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.

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, Pacho was first named on the bench for IDV's 2–0 win at Mushuc Runa on 15 March 2019.

Pacho was finally given his first-team debut in November of that year, starting in the 0–0 draw against Delfin 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. 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. 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.

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

International career
Selected for Ecuador's 2022 FIFA World Cup squad without playing a minute in Qatar, 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.

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

Honours
Independiente del Valle
 * Ecuadorian Serie A: 2021
 * U-20 Copa Libertadores: 2020; runners-up 2018
 * Copa Sudamericana: 2019 (did not play)

Royal Antwerp
 * Belgian Pro League: 2022–23
 * Belgian Cup: 2022–23