M. Caicedo

Richard Alexander Mina Caicedo made his name in Ecuadorian football. Born in Guayaquil, he began at Técnico Universitario, where fourteen league appearances were enough to convince Sociedad Deportiva Aucas to sign him as a free agent in 2019. Aucas is where the centre-back grew up as a footballer: 78 league appearances and six goals, and a Serie A de Ecuador title in 2022.

That form earned him a free transfer to Liga Deportiva Universitaria in November 2022, on a four-year contract. At LDU Quito he has been a regular starter, and the trophy haul since his arrival has been considerable: back-to-back Serie A titles in 2023 and 2024, the Copa Sudamericana in 2023, and the Supercopa de Ecuador in 2025. All three of his career moves — from El Nacional's academy pipeline through Técnico Universitario and Aucas to LDU Quito — were completed without a transfer fee changing hands, a pattern that says as much about how he was scouted as about the player himself.

He is not to be confused with two other players on LDU Quito's books who share parts of his name: Maikel Caicedo, a younger centre-back born in 2005 who has since moved on to Huntsville City FC without senior caps, and Ruddy Mina, a midfielder. Mina himself has collected no individual awards, but the run of team honours at both Aucas and LDU Quito has followed him wherever he has played.