Willian Pacho

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Pachoand 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 (age 22) [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	26	(0)
2022–2023	Royal Antwerp	42	(0)
2023–	Eintracht Frankfurt	29	(0)
International career‡
2023–	Ecuador	10	(2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:48, 19 April 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 24 March 2024

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]

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 match played 19 April 2024 ^[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	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	2020		8	0	0	0	1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	0	0	9	0
	2021		17	0	0	0	12 [lower-alpha 2]	0	1 [lower-alpha 3]	0	30	0
	Total		26	0	0	0	13	0	1	0	40	0
Royal Antwerp	2021–22	Belgian Pro League	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
	2022–23	Belgian Pro League	39	0	6	0	5 [lower-alpha 4]	0	0	0	50	0
	Total		42	0	6	0	5	0	0	0	53	0
Eintracht Frankfurt	2023–24	Bundesliga	29	0	3	0	8 [lower-alpha 4]	0	—		40	0
Career total			97	0	9	0	26	0	1	0	133	0

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
4. Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

International

As of match played 24 March 2024

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Ecuador	2023	9	2
	2024	1	0
Total		10	2

List of international goals scored by Willian Pacho

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	28 March 2023	Docklands Stadium, Melbourne, Australia	Australia	2–1	2–1	Friendly
2	20 June 2023	Subaru Park, Chester, United States	Costa Rica	2–0	3–1	Friendly

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 ^[13]

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. "Geen schoonheidsprijs, wel een vierde beker: Antwerp maakt favorietenrol waar tegen KV Mechelen" (in Dutch). Sporza. 30 April 2023.