Willian Pacho

Willian Joel Pacho Tenorio (born 16 October 2001) is an Ecuadorian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt and the Ecuador national team.[3]

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Pacho and the second or maternal family name is Tenorio.
Willian Pacho
Personal information
Full name Willian Joel Pacho Tenorio[1][2]
Date of birth (2001-10-16) 16 October 2001[1]
Place of birth Quinindé, Ecuador
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Eintracht Frankfurt
Number 3
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2022 Independiente del Valle 40 (0)
2022–2023 Royal Antwerp 53 (0)
2023– Eintracht Frankfurt 12 (0)
International career‡
2023– Ecuador 7 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 8 October 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18 October 2023

Club career

From Quinindé in the far north of Ecuador, Pacho moved to the suburbs of capital Quito to turn professional with Independiente del Valle in 2019, with both he and the club going on to enjoy a remarkable run of success over the next three years.

A non-playing substitute across the entire 2018 U-20 Copa Libertadores run that saw IDV reach the final only to lose to 2–1 in the decider to Uruguayans Nacional,[4] Pacho was first named on the bench for IDV's 2–0 win at Mushuc Runa on 15 March 2019.[5]

Pacho was finally given his first-team debut in November of that year, starting in the 0–0 draw against Delfin[6] that rounded off IDV's regular season campaign ahead of the Ecuadorian League Play-Offs, the match coming a week before Independiente del Valle claimed their first ever international crown, beating Colón of Argentina 3–1 in Asunción in the 2019 Copa Sudamericana Final.[7] Pacho was not a member of the continental squad, but did feature heavily in IDV's 2020 U-20 Copa Libertadores triumph, playing all but one game.

Independiente beat Flamengo of Brazil on penalties in the semi-finals, and Argentine giants River Plate 2–1 in the final in Luque. Pacho started both knockout games in defence.

With a good young crop coming through, Independiente del Valle went on to lift the Ecuadorian League title for the very first time in 2021, defeating Emelec in the finals by a 4–2 aggregate score. Pacho played 17 games on the road to glory, starting 16.

Having been spotted by Belgian scouts, Pacho signed a five-year contract with title-chasing Royal Antwerp on 28 January 2022.[8] Pacho only played three league games in his first season with Antwerp for coach Brian Priske, as the Great Old finished fourth in the Belgian League title play-offs behind champions Club Brugge, runners-up Royale Union Saint-Gilloise and third-placed Anderlecht, who beat Antwerp home and away in the Championship play-offs to keep the Great Old at bay.

Under new coach Mark van Bommel, Pacho became a fixture in the Royal Antwerp defence for the 2022–23 season, as Antwerp won their first nine games of the season on the way to qualifying for the 2023 Belgian Cup Final and title play-offs, and within months had attracted interest from Ligue 1, the Scottish Premiership and Bundesliga. An agreement was reached during the winter transfer window in January 2023 between Royal Antwerp and reigning UEFA Europa League champions Eintracht Frankfurt that Pacho would join them at the end of the season.

On 30 March 2023, it was announced that Pacho had signed a five-year contract with Eintracht, valid from 1 June.[9]

Pacho started Antwerp's 2023 Belgian Cup Final win over Mechelen, the club's second triumph in the competition in four seasons.[10]

International career

Selected for Ecuador's 2022 FIFA World Cup squad without playing a minute in Qatar,[1] Pacho made his debut for the Ecuadorian national team on 28 March 2023 in a friendly match against Australia in Melbourne, scoring the winner in a 2–1 victory for his first international goal.[11]

Personal life

Pacho's first name is often mistakenly listed as "William", since the two are almost interchangeably used in Spanish.[2]

Career statistics

Club
As of 1 February 2022[12]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Independiente del Valle 2019 Serie A 1000000010
2020 80001[lower-alpha 1]00090
2021 1700012[lower-alpha 2]01[lower-alpha 3]0300
Total 2600013010400
Royal Antwerp 2021–22 Belgian Pro League 0000000000
Career total 2600013010400
  1. Appearances in the Copa Libertadores
  2. Ten appearances in the Copa Libertadores, two appearances in the Copa Sudamericana
  3. Appearances in the Supercopa Ecuador

International
As of 18 October 2023[13]
Ecuador
YearAppsGoals
202372
Total72
List of international goals scored by Willian Pacho
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
128 March 2023Docklands Stadium, Melbourne, Australia Australia2–12–1Friendly
220 June 2023Subaru Park, Chester, United States Costa Rica2–03–1Friendly

Honours

Independiente del Valle

Royal Antwerp

References
  1. "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 – Squad list: Ecuador (ECU)" (PDF). FIFA. 15 November 2022. p. 10. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  2. Gael, Hannes Van (24 December 2022). "Willian (met 'n') Pacho steelt met de ogen van Alderweireld en is certitude bij Antwerp: "Gelukkig kan Mark van Bommel het heel goed uitleggen in het Spaans"". Gazet van Antwerpen (in Dutch). Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  3. "Willian Pacho moves to Eintracht Frankfurt" (in Dutch). Royal Antwerp. 30 March 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  4. "¡Nacional de Uruguay campeón!" (in Spanish). Conmebol. 24 February 2018. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  5. "Mushuc Runa 0–2 Independiente del Valle" (in Spanish). El Universo. 15 March 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  6. "Flash Score: Independiente del Valle 0–0 Delfin". flashscore.com. 2 November 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  7. "Dájome and Independiente, South American champions" (in Spanish). Diario AS. 9 November 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  8. "William Pacho Tekent Op De Bosuil!" (in Dutch). Royal Antwerp FC. 28 January 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  9. "Willian Pacho wechselt zu Eintracht Frankfurt" (in German). Eintracht Frankfurt. 30 March 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  10. "Geen schoonheidsprijs, wel een vierde beker: Antwerp maakt favorietenrol waar tegen KV Mechelen (No beauty prize, but a fourth cup: Antwerp fulfills the role of favourite against KV Mechelen)". Sporza (in Dutch). 30 April 2023.
  11. "William Pacho: debut, gol y triunfo tricolor". El Universo (in Spanish). 28 March 2023.
  12. Willian Pacho at Soccerway
  13. Willian Pacho at National-Football-Teams.com
  14. "Geen schoonheidsprijs, wel een vierde beker: Antwerp maakt favorietenrol waar tegen KV Mechelen" (in Dutch). Sporza. 30 April 2023.
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