Ricardo Andrés Caraballo Florez (born 9 February 2004) is a Colombian

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who currently plays as a

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for

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; , ), is a List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and the largest city in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, and the country's second largest city after Riyadh, located ...

, on loan from

Al-Ittihad Al-Ittihad may refer to: Sports Football Men Teams * Al-Ittihad Club (Jeddah), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia * Al Ittihad SCSC (Tripoli), Tripoli, Libya * Al Ittihad Gheryan, Gharyan, Libya * Al Ittihad Misurata SC, Misurata, Libya * Al Ittihad SC ...

Club career

Born in Soledad in the

Metropolitan area of Barranquilla The Barranquilla metropolitan area () is a metropolitan area in Atlántico, Colombia, centered on the city of Barranquilla. The city of Barranquilla serves as a major trade center for Colombia, housing the largest port in the country. With an es ...

, Caraballo began his career with local side Club Deportivo Cambiando Vidas, where his performances earned him a call-up to the

Atlántico Department Atlántico (, ) is a Departments of Colombia, department of Colombia, located in northern Colombia with the Caribbean Sea to its north, the Bolívar Department to its west and south separated by the Canal del Dique, and the Magdalena Department ...

's representative team, as well as the Colombian under-15 side. Following good performances at the

2019 South American U-15 Championship The 2019 South American Under-15 Football Championship was the 9th edition of the South American Under-15 Football Championship, the biennial international youth football championship organised by the CONMEBOL for the men's under-15 national teams ...

, at which he finished top scorer with seven goals, he attracted offers from teams in Brazil, but would remain in his native Colombia with the academy of

Barranquilla Barranquilla () is the capital district of the Atlántico department in Colombia. It is located near the Caribbean Sea and is the largest city and third port in the Caribbean region of Colombia, Caribbean coast region; as of 2018, it had a popul ...

, whom he had joined the year prior. Throughout his progression in the Barranquilla academy, he was consistently their top scorer in competitions. On 17 September 2020, he marked his debut for Barranquilla with a goal; having come on as a half-time substitute for José Martínez, he needed only two minutes to score his first professional goal, scoring with a half-volley shot. On 8 September 2024, Caraballo signed to Al Ittihad, and was loaned to

International career

Having represented Colombia at under-15 and under-17 levels, Caraballo began to establish himself in the under-20 squad in 2022, scoring twice in six appearances in friendlies. He was called up for the

2023 South American U-20 Championship The 2023 South American U-20 Championship was the 30th edition of the South American U-20 Championship (, ), the biennial international youth football championship organised by CONMEBOL for the men's under-20 national teams of South America. It wa ...

, but in Colombia's third game, a 1–1 draw with

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, he was heavily criticised by fans and media alike for his performance, in which he missed an open goal. Following the criticism, his former coach at Atlántico, as well as the assistant coach of Colombia's under-15s, came to his defence, with the president of Barranquilla, Ernesto Herrera, stated that he would have the full support of the club. Caraballo's performances, however, did not significantly improve, and he was singled out again by fans for his performances in the matches against

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

. He had started in each game, as well as Colombia's first match, a 1–1 draw with

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

, but had been substituted off in each one. Following the tournament, having scored no goals in six games, Caraballo revealed that he visited a psychologist to help him deal with the criticism and abuse.

Career statistics

Club

;Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caraballo, Ricardo 2004 births Living people Footballers from Barranquilla Colombian men's footballers Colombia men's youth international footballers 21st-century Colombian sportsmen Men's association football forwards Categoría Primera B players Saudi First Division League players Barranquilla F.C. footballers Al-Ittihad Club (Jeddah) players Jeddah Club players Footballers at the 2023 Pan American Games Colombian expatriate men's footballers Colombian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia