Enner Valencia once milked cows so he could afford to buy a pair of football boots but now the Ecuador striker is the toast of his nation after his three goals in two games at the World Cup.
The 24-year-old – whose total draws him level with Agustin Delgado as his country’s all-time leading scorer at the World Cup finals – has filled the sizeable vacuum left by the death of Ecuador’s leading scorer in the qualifiers Christian ‘Chucho’ Benitez, who collapsed and died playing for his Qatari side last year.
According to reports the striker for Mexican outfit Pachuca – no relation to his better known team-mate Antonio Valencia – is already being sought after by English Premier League sides Newcastle United and Everton.
Six years ago such a scenario must have seemed like a pipedream to the youngster as he played for the youth team at Ecuadorian club Emelec, and had no money to feed himself with only football to maintain morale.
“I was forced to sleep at the Capwell Stadium (Emelec’s stadium in the city of Guayaquil) I had often to go without eating because I did not have any money,” he said. “It was just my love of football that kept me going.
“This is something I’ve dreamed about since I was a kid, when I was out in the countryside selling milk to buy football boots. Luckily for me, now it’s coming true.
“It’s an amazing feeling. Words can’t express how I felt when I got my head to the ball and realised it was going in. I couldn’t stop screaming, I had such a rush of emotion.”
Ecuador’s Colombian coach Reinaldo Rueda, who led Honduras to the 2010 finals, is in no doubt over how much Valencia has contributed to the national side since he got his first break last year.
“Enner has been hugely important for Ecuador. In the 10 months he has been an international he has contributed a lot, an enormous amount,” said Rueda.
Valencia, who made an immediate impact at Pachuca after his move from Emelec last year, scoring 18 goals in the Mexican championship, puts his progress down to his then club coach at Emelec and now Chile boss Jorge Sampaoli.
“He has really made a mark on my career. He gave me my debut in the Copa Libertadores and increased my experience. Sampaoli gave me character, to always keep going and never give up,” the striker said.
Valencia, though, is not so much thinking about finishing as top marksman at the finals but about a potential upset against France and reaching the last 16.
“I am not thinking about being top scorer,” he said. “The priority is for us to qualify for the second round and if it is because of my goals, all the better.”
