Independiente is making some really great moves. Their managers and owners are definitely in it for the long haul. Their inferiores are solid, they also add education besides futbol, and their relationship with Tottenham will pay off as the years progress. Good for them. This is another successful model for Ecuadorian clubs to emulate.
Great game between Independiente and El Nacional that just finished right now. Holy shit I cannot believe Independiente is 2 games away from possibly winning the Primera Etapa and playing in the final of a campeonato. If they continue developing players like that they are going to win a campeonato some time in the near future. That kid Fernando Leon is one of the most consistent defenders i've seen this season. Same with Cristian Ramirez. And Mario Pineida could have easily won the MVP of the game if he didn't get the red card at the end of the game. One of the closest campeonatos i've seen. Any of the top 4 teams could take it. Emelec has the easiest schedule out of the top 4 teams.
Probably one of thest Etapas we've seen in a while, Independiente has been phenomenal even after losing their main striker (Angulo) Barcelona again shows inconsistency, Liga de Loja proves that Paul Velez is the best Ecuadorian coach at the moment, Fleitas shows lack of experience and without Pedro Quinonez Emelec is very vulnerable, Liga to me was the disappointment of the year, considering that they had no International participation, I for expected them to take the league by storm. overall, good campeonato.
I don't think it was the best campeonato. Remember, at the beginning of the year everyone put money on the top 5 teams- Liga, Emelec, Barcelona, Deportivo Quito, and even El Nacional. Out of those 5 teams, not a single one of them is the leader and only 2 of them (barcelona and emelec) have possibilities to win the Primera Etapa. Fleitas started off really well with Emelec, but just like Deportivo Quito, those teams seem like they went downhill after their participations in Copa Libertadores where they were at their peak. Seems like they lost their motivation or something. I see both teams probably picking themselves up in the Segunda Etapa and if things go in the right path, I think El Nacional will be sick and should be putting up a good fight in the second half of the year. Independiente and Loja are the surprises of the campeonato. Paul Velez is a good coach, can't deny that. And honestly, I shouldn't even say it's a surprise that Independiente is 1st right now. They've been working extremely well with their canteras- better than Emelec and El nacional who IMO have always been the best at it. That hard work, patience, and investment in their youth is paying off. Emelec screwed up this past weekend losing to Manta at home. They had the easiest schedule out of the top 4 teams (@ home vs. Manta, Olmedo, and away vs. Macara). But I think Barcelona is going to win the Etapa. They are playing Tecnico Universitario @ home, which should be an easy win in theory. And away vs. Cuenca who is that one team in the campeonato that SUCKS playing at home and is the best visiting team. And this coming weekend, Cuenca plays away vs. none other than Independiente. Barcelona is now the team with the easiest schedule and has everything in their favor to finally be in a campeonato final after so many years.
i feel like i wrote something about that at the very beginning of the campeonato in one of these threads. maybe it was this one, who knows. That stadium does get pretty filled up though. It's quite surprising that they surpassed Emelec, but i definitely expected them to be one of the top 5 teams that fills up stadiums. good for Liga de Loja. I'm waiting for this Copa Sudamericana to see how they perform, especially players like Carlos Feraud and Johnny Uchuari.
Michael Arroyo is officially in Barcelona for the next year. And i think the peruvian Renzo Revoredo got signed as well.
It has been a bad year for Liga, D. Quito and El Nacional, Emelec has had ups and downs so Barcelona, Liga de Loja and Independiente have been the better teams so far. Second Round just started and things dont look too different, Barcelona was the most enforced team by bringing Ferreyra, Arroyo and Revoredo. Barcelona, Emelec, Liga de Loja and Dep. Quito will have to battle two tournaments at the same time which will create issues for them in the local tournament.
Hey guys just wondering does anyone know what time & at which stadium the Deportivo vs LDU Quito match will be on tomorrow? I am arriving in Quito tomorrow for a two week trip to Ecuador and saw on soccernet that this game is on that day. Is this a big game with a good crowd? Is there anywhere in town you can get tickets in advance? Thanks!
Anyone think the 2nd half for the tournament has sucked? I'm watching most of the games online right now and the level/quality of soccer is just poor... all the teams are really bad and are playing like crap compare to before and other soccer leagues. Why is that? or is it just me?
this season in general isn't what it was expected to be. There's been good games but not as good as last season. I still think the 2010 season was the best i've seen in the past few years. There was more excitement to it. Not to be biased but I think Liga, El Nacional, and even D.ChiQuito's poor exhibition lately has made this tournament a bit boring, weaker, and with a lack of excitement. It would have been so much better if a team like Barcelona had been at the level they are right now in the past two seasons. That would have made the campeonato more competitive. This season the only top team (out of the 5) that can battle it out with Barcelona is Emelec. Independiente and Liga de Loja are going to have to stay strong and hope they can continue performing like they did in the first half of the year which isn't easy to do-especially since they're small club teams. I have a feeling the final this year is either Barcelona vs. Emelec or Barcelona wins the Segunda Etapa and there's no final. I just really don't see lots of teams capable of fighting for that first place unless Liga, El nacional, or Quito wake up.
Just got back from watching Deportivo vs. LDU at the stadium in Quito, and I have to admit, it was a pretty scrappy game - a lot of misplaced passes, fouling, etc... the atmosphere was fun though. No goals, but good to see both sets of fans in fine voice.
Fortunately for you that could possibly become true. This is the first time in years that Liga, Emelec, El nacional, and Deportivo Quito are having trouble trying to be in the top 3-5 positions of the campeonato. Liga is slowly adjusting with a new set of players and attempting to slowly rejuvenate the squad the best way possible- but that's going to take some time. I don't expect Liga to be at 100% until a year from now if things are done correctly and we pull good players from the youth system or start buying them from other teams which is a lot easier IMO for more immediate results. El Nacional is inconsistent- so much potential and a great coach but I think the problem goes deeper than that. Time has been given to El Nacional to adjust and become a strong squad, but things just aren't turning out how I would assume. It's a bit sad seeing them struggle with lots of the U-20 players who just a year ago had a great World Cup tournament. I admit, Emelec is the 2nd best squad in the campeonato when all their starters are healthy and performing at their best. I think they've improved lately compared to their performances post-Libertadores where they began slacking a bit. Not the best Emelec I've seen, not the "deepest squad" compared to last years, but plays a lot better collectively compared to last year. Fleitas left great teachings in the minds of these players. And finally D.Quito- weak sauces that got traumatized after losing 6-0 in Santiago LOL. Deportivo Six. Only thing good in that squad in JC Paredes, Pedro Velasco, and Jeff Hurtado. We'll see how Adrian Bone turns out. They're definitely not winning crap this year, they're lost.
Didn't know where else to put this,but Vizuete was let go as coach. I'm not going to say he did a good job, but they should given him more time. The top level guys at Ecuadorean clubs can not just shop around and bring in players, sign a coach, and expect to contend right away. These things take time and patience. The team has a talented squad, Pita, Quinones, Govea, and Caicedo are some of the names that come to mind, so they certainly do not lack quality. What the team really needs is a talented centre forward, let's just say that Zura will not draw any comparisons to Drogba any time soon. The club is in a difficult position financially so I don't know if they will be able to address that need by going after a player in the market. Don't even know who can they realistically go after. They also need a goalkeeper. What ever happened to Jaramillo? Wasn't he on their horizon? That would be a good fit for all sides involved. Jaramillo is not going to be Liga's starting GK any time soon, not unless Dominguez get's transferred unexpectedly, and even then he will not be guaranteed a starting spot, he doesn't even make bench these days. It would also be good for the NT, Jaramillo can get playing time and could give us another talented player to choose from. He won't and shouldn't start but it wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing to have him breath down the necks of Dominguez and Banguera. Healthy competition is never a bad thing.
John Jaramillo is lost man. I think he plays for Liga's reserves but im not even sure about that. Last I heard, Macara didn't want him on their squad because he has disciplinary issues. El Nacional was interested in him but Liga didn't let him go. I'm pissed that we're holding him back from reaching his true potential. That was one hell of a f*ckin keeper in the U-20 NT. Best I've seen. It's a shame it will go to waste if he doesn't get picked up by some team soon. I'd suggest Emelec get rid of both of their foreigners and sign Jaramillo next season. If not, then Jaramillo is sh*t out of luck unless he goes to a small team like Liga de Loja to get playing time. El Nacional's problem isn't the lack of talent. That's a fact. It's not the coach either. They're just broke and horribly managed. They acquired key players from the U-20 NT and still don't function as a team. El Nacional has the least loyal fan base in Ecuador. That stadium looks SAD when you watch their games, it's pathetic. Especially for a great team that's produced some of the country's best players. Like Antonio Valencia said the other day- WHERE THE MONEY FROM ALL THE TRANSFERS? - that's the issue- Money. As far as who should el Nacional sign next season as a striker? There's some options: Byron Cano, Walter Chala, Carlos Garces, Luis Santana. Not that many options and who knows if they even have the $$$ to make that move. They also need to replace Jose Madrid b/c he's coming to Liga now.
The few decent players el nacional has will probably move after this season. Mark my words, they will be relegated in 2013.
I didn't know where to place this, but this is one of the very few great observations and comments I've heard from Reinaldo Rueda http://www.teradeportes.com/futbol/...-destaca-el-crecimiento-del-futbol-patrio-y-p If you listen to the audio he basically has the same opinion I do about lots of club teams in Ecuador. Many teams in Ecuador will start a foreigner or a POS mediocre player over a upcoming young kid with talent. Specifically, they named two players from Deportivo Quito who had a really great game yesterday- Cristian Penilla and Alexis Lemos (the goalkeeper- who had some of the nicest saves yesterday. If anyone caught the game you know what I'm talking about. I immediately asked myself how the hell is this kid not starting in front of Adrian Bone?) . I remember back when Cristian Penilla was in ESPOLI and he seemed to be a player with pretty good qualities. Just like Penilla, there's LOTS more who are hiding (aka benched) in many squads throughout our league. So I agree with Rueda when he said that If players like Penilla had 15-20 games under their belt, that'd be enough to give them continuity and opportunities to develop and show their talent. Rueda even mentioned how Dixon Arroyo did a really good job with the U-20 NT and how it's a shame that he doesn't have opportunities in Deportivo Quito. I'm positive that Santiago Morales, Freddy Olivo and the rest of the bs players that team has DO NOT match up to Dixon Arroyo. Especially if that kid gets more games under his belt. I just look at Luis Congo (D.Quito's striker) as an example. That kid got playing time in the Segunda Etapa consistently even though his performances were subpar. And in the last month of the campeonato he finally improved and scored goals for D.Quito. I feel like some teams don't have that patience and prefer spending on useless foreigners (Nahuelpan, Ezequiel Luna) instead of giving an opportunity to the young guys. I just think some of these club teams hold themselves back from progressing and kill some of these players careers. If someone looks at the top 3 teams of the Accumulated Table for the campeonato this year, there's one thing in common- all three of those teams give opportunities to their young players (even emelec whose been holdin back Gaibor from starting lately). And the team that won the campeonato did it by giving opportunities to players from the cantera- Roosevelt Oyola, Bryan De La Torre and purchasing two young players from Independiente like Jose Ayovi and Carlos Gruezo.
^^^Very few teams have the patience to put up with the growing pains of playing young players. A kid will make a couple mistakes in a game or two and will ride bench for awhile. Very few young kids actually get the continuity that they need to refine and improve their game. Teams prefer to spend lavishly on foreigners who end up not contributing. I was thinking about this the other day I seriously think that teams will be better off if they reduce the number of foreigners allowed on a team to three. There is no indication that will will happen, I'm just thinking out loud. The cynic will make the counter argument that foreigners improve the quality of play. That argument holds weight if all the foreigners who come to Ecuador are quality players who manage to adapt improve the quality of play, guys like Diaz, M. Oyola, Gimenez, Renato, Balbuena, but the fact of the matter is that the majority do not, and the league is stuck with below average players who consume a teams valuable resources. Instead of overpaying for foreigners who do not contribute, a team will be better of investing those resources into youth systems. It upsets me because Ecuador would have more players in Europe if teams would allocate resources to the development of players, not just teaching kids how to properly center a ball or adequate positioning on the pitch, but also help these young kids develop mentally and emotionally.
that's exactly what i think. there's lots of players that get lost and it's a shame. there's so much talent in the country that ends up going to waste. Have these teams even figured out what Independiente is doing? A model team in Ecuador right in their faces that's showing people how it should be done...and not a single team learns from it. smh.
I dont know if I will make much sense with what I am about to write and please dont misunderstand me I Love what Independiente has done to the Campeonato, but in the end what do they get? Nothing. no international cup, no final no championship. My point is that for teams Like BSC, Emelec, Liga and D. Quito It's almost impossible to provide those 15-20 games Rueda wishes, I see this as a deep problem, I have nothing against foreigners if their level is above average, if you really look at so many promises out futbol has had its clear that out players in the local tournament suffer from inconsistency in their level of playing, Pablo Palacios, Orlindo Ayovi, Edmundo Zura, Gregory Gonzales, Mike Rodriguez, Pedro Larrea, Eder Vaca to name a few were all players that at some point were held in high regard by the fans, please notice that most of these players simply lost their level and were all given a clear chance to prove themselves. So teams like Independiente, Liga de Loja might have this project going on and time will tell wehter they will reach the ultimate success or just hang out in the top middle part of the table, their best players will be sold to bigger clubs which will mean younger division players from those big clubs getting their chances reduced.