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Ecuador Team Guide

The pressure is on for Ecuador to maintain the momentum that has been gained following two excellent showings at the World Cups of 2002 and 2006. However, their record at the Copa America ranks amongst one of the worst on the continent having only reached the knock-out stage twice since 1959, both of which times the tournament was played at altitude in Ecuador.

The question of both altitude and attitude has been a key one in the recent rapid development of the national team. Ecuador have improved tremendously and although they still play their home games at high level in Quito their attitude has change to one of winners rather than losers. The number of players who have crossed over into European football has also meant that Ecuadorian players have been exposed to different training methods and ideas.

On the back of qualifying out of Group A in Germany beating Poland and Costa Rica in the process a number of Ecuadorian players made the move to Europe beating a path seldom trod until then by players from Ecuador. This has meant that Ecuadorian players have been exposed to different training methods and ideas. Indeed until recently the only players known to English observers from Ecuador may have been Ivan Kaviedes who had a terrible time of it in London with Crystal Palace and Augustin Delgado who arrived injured at Southampton, stayed injured and left injured! How times have changed � the squad now features players from PSV, Villarreal, Sao Palo and Olympiakos.

However, with the improvement in form comes the weight of expectation and manager Luis Fernando Suarez realises the danger that a poor tournament could have and the potential to put development back. Despite being drawn in the toughest group (along with Brazil, Mexico and Chile) Suarez remains confident the team will perform well in Venezuela.

In Germany Ecuador adopted a straightforward 4-4-2 formation and this no frills approach to the tactics bore dividends as particularly down the Ecuadorian right they caused trouble with attacking full back Ulises de la Cruz (Reading) joining up with Edison Mendez (PSV) to swing in some dangerous crosses for the strikers to feed off.

However, Ecuador will also have to try and find someone to replace their talismanic and all time top-scorer Augustin Delgaldo (despite his poor spell in England he was a decent striker!). The coach may also dabble with a variation of the tactic used in Germany last year trying out a 4-3-2-1 approach giving Edison Mendez the current start of the team more room to express himself from a central position.

In goal Ecuador look likely to start with Cristian Mora famous for painting his face cheeks with the Ecuadorian national flag prior to taking to the pitch. He still plays his trade with top team LDU Quito but is a capable shot stopper as evidenced by two clean sheets against Poland and Costa Rica in Germany. His deputy will be naturalised Ecuadorian Marcelo Elizaga who is originally from Argentina.

In the centre of defence Ecuador may well try out Neicer Reasco who has moved onto Brazilian football with Sao Paulo � he was acquired to replace the departed Lugano (see Uruguay guide) and has settled well into his new surroundings. He is comfortable on the ball as well as being a solid defender. He should be joined by Ivan Hurtado a mainstay in the national team since making his debut in 1993, he now has 137 caps making him one of the most capped players still playing in world football. He has flirted with league football outside of his homeland and has had spells in Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Spain but the majority of his football has been played in Ecuador for Emelec and Barcelona (of Guyaquil not the Spanish team of the same name).

Another option who can also play at left back as well is Giovanny Espinoza of Vitesse Arnhem in Holland where he signed after 10 years of football with LDU Quito. He is strong aggressive central defender and has nearly 100 caps to his name.

If Espinoza does move into the middle his place will be taken be Jorge Guagua a left back currently under contract at Colon in Argentina. He is known for his pace and technical abilities on and off the ball. Right back duties should be allocated to Ulises de la Cruz the only player to be based currently in the Premiership with Reading whom he joined from Aston Villa. A player who loves to get forward from the right back position he can sometimes be caught out of position.

From a defensive viewpoint in the midfield Ecuador will be calling upon Edwin Tenorio usually the first name on the team sheet for both club and country and has taken the captain’s duties at times as well. Another option is Segundo Castillo currently under contract to Serbian champions Red Star Belgrade. Despite nominally occupying a defensive position in the team he weighed in with 8 goals in the championship and is considered a huge success. If Ecuador go for a more solid formation in the middle playing with three central midfielders either Walter Ayovi or Patrucio Urrutia may be selected to start. Both players are under contract to teams in Ecuador.

Ecuador shone in the midfield at the World Cup last season and were particularly eye catching in the wide areas. On the right is Edison Mendez who left Ecuador football on the basis of his form to join PSV at the beginning of the season. He has had a consistent season leading the Dutch league for assists. He has a fine turn of pace and is hard to track. His colleague on the left will be Antonio Valencia who spent the season with Wigan whilst on loan from Villarreal in Spain. Valencia impressed for Wigan and scored on his debut against Manchester City. Wigan, as well as Blackburn, have both been credited with an interest in the young midfielder. He was also rewarded for his fine performance in the World Cup by being named in the FIFA World Cup team of the tournament.

In the striking department Ecuador need to try and replace the retired Augustin Delgado and Ivan Kaviedes. The main responsibility will fall onto the shoulders of Carlos Tenorio a striker currently playing his football in Saudi Arabia with Al-Sadd. He has a striking record of better than one every other game and finished top scorer behind Gabriel Batistuta in 2004. There has been some interest shown in the player from Europe including a host of Premiership clubs; Birmingham, Wigan, West Ham and Sunderland have all been credited with an interest.

As a back-up to Tenorio Ecuador have called up two other European based strikers in the form of Felix Borja at Greek giants Olympiakos and Felipe Caicedo at Basel FC in Switzerland. Borja is outstanding in the air has been nicknamed ‘the kangaroo’ as a result of his excellent spring whilst Caciedo is an excellent prospect having burst onto the scene in the u-17 Championships a few seasons ago. The final option is Cristian Benitez who plays for one of the top teams in Ecuador; El Nacional. He has 32 goals in just under 90 appearances for the club and has been linked with a move to Villarreal (who isn’t from South America?) and Dynamo Moscow.

Ecuador like Argentina have called up their strongest team they will need to show that the balance in the team is still there and they can continue the huge strides the national team has taken in recent years. They will have their work cut out to qualify from the toughest group in the tournament but there is no reason why they can’t take wins off both Mexico and Chile. Along with Uruguay, Ecuador could be interesting outside bets for the tournament.

Key player: Carlos Tenorio will not suffer for a lack of service in the tournament with some of the finest midfielders that Ecuador have ever produced in their team. However, Tenorio will have to replace some big boots in this tournament, at 26, he is reaching his prime and a good tournament here could well propel him into a European team.

Posted by Walter Townsend on Tuesday, 26th June 2007

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