I think better a better defense wins tournaments. Barcelona or Emelec can make a difference by winning the Clasico del Astillero. If theres a tie, then the battle will be even tighter and continue til the end. Whoever slips once is screwed, so that's why i think the team that defends better will make it through and win the Primera Etapa. Independiente was on top for the longest time and have done well in the campeonato. Liga de Loja has just improved a lot recently due to Franklin Salas having really great games. But i think when it comes to winning campeonatos, teams like Independiente and Loja don't have the experience and don't know how to hold on to their spot. Best example of that was in last nights game Independiente vs. Barcelona. As far as Liga, we lost our chances completely to win this Primera Etapa. We are just fighting for a spot in the Sudamericana (3rd spot at best IMO), if that. So the real battle is between Emelec, a team whos almost always won the Primera Etapa in the last 2 or 3 years, and Barcelona, a team that has came a long a way through Zubeldia's development process and is finally a real candidate to win the campeonato. It's Barcelona or Emelec IMO.
The next game each team has is going to be crucial. Emelec-Barcelona at Capwell is going to be killer. A tie is not an option for either team. Independiente has a very winnable game playing against Macara, while Liga de Loja visits Manta, not an easy game for them. I agree that young teams like Independiente and Loja have odds stacked up against them in order for them to finish first, but they are not to be taken lightly. I think its gonna be Emelec and Barcelona fighting for the first two spots, followed by Independiente, Loja, LDU, and even Cuenca for third place.
yeah and we're gonna be giving the boot to certain players who don't play their heart out on the field anymore. Bauza gotta slowly bring in the juveniles into the first team. Screw playing with all these old guys if they are not gonna do any good for us.
That is what I like about Liga. They provide everything the players need so they don't have any excuse if they don't produce. If they don't produce like right now they will take charge of the situation and make changes. The management of Liga is simply awesome in my opinion and even if they make mistakes they fix it. I’m glad to hear they will clean the house because it’s time to use your youth and bring them up like other Ecuadorian teams.
Besides Bolanos (surprise surprise), who else is giving problems on the team? Chucho has to go if he's creating this much of a mess. And after all we did for him to bring him back to Ecuador. Like I said last year, he is a guy that has a "too cool for school" attitude. He was nice enough to give me access to him, but in general he is too guarded, uncommunicative, and has terrible time management. From an article I read, Paz only called out De La Cruz and Dominguez for being hard workers and examples the team can follow.
the other guys that are giving problems are Edison Mendez and Angel Cheme. And a mysterious 4th person who I have no idea about. I think it might be Manso, but im not sure. I don't know about you guys, but I've been hearing Manso and Mendez don't get along with each other. I don't know what the deal is with Cheme and Bolanos. We give them both a chance and they screw us over. It won't bother me at all anymore if both of them leave. And honestly, I think Manso should leave too. He hasn't done sh*t since he's been there and he's like 32 or 33 right now. Out with Manso PLEASE!! I hope Rodrigo Paz goes along with what he said. He's gotta get rid of all these people causing problems. I feel bad only for Mendez now. I got mad love for Mendez just like I do for Joffre Guerron (no matter what people say about them having big egos) b/c i know they both got love for Liga as well. I think Mendez should stay, but if he wants to earn his spot he's gonna have to work for it. Bauza can't just give it to him, it's not 2009. But anyone else causing problems- GTFO.
Mendez too? That's surprising. I've always known him to be an upstanding professional. Yeah he has an ego, but it's more of a cockiness because he knows his value to the teams he's on. Anyway, I really hope it's not him. The dude has enough quality and brains to propel the team...once a purge has taken out the bad eggs.
we beat Tecnico....goals from Cebollitas Jr. and Bieler, right? Does this signify a turning of the page for Liga? Can we expect better futbol soon? God, I hope so....
well, I saw a better Liga yesterday when we're talking about advancing up the field, passing, and creating danger. We played nicely and improved. BUT, I don't think Liga can play well defensively with that 4-4-2 that Bauza wants to play with. Norberto Araujo and Elvis Bone were the weakest links yesterday and screwed over Dominguez multiple times. Left huge gaps between themselves for an easy counter attack. Tenico U. is one of the weakest teams of the campeonato and managed to create danger a few times. One of them ended up being a goal and there were 2 or 3 similar situations EXACTLY the same which luckily they missed. I don't know if it's gonna take time to adjust or what the deal is. IMO Norberto and Diego Calderon are too accustomed to playing with 3 center backs. Reasco can adapt to a 4-4-2 but Bone sucks in any type of formation. We'll have to see how Ezequiel Luna turns out. One things i gotta say is Cevallos Jr. should always start. I get so pissed when Bauza starts Sandro Rojas over him. No way that makes sense. Cevallos plays as a center mid and does a really good job, but im starting to think he should be a center forward. That kid has scored EVERY goal with his head. I can imagine him in a few years in the NT scoring like Tin Delgado. He's something else.
hate to say it this way, but im SO glad Manso has left. We didn't need him. and I'm glad Bauza finally gave Alexander Pabon some playing time this past weekend. I wanna see the younger generation on the field slowly but surely. Joao Plata is most likely returning to Liga for the segunda etapa. Now we have two open slots for 2 good extranjeros. About time we made changes. We should have picked up Jefferson Hurtado and let go of Elvis Bone while we were at it too. And Bieler seems like hes staying which is a good thing.
It would be so awesome if we get Juan Manuel Salgueiro to come back to Liga. He was an awesome player that Liga should have kept at all costs 2 years ago instead of spending all that money on that piece of sh*t Luna who somehow ended up being one of the top goal scorers in the Argentine league. Hopefully this kid Echeverria is good and I also hope Plata is ready to play some good futbol.
Players that are signed are expected to perform no matter the scenario...and expectations are high at Liga. We'll need each signing to do their part, but we need our established players to take it to a new level, too.
I really liked that kid I saw play last week- Cristian Hurtado. I want to see more of him and i think Bauza is starting him and Cevallos Jr. this upcoming game for the Segunda Etapa. And hopefully Galo Corozo does a good job too I've been wanting to see him get a few minutes. When Richard Mercado fully recovers from his injury i hope we can see him. And that kid Gutierrez will be able to play soon as well when ever his suspension is over. I'm glad we are starting to see some new faces in Liga. It feels refreshing and what all us fans have been asking for even if we gotta suffer seeing our team lose, but these young guys gotta slowly break into the first team and learn what playing for Liga is all about.
hey guys I hope you don't mind me posting here. I really don't know too much about Ecuadorian football. However, I'm going to Ecuador for a couple of weeks and will be in Quito arriving late night July 24th. I always try and catch a footy match when I'm travelling, and I realized there's a game on Weds the 25th - Deportivo Quito v LDU Quito. I'm assuming this should be a pretty good game to attend as it's a derby if I'm not mistaken. Anyone know where / what time the game will be played - @ Estadio Olimpico Atajualpa? And anyone know where I can get tickets in town before the game kicks off? I went to see Flamengo & Boca last year, but getting tickets was quite a pain I remember. Cheers!
Mendez is out for a few months now. Achilles tendon injury. He'll probably be out for the remainder of the season or at least most of it and I'm sadly gonna say that's probably his "good-bye" to the NT. Right when he was improving and playing better. 1 player down for the NT as of now. And if Rueda were smart, he would already have his replacement in mind. Besides that, good game between us and Barcelona. 10 men on the field made it hard to win that game, but it's no excuse. Barcelona has lots of depth in their squad with quality to choose from. Our defense was weak- I feel like Ezequiel Luna screws us over EVERY time he moves up because he doesn't return back on time when we lose possession. It's a line of 3 center backs, i dont know wtf he's doing moving up. He pisses me off!! And Echeverria is an idiot. We gotta step it up. We were lucky Bieler was inspired today and netted the opportunities he had.
You missed the best game we've played this year and probably one of the best Liga-Barcelona games i've seen in a long ass time.
Damn!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope I can find someone that recorded it...Bieler had some serious golazos. Rueda, take note!
I'm not for nationalized players to join the NT, but since Benitez isn't playing against Bolivia and Jaime could possibly be out of Rueda's radar as well as Felipe Caicedo (who always is), I'd say screw it and go for Bieler and even Narciso. We're slackin. Rueda could easily put his stupid standards aside and call up Caicedo and Yoya and we'd be set.
That was a big win vs. El Nacional the other day, and the guys that need to start stepping up seem to be doing so. These weeks will be crucial for the team to train together and find that cohesion that we've only had for spurts throughout this season. There's still a lot of futbol to be played, but in all sincerity, we need more consistency!
Guys, Esteban and Rodrigo Paz will soon be leaving Liga. They're resigning their positions. I don't even know how to express how thankful I am with the Paz. It's the end of an era, but I'll always remember them and their efforts to place my team between the best of the continent and even the world. An example for all dirigencias in Ecuador. Too many memorable moments. \U/ VA POR TI ECUADOR \U/