We have no strikers. If enner had put those headers in we'd had been in the semis. Caicedo > enner and Ayovi and even antonio, dude had clear chances to smash it but chose to pass it.
In a friendly, world cup qualifier, group stage of world cup i would take Ecuador over US plain and simple, but when it comes to knockout rounds in tournaments (excluding world cup) you have to recognize Ecuador are nothing compared to the states. The states have been to more knockout rounds than us probably 6-8 matches for very 1 match we play. The truth is that the states have made consecutive knockout round appearances in almost any tournament where as we just started, experience over the inexperienced. Let's be honest Ecuador wouldn't have stood any more of a chance with Valencia and Paredes out, that side would have been completely owned by Argentina and more often the not Messi enjoys that side of the pitch.
You can't compare one match to another. US had a few of their starters sitting out due to yellows or reds from last game if I'm not mistaken. Maybe it's not a good enough excuse for their disadvantage, but if we were missing key elements of our starting 11 we would've felt a difference too. Either way, you can't compare one game to another in futbol. Reality is we shine in Qualifiers and we don't in CA. Which ones harder? Obviously the Qualifiers. South American Qualifiers are the toughest in the world of futbol. No Qualifier compares to ours in any way. So if you shine in South American Qualifiers you are a good team. Period. It's not an easy arena to prove yourself in. But like I've said before, everything we do in Qualifiers won't count for sh*t if we don't display it on the big scene- Russia 2018. THAT'S what all this prepping is about at the end of the day. That's why there's 4 years in between each WC.
LMAO and right under it should say #PeroAzconaEsMejor And no offense to Banguera, but it will cause another frown if his name is on another call-up list for Qualifiers b/c Azcona truly deserves a spot on the squad more than he does.
Good you bring up Felipe. I think he's been important in this Qualifiers, BUT I would like to remind everyone how poorly he performs when he's not at full health. Anyone remember the end of 2014 Qualifiers and the 14 WC itself? I do. And more importantly I remember a POORLY performing Caicedo that I said was levels below Enner at the time. Felipe since then has elevated his form and Enner has some what kept it stable. Either way Felipe can't claim to be better. Enner's stats say otherwise proving he's the more effective striker. IMO Felipe isn't a #9. I've mentioned that various times here. He has the body and physical attributes of a #9, but you can tell he's not naturally one b/c he doesn't have the instincts to finish in the box like Enner does. Enner may miss shots, YES. But his goal per game ratio is VERY good compared to Felipe's which is average at best. Felipe isn't better in the air than Enner that's FOR SURE. Felipe isn't better with both feet than Enner is. Enner's positioning and timing is much better than Felipe's. The ONLY thing Enner lacks is the body. That's IT. Felipe lacks much more to make me believe he's a #9. Enner even has a better free-kick than him...not saying that it's a #9 quality, but just wanted to mention that Enner is almost better in all aspects and then some. Just body. That's ALL Enner needs to reach max potential. Enner STILL hasn't hit ceiling IMO. Felipe has. That's as good as Felipe will be which is ok b/c he's a good striker, but he's just not as good as Enner STILL.
I guess you and I are just meant to disagree lol, allow me to write my point. Yes Enner has a better goal average but that can be argued with how many goals came at friendlies and insignificant games? Now, regarding Caicedo, not only he was KEY in our qualifier start but also in WCQ 2014, when Rueda brought him back its when we picked up, He came in in a Bolivia game that looked to be a tie in Quito, the game vs Chile? the tie vs Argentina? All crucial goals and yes injuries haunt the man, you brought up the end of the qualifiers but do you remember the penalty against Bolivia in La Paz? The goal in Chile again clutch. Other than the Honduras game I dont remember Enner being clutch in a crucial match. Now let me ask all of you, who would you rather have kicking our penalties in a qualifier? Enner? Miller? Lol come on man, do you need to be reminded of their last NT penalties? You are 100% right about injuries but is that a problem only Caicedo has? How many games did Enner miss this season? Where was he the first four games of the qualifiers? Was he missed? Miller has been with the NT a little over a year and how many games has he missed already? Jaime Ayovi? Its something our NT just suffers. I like Enner and I think he is our best all around offensive player WHEN HE PLAYS HIS POSITION, he has no business being a 9, the way Caicedo plays with his back against the goal holding the ball no other player in our futbol can do that. If Caicedo is healthy there's absolutely no doubt that he starts. I will go further and predict that if Felipe plays he'll score against Brasil and Peru
The same argument can be made if one were to say "where was Felipe in '14 WC?". I can tell you one thing. Enner was present and scored 3 goals. 3 goals/3 games and in one WC became the top goal scorer in our NT history in World Cups. Funny, but true. In this Copa America alone Enner was our top goal scorer and assisting player- making him the most effective. So IMO, stats do matter. In 2 Qualifier games he's played in this edition of Qualifiers, he's scored once. 4 CA games and scored twice. So basically, out of the last 6 games he's played he's scored 3 goals. 50% effectiveness. And like I said....his goal per game ratio in general speaks for itself. He's without a doubt the most effective striker we have. Miller and Felipe falling right behind him. Miller is another player that at one point was rejected by fans. When you look at his effectiveness, the kid is VITAL to the NT. Not only b/c of his goals/assists but also because of the creativity he generates. Not a single other NT player can replicate what he does on the field. So much, that when he doesn't play his absence is definitely felt.
Felipe has 4 games/4 goals this eliminatoria. He would have scored with all the chances Enner had, if he hadn't been injured.
Felipe Caicedo has scored more in Qualifiers which means he scores in important matches. What I dont understand is why must we choose one or the other? It's perfectly clear to me those 2 should start.
I just wanna put out there, if Ecuador wants to make it big in tournaments like this, a video of Chile scoring this cup and the qualifiers should be down to the players. This is what we need! Chile goes out wanting to score with hunger and they get, the pressure game they play on their opponents is intimidating, look how they man handled Mexico and Colombia . At no point were Chile looking to settle for the tie in 90 minutes, they went in pressuring and looking for more. This is what we need, we need to look at a team who was unknown, a laughing stock for almost a decade and became the whipping boys but rose up and delivered some of the greatest football I've ever seen. I don't know about anyone else but seeing Chile pre-2006 and during 2007 I never got the impression that they'd become the machine they are today.
Really? Because I did. Did you not see Chile in the U-20 WC of 2007? Who do you think was part of it? Lots of the players that we'd consider the base of the Chilean NT these last 9 years. Didn't they get like 3rd or 4th place? I remember them being in the semi-finals of that U-20 WC. The names Alexis Sanchez, Arturo Vidal, and if I'm not mistaken Gary Medel and a few others (just to name some) were part of that squad. You put an amazing coach that turns copper into gold into the picture like Marcelo Bielsa and you get the Chile you've seen this last decade. Bielsa planted the seed, but he had an amazing generation of players coming up that made it even easier for him to work with. The fact that he's a fan of having young teams and helping develop players ALL the easier for him. All those kids like Alexis, Arturo, Medel, Bravo, Matias Fernandez, Jean Beausejour, Isla, Valdivia, etc. lasted so long. Then you had Sampaoli take over U. de Chile and a good handful of players rejuvenated their squad last Qualifier and a "new" base was established. Diaz, Vargas, Mena, etc. are all Sampaoli. That team won Copa Sudamericana and was almost 2 years in a row making a name for themselves in south America. That flow of players was brought into the Chilean NT along with their coach...another man who was similar to Bielsa and his philosophy....What I'm trying to say here is that their processes have the right FLOW. None of their successes are a surprise. It was just all so well put together. We had a great squad to work with last Qualifier too, but who was in charge? Wouldn't you have loved to give Quinteros a younger Noboa, Antonio, Felipe, JC Paredes, W. Ayovi, S. Castillo, and even Chucho? I can tell you one thing- he would've done a way better job than Rueda. In the grand scheme of things when it comes to comparing Chile and Ecuador, you simply can't. Player by player they are better than ours. The only ones I can really say stand out for us are Arturo Mina, Enner Valencia, Jeff Montero, and Miller Bolanos. The rest of their guys have nothing to envy from ours.
Chile's pressure only lasted for 35 minutes against Colombia. I don't see them going for a whole 90+ and this time there's extra time I believe.
Agreed as for the rest I get it. sorry for the late response. I get where you're coming from but sometimes we need to be realistic and admit were not a team that has a lot of depth. Were tactically savvy and exploit our few strengths very well on occasion. Lately we've been more consistent. What happens is when some of our pieces are injured, or suspended, having an off game etc. Whatever the case may be, when this happens there aren't bodies on the bench that can fill those shoes. As far as players with potential, im 100 percent sure there are. and if anybody knows about them its you. We are progressing at our own pace, but IMHO I really could not see us walking away with the W against the US.