but I quickly turned the page.” “I didn’t want to go under and work hard for the team,” he said in a dialogue with the journalist in July 2023 Christian Martin.
Leonardo Campana played with Ecuador at the 2021 Copa America but was not considered for the World Cup. Photo: EFE
Leonardo Campana numbers
At club level, Leonardo Campana has played 100 games in official competitions, scoring 27 goals and providing 5 assists. He made five official appearances and eight friendlies with the Ecuador national team, but failed to score in any of them.
In terms of titles, he has the 2019 South America U20 side and the 2022 League Cup under his belt. His contract at Inter Miami expires at the end of 2024, but he has the option to extend it for another year.