Quite frankly I think this would be our best option, we practically have no OFFENSE through the middle. I think this was proven in the vs Chile game where we scored our Goal THROUGH the MIDDLE, when Valencia practically outran Chile's midfield and gave a superb pass to Caicedo who netted it in. IMO we need either Sornoza or Colon for that 4-2-3-1 formation. It's worth a try, we still have time to test this out!
I thought Arroyo was perfect for this role. Is he that undisciplined that he doesn't deserve another chance at the NT, even though he did great when he got a chance?
Against Argentina we showed that we can compete with the best and today against Honduras we were pretty much experimenting!
What are the chances of Ecuador playing 1 European, 1 Asian, 1 African or 1 Concacaf team in the first round of the WC ? This probably would be an ideal draw for us: Belgium, Iran, Honduras, Ecuador This would not be: Germany, Nigeria, Croatia, Ecuador World Cup 2014 - 32 Qualified Teams: Algeria, Argentina Australia Belgium Bosnia Brazil Cameroon Chile Colombia Costa Rica Croatia Ecuador England France Germany Ghana Greece Honduras Iran Italy Ivory Coast Japan Mexico Netherlands Nigeria Portugal Russia S Korea Spain Switzerland Uruguay USA
I just did a simulator of the draw using current FIFA Rankings and this is the group....we could win this one!! http://espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/1624463/world-cup-2014-draw-simulator?cc=5901 Belgium Greece South Korea Ecuador
Tried again - we could get 2nd place easy on this one. Spain Greece Ecuador Australia Here's a few other tries - I think we have a good shot in most scenarios unless Italy is in the group. I guess Italy is not a seed so whatever group they end up in will be difficult with them and a seeded team. Spain Costa Rica Ecuador Greece Germany Ecuador Australia Greece Spain Japan Italy Ecuador Spain Italy Honduras Ecuador Spain Ecuador Russia United States Belgium Ecuador Costa Rica Bosnia-Herzegovina Germany Ecuador Honduras Italy Germany Ecuador Costa Rica Russia
My biggest fear at this point is a group that pits US against Ecuador. lol. That being said, I hope those pots stay the way they are so that Ecuador won't have to face any African teams. I can't remember the last time they played a team from CAF.
I'm wondering if we will find a goleador en la liga scoring goals just for fun to make it into the WC squad
Ecuador will not face any African teams in the first round according to the way the teams are seeded and they will not face Russia either as they are seeded in the same pot, or France for that matter.
I ahve the biggst feeling we're going to be drawn with those damn Germans and if we are, lets pray that the Netherlands or Italy aren't drawn in with us too!Btw I love Germany I mean damn Germans with the utmost respect lol
No use in stressing it now!!! We just have to (im)patiently wait for the draw...I hate the stress, but damn...No other recourse. We'll be well prepared for the WC, but the goleador is needed ASAP. Yoya keeps missing. Not cool, lol.
Im hoping for us to find a forward or some offensive alternative by then because honestly, I'm tired of people underestimating Ecuador and saying that we're the weakest of all the CONMEBOl teams that qualified and that we're not going to get out of our group. You should read fifa.com , there isn't even one comment on any article about the World CCup where some moron doesn't say that Ecuador only qualified because of altitude and that we're minnows and that we won't make it out of our group, someone even said that we fluked our way out of our group in 2006! These are the type of pricks that the national team needs to prove wrong, especially considerin that the ones saying these things are bandwagoners who's national teams never made it to the cup/....
Right now we are the weakest from CONMEBOL. The sad truth is that since we were ranked #10 in the world, then we lost to Germany and Chucho died, our form has been very bad. We wouldn't have qualified if we had been at this level over the past 3 years. That said I wouldn't pay attention to internet comments from a bunch of jokers. 3 times out of past 4 World Cups makes us a serious football country. And our record at World Cups is not bad, we've been very competitive. Other than the major powers, I can't see any teams taking us lightly.
LEts just hope we prove these morons wrong especially the English fans which always seem to be bandwagoner fans from random countries who always seem to boost up the English team even though they haven't done anything. I seriously hope we play them in our group and if we do that we could defeat them in revenge of 2006, I honestly saw some clips of the last few qualifiers and its not that our teams absolutely garbage, I saw some jugadas that they made in the Bolivia game that left me breathless like how the ******** did we not score??\i see those games and it makes me think we aren't as bad as we make our team out to be, I think what happened in 2013 is the equivalent of what happened to Chile in 2012 but to a lesser extent(they lost 6 straight games), but we need to get back up. I think that we can be at the level of CHile on a great day if we just tweak a few errors we make during games. We have to stop thinking everyone is superior to us, that mentality is bullshit and only puts us lagging behind.
I've been trying to get that point across lately. Ecuador's 2013 form wasn't as good as the previous 2 years where we went from good to great, but if we look bad we still didn't suck. We just look at it that way because lots of players form declined which in turn affected our team as a whole. Then we had a death happen to one of our most important players that made a difference in our NT. What did you guys expect? I want to know what would happen to Chile right now if Alexis just passed away. Or to Argentina is Messi passed or to Colombia if they didn't have Falcao? Of course it's going to affect the team. It's very dumb to think otherwise and expect our form to be superior to what it was 2012. If you see Paredes (early-mid 2012), Erazo, Achilier, Saritama, Valencia (early to mid 2013), Felipe (the 2nd half of the yr), and Campos (injured), etc. etc. then what do you expect at NT level? Right now lots of these players are brushing the dust off their shoulders and getting back in form....Thank God! So the mala racha they were having will all soon be done. IMO, it's almost coming to it's end and 2014 they'll be completely performing at the level we expect from them. I'll say this again- the only issue this NT has is finding someone to pair up with Felipe. Someone who can bring him to life when he seems out the picture and help him participate in our plays. The closest we are getting to that is Ener Valencia. Right now we can't just wait for the next goleador of our campeonato to rise and play a WC....not gonna happen. No one is going to play an inexperienced noob up front to play a WC. So we gotta work with what we have and make it productive and effective. I disagree with those who say we are the worst NT in the CONMEBOL that qualified. Defensively Colombia and Argentina barely surpassed us as far as Goals Against us. I think it was by 2. Now if you want to talk about who scored the least, it was Ecuador but that doesn't mean we are the worst overall. We still were able to seal the deal and get the points even if it' was by a 1 goal difference. It's nice to score a lot, but we'll have to find our way towards that goal. It's not easy to start knocking goals in when Felipe isn't in his top form in Russia and his partner for years on the NT is suddenly gone.
It still hruts alot to think that CHucho made his debut as a sub in the 2006 Fifa World Cup but had he not passed away he would have been a starter in Brasil, it hruts to think that a man's dream was never accomplished due to a stupid untimely death, so sad.
I used the WC draw simulator from a previous post and got this as a group. It'd be cool to see possible scenarios and analyze them since the draw is less than a week away. I can honestly see us getting first place in this group. We could match up physically with England and we might even be a faster team. One crucial advantage they'd have is the fact that they can score, we can't. Japan might be fast but we are more physical. I honestly feel bad for the Japanese player who has to defend Valencia or Felipao in this scenario. Switzerland I haven't really seen so I won't say anything but I guess they are a potential team to scout since we could face them. One thing I like about this 2014 squad is the different mentality from any of the previous teams. These are players that remain really humble but at the same time show confidence. I think Montero's attitude is needed in a world cup if you wanna show Europe you are for real. People can criticize his finishing, and rightfully so, but I can send you guys a youtube link where he destroyed Marcelo from Real Madrid. Erazo is the same. Everyone criticizes him for his errors against Chile and other recent mistakes but let's face it he has to cover for Guagua a lot. Guagua has played good but his lack of speed is a liability on defense (the second goal by Honduras comes to mind). With Guagua and Achilier, all we can say is we have 2 reliable center backs off the bench just in case. Campos needed this call up to be with the group again because we know he will start in Brazil. I'm also really happy for Paredes too because he finally got out of that slump. This guy can improve his defending a lot if he can somehow make it to Europe after this world cup. Valencia as a captain will push these players. It must be inspiring for them to see their captain go all out for 90+ minutes. Dude gives it his all for the NT, can't say that about many stars from other countries.
Well, from all the rumors about transfers and Ecuadorian team being broke. Many of our NT starters will definitely be playing outside of Ecuador. Paredes, Erazo, and Campos will definitely be sold after this season. Barcelona cannot afford them at all. Caicedo is pretty fed up with his team and wants to transfer. I'm just wondering if he'll be able to. He is pretty expensive. I don't think he'll be sold less than $10 million. I don't think teams want to buy him for that much either. Still, the best thing for him is to move back to Europe. Any team there that will allow him to be the starter. Naboa is also mentioned to be leaving his team. Not sure this is true though but we'll see. He is doing good though. Montero will definitely be sold! Dude was a monster today and literally saved his team single handed. If his team manages to win the Mexican league it will be HUGE! Too bad though they his team SUCKS! It was painful watching his team play. What an ugly style of soccer. Montero has to pretty much play by himself. Anyway, the point is that in 2014 Ecuadorian players that are in the NT will see a lot of change. Let's just hope they all go to good teams and good leagues. Where they can improve and start for their teams.
Campos I think is staying in BSC til June. Same goes for Erazo. The only move either one of them will make is to Mexico if they are to move in December. And Erazo's transfer would be more likely then Campos. Campos is almost definitely staying until June. Paredes I haven't heard much about. I doubt he goes to Europe though. His season overall wasn't anywhere near spectacular enough to attract any European team. If anything he might get a shot in mexico either after December or in June. Arroyo is out of BSC for sure though. Tijuana and Pumas (might be wrong about Pumas) are the two teams that have shown interest in him and Atlante still has the rights to his transfer. Noboa I doubt ever moves from Russia. He's having one hell of a season right now. And on top of that is one of the best performers lately on the NT along with Valencia. Especially in the last few games, he's been impeccable and seems to be in one of the best moments of his career...possibly his best. a few scouts from Pachuca were just at the Independiente vs. Emelec game and they have serious interest in Ener Valencia and another players from D.Quito whose name was not mentioned (but i'm almost positive that other player is Federico Nieto).
Our prayers have been answered. Here's our attacking trident. lol http://www.futbolecuador.com/stories/publica/40124
Quite frankly, I have lost hope on our players going to Europe, I cant quite put my finger on what's the problem, perhaps Europeans refuse to dish out money considering that our players don't have a lot of credibility due to a few flops. Erazo has the qualities, experience but as much as I like him, he is inconsistent, the mistakes he makes (oftenly) cannot be overlooked. Campos? I doubt anyones interested. Paredez? Considering the way he played with BSC all of 2013 it's a surprise Bryan de Latorre didnt take his spot. Enner Valencia? I think Mexico is a good option for him, the last thing he (and us) wants is to go to Europe and warm bench for a few weeks with the World Cup coming up. Jose Ayovi? Hes been linked to Mexico for a year now, I'm sure he'll be there this winter, played a hell of a match today. I do hope Penilla does go to Europe, hes young, got time to invest, he could afford to be benched a season even just getting minutes here and there but getting that experience.
Talking about Emelec vs Ind. del Valle game... Anyone see it?! What a game! One of the best I've seen this year in Ecuadorian league. Really talented players in both teams. I wonder if both teams will take big losses next year. I think both teams are financially stable. Right?
Ecua agents aren't always the sharpest tools in the shed. Having met a few, I don't see them as worldly men or as anything remotely near to culturally savy enough to manage the European cultures and westernized businesses practices.