Juan Riquelme Angulo

Juan Riquelme Angulo Caicedo is an Ecuadorian professional footballer who plays as a centre-forward for Independiente del Valle.

Club career

In August 2025, he went on trial with Spanish club Celta Vigo, alongside Independiente del Valle teammates Ariel Angulo and Zair Arroyo. In October of the same year, he was named by English newspaper The Guardian as one of the best players born in 2008 worldwide.

International career

Angulo was called up to the Ecuador under-15 squad for the 2023 South American U-15 Championship, held in October 2024. Goals against Uruguay and Brazil helped his side to a second place finish in the group stage, and he notched another against Chile in the semi-final. Despite finishing as the tournament's top scorer, he was unable to prevent his side losing 4–3 in a penalty shoot out to Paraguay in the final, after a 0–0 draw in normal time.
In March 2025, following injuries to John Yeboah and Kevin Rodríguez, Angulo was called up by manager Sebastián Beccacece to the senior squad. Despite this, he did not feature in Ecuador's 0–0 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification draw with Chile, and instead was called up to the under-17 squad for the 2025 South American U-17 Championship. Despite scoring in Ecuador's opening 4–0 win against Uruguay, this would be his only goal in the competition, as Ecuador finished eighth.

Style of play

Standing at 1.93 m, Angulo has drawn comparisons to prolific Norwegian forward Erling Haaland. He has been lauded for his agility and mobility, despite his height, but despite this advantage over other players, his lack of heading ability is a noted weakness, with his brother, José Enrique Angulo, stating that he "doesn't like" heading.

Personal life

Angulo is the brother of fellow professional footballer José Enrique Angulo, and following good performances at the 2023 South American U-15 Championship, José stated that Juan was the "improved version" of him.