I don't know if any of you guys have seen any of LDU Loja's home games but their attendance is beyond impressive. I don't think i've seen any team in ecuador carry that many people to the stadium that are not named Barcelona, Emelec, Liga, El Nacional, or Deportivo Quito. And not even all these teams attract that many people to the stadiums unless they are playing each other. This is the second game i've seen this team play at home (the first one i saw them play was against El Nacional) and that stadium is packed from corner to corner. Not an extra soul fits in there. Big hand to the people of Loja. They are a good example of what the a stadium should look like every weekend the rest of the fans there should learn from this.
Emelec 2 vs Liga de Loja 0 in Reina del Cisne in Loja. Goals scored by Enner Valencia (14th minute) and J M Franco (74th minute). About 6500 fans attended the game.
Wow guys, Liga de Loja just scored and they are advancing to the next round with 8 minutes to go. They are playing really well and they truly deserve this win. I remember that last time Uruguay beat us in Quito, Liga de Quito raped River Plate 6-1 or something like that. Now Liga de Loja makes Nacional suffer after the cheap tie Uruguay got away with in Montevideo. IF they advance, they would face Sao Paulo in the next round.
Wow! What a game LDU Loja played... They're in the Sweet 16 along with DepQuito.. Tomorrow Emelec and Barcelona's turn...
Although Liga de Loja was lucky to not get scored on last night you have to give them a lot of respect for the tough game they gave Sao Paulo. That guy Koob Hurtado surprised me with his toughness and Uchuari and Feraud are both really fast and smart with the ball. I can't wait to see how they turn out in 3 or 4 years. It's a shame they didn't advance to the next round because of an own goal but the same can be said about Barcelona. This is really good for Ecuador because not only does it prove that Ecuadorian soccer has improved but it also shows that many players have confidence no matter where and against who they are playing. Velez also deserves a lot of respect because with the limited resources he was able to build a solid team. His style of play is intriguing and maybe after a stint with a bigger club he could prove that he is more than capable of coaching the national team.
I'm very proud of LDULoja....those guys did not back down to a MASSIVE team. In fact, despite the greater potential of Barcelona advancing, I felt Loja represented in the best way possible. Regrettably, a lot of the good players will get looted by bigger clubs so this team's roster won't stay intact- so chances are we won't get to see them make another big run. But big props to the coach and their players for playing with hardcore garra. All the teams have done Ecuador proud, but I feel as a minnow, Loja really surprised!
Can anyone tell me why Uchuari hasn't been pickup by any of the big team? Holy Moly, That kid can ball! He has an awful miss at goal the other day but made up for it with a sublime pass for goal a minute later.
We were going to pick him up this season and Emelec showed serious interest. LDU Loja said they were only going to get rid of one of their 2 attacking players- Feraud or Uchuari. Since Feraud came to Liga de Quito, Uchuari remained on the team. I think Loja was afraid to lose both and nose dive to the bottom of the table this season which ironically happened anyway, as they're fighting relegation. I'm pretty sure Liga de Loja also said something along the lines of Uchuari won't be sold to another ecuadorian club and that he's only going to be negotiated w/ a foreign team. I can see D.Quito and Emelec going after him for next season. We might even be on that list. I don't think Barcelona has much interest as those positions are occupied on their team.