Ecuador vs Uruguay 11 de Octubre 2013, 17:00, Eliminatorias.

Overall a decent call up. Don't really like Alex Bolanos but our options are limited, if not non-existent. Glad to see Sornoza on the list, the kid will be leaving Ecuador pretty soon I'm afraid. And while I'm not the biggest fan of Martinez...he's been doing really well playing for Tijuana so he deserves a look.

To be honest...I don't see us beating Uruguay. We haven't been playing all that well as of late while Uruguay has been playing their best futbol recently. They have the momentum coming into the game. I would love to see us pull out a win but unfortunately Rueda's will look to play it safe and go for the tie. That never ends well...

 

I like the call up. Specially the two new players that are replacing Mina and Guerron. They are way better.

As I said in the other thread. The defense is terrible though. 2nd worse group of defenders on paper in S.A.... Only ahead of Bolivia. They will most likely owned... Badly.

I hope Martinez and Sornoza actually play.

 

good line up...but i'd swap Achilier for Erazo. It's tough to say if we should start w/ Mendez or end with him in the line up. I'm sure if he starts, Rueda won't have him in there 90 minutes. 60-70 mins tops is what mendez would play if he starts IMO. Then he'd come out for someone else. If things get complicated Rueda will have either Castillo or Noboa come out and throw Valencia in the middle and place Ibarra in the game on the right wing. If Fidel were to play up front with Caicedo I wonder if he'd go left or if Caicedo would go left....let's remember they're both left footed players. Fidel doesn't really manage his right as well as his left just like Caicedo. So hopefully that doesn't turn into an issue for either one of them.

We haven't played anything other than a classic 4-4-2 at home. But, we do have the players to adapt to other systems which I'm sure (or at least i hope) Rueda is aware of. With a 4-4-2 we have the option of playing Fidel, Sornoza, or Yoya up front w/ Caicedo. The first two options being the most ideal. Assuming Rueda doesn't try out Rojas again...fingers crossed. If I'm reading everything correctly Rojas should be Montero's sub and Ibarra should be Antonio's. So a surprise up front could happen this time w/ Fidel or Sornoza being Caicedo's partner assuming a 4-4-2 is played.

i'm remaining w/ either one of the two ideas i gave out yesterday

with a 4-2-3-1:

Dominguez; paredes, Guagua, Erazo, Ayovi; Castillo(Valencia), Noboa; Valencia(Ibarra), Mendez (Sornoza), Montero; Caicedo

Mendez or Sornoza playing behind Felipe.

4-4-2
Dominguez; Paredes, Guagua, Erazo, Ayovi; Valencia, Noboa, Castillo, Montero; Martinez (Sornoza), Caicedo


something tells me these are the types of games where Mendez needs to be present. I couldn't say when, but he has to be on the field at some point whether it's to close a game, hold a winning result, or guide us to score the winner. But that leader has to be there. It's up to Rueda to decide when he will be most effective.

 

I agree with sticking to a 442... since we've traditionally always playeed 4-4-2 at home vs Uruguay. Fidel or Sornoza are good options to fill Chucho's spot. Another alternative could be to use montero and use ibarra at the wing. also another alternative is to put Mendez there but he should either play the entire first or second half, not the full game. It's going to be a tough game. We just have to have everyone on the ball and playing intelligently. I think the times we've done well vs Uruguay is usually by individual effort. Aguinaga, Kaviedes type of players.

 

My starting line up vs Uruguay:

---------------------------------------------Dominguez-------------------------------------------
Paredez--------------------Guagua-----------------------Erazo-------------------Walter----
--Valencia--------------------Noboa----------------------Castillo-------------------Ibarra
----------------------------------------Mendez-----------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------Montero------------------------------------------

Sornoza or Fidel in for Mendez 2nd half if we're at zero

 

looks like a similar style of line up like we played in Barranquilla. These type of line ups can be very aggressive and give us the sense that the goal "ya mismo viene" and then it never comes. For an away game this would be ideal, especially against opponents like Colombia. But against Uruguay in Quito I think it would make Uruguay bunch their guys in the back making it impossible for us to penetrate their defense. That can easily cancel out Montero and make him go ghost, especially since he doesn't have the qualities or instincts of a #9 that can appear at any given moment in complicated scenarios like that. If only Montero was a guaranteed goal threat as a striker....then it would be a different story. Besides that the other 10 players look perfectly in place to me. Let's hope Felipe comes in ready for this. I don't know what's going to have to happen for Felipe to heal from his injury....it's really holding him back since around April and he hasn't been able to recover properly.

 

that's exactly why I have that feeling that Mendez needs to be in this game at some point. whenever it is most crucial so he can make that big impact. If things go right and he plays like we all think he will, he'll play an important role in this game.

 

I get what you're saying about Uruguay bunching up. I hate when that happens, it makes us look like we're playing messy when in reality it's us bunching up with them.

We definitely need players who can penetrate.Which in this case a line up like this may look better: Mendez can create free kicks for Walter. Fidel playing to the right and behind using his left foot to pass Caicedo the ball. We need to get the free kick calls.

---------------------------------------------Dominguez-------------------------------------------
Paredez--------------------Guagua-----------------------Erazo-------------------Walter----
--Valencia--------------------Noboa----------------------Mendez -------------------Montero
----------------------------------------------------------------v---------------------------
--------------------------------------------Fidel & Caicedo-------------------------------------------

subbing in Sornoza for Mendez if needed.

 

Look at videos Ecuador vs Uruguay. Everybody will be defending. What we need is to score.

 

Thank god they didn't call Mina. He missed two clear chances. Lol funniest shit I've ever seen.

 

This is my favorite lineup personally. I agree that if Castillo plays they will have the middle wide open, because their players are way too fast. Castillo is terrible against fast players that can just dribble the ball around him. He is great against normal/slow players though.

I also agree too that Mendez should play and subbed in or out at one point. I really hope that the sub to replace him will be Sornoza. That kid can play and he is quick too. I'm very exited to watch this lineup play honestly. I think we can finally net some goals.

 

So far the line ups that Rueda has used do not work and the best we do is tie...Even if we have to play a repechaje, we urgently need a change in the line up. Maybe Junior Sornoza and Fidel Martinez can provide us with speed and the goals we need to win. I say let's just play them vs Uruguay.

 

I'm really anxious to see what Fidel and Sornoza can do in this game. Because if they can perform at top level in this type of scenario, they got their ticket into the NT for sure. I said this before- we've seen fidel perform at his best when he's had pressure (winning the championship w/ Ecuador for the Panamericanos, winning the campeonato in the final of 2011 for D. Quito where he scored, winning the campeonato w/ Tijuana for the first time in history w/ him scoring in the most decisive matches at the end and if im not mistaken it was in the semi-final where he came out the bench and made an impact in the last 3 games of the tournament, going to Quarter finals w/ Tijuana and losing to none other than the champs- atletico mineiro (honestly tijuana deserved to go through to the next round IMO), and standing out in the Libertadores of 2012 w/ D. Quito and being one of the most exciting players of the tournament even though he was only around until Octavos. If there's one kid who has played under pressure a lot, it's Fidel.

Sornoza on the other hand doesn't have that experience, but right now he's in his best moment. After this season it will be very complicated to see Sornoza remain in the ecuadorian league. Only a load of money from one of the Astillero teams would make him stay (especially since he's a fan of BSC), but even that seems distant right now. This was the season where Sornoza bloomed, but he's still got a way to go.

with Fidel we gain an intelligent player w/ great ball control who tricks the opponent a lot. Not so strong and not a fast sprinter, but he's clever. Fidel is unpredictable which is good. he'll break into the box either from the left or right and causes a lot of distraction. I have a feeling that he can open up lots of more space for Montero and Valencia since he'll be linking up w/ them a lot. The opponent won't know who to cover. On top of that Fidel reads plays really well. He'll show up in the box out of no where and has great heading and finishing in general. With Sornoza it's a bit different. The kid is something special. He may not have the physical attributes that Chucho had but he's technically gifted and at his age he plays more intelligently than what Benitez did at 19. He's quick, has great dribbling, really great free kick, confidence when shooting penalties, a rocket in his right foot, and he scores a lot even though he's not a #9. He's really unique for the position he plays compared to the rest of our guys. And most of all, he plays where we most need someone to cause danger....right behind Caicedo andhe can bring the ball up through the middle. This kid has a lot to offer. But it's more about how he can handle the pressure right now if he even gets the chance to play.



typical sornoza type of goal

 

How worried should we be that Luis Checha is gonig to replace Gabriel Achilier in the line up? I can't remember the last game I saw him play or if he was even any good. Let's hope that if he starts he's on his top notch level because we can't afford to leave spaces when Uruguay is running around with the ball. I saw last qualifier we played in Quito versus Uruguay and to be honest I noticed Ecuador left too many spaces on the field, he let Uruguay run circles around them in the midfield and that lead to the tying goal right after Ecuador's goal. We cannot afford to let this happen! That defense has to be impenetrable. Who would you say are the worst defenders and why at the moment? It would be nice to see a great defensive job with coutnerattcking to balance it! This is key to us winning this match! Tire out the opponent and then take advantage of the spaces they leave because more than likely they will leave spaces. The problem is can we take advantage of the spaces left? Now that's what really worries me.

 

Ball possession is also part of defense. Fidel and Mendez have defensive skills.
If they can connect during the game they will do damage.

Fidel:


Mendez:

 

I'll say it again. We need to score goals. Our defense is not that bad. Besides I know everyone on our NT will be defending. Checa is a good replacement. I hope he starts instead of Guagua. Achilier is hurt so I doubt he'll start.

 

We've made el Olimpico Atahualpa our fortress these qualifiers and we can't make them forget about this! I saw some of Fidel Martinez is plays in Tijuana and Deportivo Quito, the guy has great possession and as soon as he finds space, which I think more than likely he will at times he could be very lethal in scoring. Many of the plays I saw of Martinez he acted on long balls and one on ones with the goalkeeper and he reacted very well scoring them. This guy seems like the real deal especially in a pair up with Caicedo. Also, Junior Sornoza seems like another good option that we can use offensively, I hope I don't haveto bite my tongue on this but these guys seem to have all the attributes that we're looking for in offense . If anything our offensive options seem better than the ones we had in 2009 at this stage of the qualifiers. If you guys recall we were using Michael JAckson QUinonez as a last resort in offense because we had no other forwards to pair with Benitez. And very true as long as we score, defense isn;t really an issue, we're not all too bad, shaky at times but definitely manageable if we're controlling the game offensively. Also, would you say altitude could play in a bad role against Uruguay? Apparently they arrive to Quito on Wednesday and will start practicing that evening, what do you all think of this? As many of you guys have seen, I have been a harsh critic of some of the weird referee calls that we've had when playing Uruguay, however I don't accept that a strong team they are and very talented players they have.

 

I can't lie I shed a tear as soon as I saw Benitez in that play versus Peru, we were harsh critics of him but we're only human right? I think deep down we all knew that without him we were a wreck, our team needs him now more than ever . R.I.P

 

Anyone else as exited as I am for these coming matches? I don't know why, but with addition of Martinez and Sornoza, they bring some badly needed fresh air into the team.

I've been wanting to see Martinez in the NT for a while and I think he will be awesome. Both Martinez and Sornoza bring a swagger and attitude that is very different than what we have had. They add a unique personality to the squad. The don't seem shy, scared, or afraid of the "big" games (usually Ecuadorian players crumble when it matters most). Specially Martinez, that dude thrives in big games and has lots of confidence when he plays. He always shows up at the right time to score and isn't afraid when he is one on one against a goal keeper. We need that kind of swagger and that luck that seems we have been missing since Chucho left us.

I say bring it on Uruguyans. It's gonna be a fun game to watch!