I thought Caicedo was pretty good against Honduras. He made some good plays he had that run into the box where he could have drawn a pk. He also did well to hold up the ball. I thought this was his best game in a while actually. I could see why you would want Fidel to start but the question is whether or not he will put forth the maximum effort we need from him? He seems to be too focused on flash and style and although talented what we need this game is balls to wall effort.
i want fidel to start to him and ibarra where two players i was hoping would play and make a good impression on these European teams ibarra move to epl and fidel to portugal where things i was dreaming of but o well i wish these players would get chances i dont think gruezo is ready to play the role minda did yesterday and move back and act as a center back he is not tall enough and i dont think he will be able to deal with covering both areas him moving around like that could be risky against France Dominguez Paredes, Guagua, Erazo, Ayovi Ibarra, Valencia, Minda, Montero Enner, Fidel subs arroyo for fidel/ibarra gruezo for guagua/minda
enner has more than enough balls to walls effort for both of them to play up front they link up well and fidel has better positioning he is the player he can pass the ball to to finish a play and vice versa
The main thing is that Fidel and Arroyo have something that Caicedo doesn't lately and it's GOALS. Fidel scored against Australia and scored against Mexico (a goal that was called off even though it was fair game). Arroyo scored in the few minutes that he played vs. England and also was very close to scoring against Switzerland in two occasions...most of you guys saw what happened. The question is: When was the last time you guys saw Caicedo even close to scoring a goal besides that slip he had yesterday in Honduras' box? (which btw was the closest i've seen him be to scoring in a while). Both these players make Ecuador unpredictable up front. Caicedo has no sense of connection with Enner. They just don't link up well and have the chemistry that Chucho and Felipe did. That's just the truth. They play soooo far apart from each other and I rarely see them create a dangerous play together. Whatever Enner does that is dangerous is either all by himself or with any other player BESIDES Caicedo. I agree with benching Noboa this game. Against France it's kill or be killed. Simple as that. We put all our weapons to use or we'll get owned. I'd also take Felipe out. My line up would be this: 4-4-2 Dominguez; Paredes, Guagua, Erazo, Walter; Ibarra, Antonio, Minda, Montero; Arroyo, Enner and I would do what Rueda did at moments with his line of 3 and line of 5 transformation: 3-4-2-1 : Dominguez; Guagua, Minda, Erazo; Paredes, Antonio, Walter, Montero; Arroyo, Ibarra; Enner in the last game Noboa and Antonio would stay in the middle and Paredes and Walter would be the carrileros with Felipe and Montero as the 2 mediapuntas and Enner as the punta. I would change things up a bit in this one and take Noboa out and have Walter (someone with great ability to hold the ball and keep possession in our midfield with Antonio who can alternate with Paredes or even Ibarra and advance when necessary). Montero and Arroyo would alternate and confuse rivals, one of them going through the middle the other one going through the wing. That way you can create a triangle on both sides with Walter-Montero-Arroyo and Antonio-Paredes-Ibarra. France won't know who will advance b/c all 3 are players that are comfortable going through the wing or through the middle. That's why when we scored vs. Honduras they were confused and Paredes cracked right in through the middle which he usually doesn't do and assisted Enner. That's probably one of the only points in the game where I saw Ecuador and said "woahh that play blew my mind" and it was because we were for once UNPREDICTABLE. And it was exactly when we were playing the line of 3. First time Rueda took a risk and it worked. lol Anyways, when we defend with this line up we can always defend with 5 back Paredes-Guagua, Minda, Erazo-Walter and have Antonio and maybe even Ibarra or/and Montero helping mark so Arroyo or Enner can break away on a counter. If only Rueda would take risks...The funny thing is he did take a risk last game and I bet he unwillingly did it and it worked out. He probably doesn't even know what he did right which is what sucks. Lol clueless man. He made Ecuador unpredictable in very brief parts of the game when we set up that line of 3 but there's a chance he didn't even notice what he did right.
We need to play better defense and balance it out with good offense. I like this line up vs a fast french team: ..................Dominguez Paredes................Erazo........................... Ayovi -------------Gruezo ....Noboa ............Ibarra Valencia Montero .......Enner ....... Filipao Subs: Fidel, Arroyo & Achiller (please no guagua)
When Caicedo is on the field it's as if we're playing with one less man. I can't explain why he is still in the starting lineup when we have other capable strikers. I guess it's just politics. Montero has also been a huge disappointment. I just really hope this team gets it together and plays to their full potential against France. I just can't stop thinking that they're due to have a good game. We can all argue about who's better at what position, but all in all, this team simply needs to play to their potential.
I agree with the lineup of 3-4-2-1. This lineup is what Ecuador was born to do. We have so many quality mid field players and this lineup is perfect to exploit their talent. Also, we would have control of the mid field. More players there to pressure up top then transition to defend with a line of 5. This will also help hide the bad quality of our CBs. Less pressure on them but more pressure on the mid field. Which is where our talent is at.
i went to a local ecuadorian eatery here in new york for their clash against honduras. i went to same place last sunday when ecuador faced switzerland. it was crushing way to end for ecuador. and it was great to see these people finally enjoying a win after just such a crushing defeat.
Ecuador v. Francia World Cup 2014 Wed, Jun 25, 1:00 PM (Pac.) 4:00 PM (Est.) on ESPN • Group E Estádio Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro I'm pumped up... Vamos Ecuador!!