The virtue of that bronze medal was that now scouts can and will be more inclined to visit Ecuador and assess the talent pool in person. That's the reason why deep tournament runs are so critical for us at all levels. Europeans see Argentina and Brazil, and to some extent Uruguay as "safe bets" because their teams do so well on a (generally) regular basis. That being said, IDV is a talent factory. Nobody touches their infrastructure...not by a long shot. They're so advanced that even Liga, Barcelona, Emelec, et.al. are not even close. For every 1 contract those guys can sign for a player, IDV probably gets 5 deals. It's crazy.
Independiente's success is uncanny. Never has Ecuador seen anything like it. El Nacional used to be good at producing young talent awhile back - Toño, Benitez, Segundo Castillo, Felix Borja, Pedro Quiñonez. Covid messed up Celico's plans. There's some interesting players from the 2019 sub 17 and players within Independiente and Liga's system that would have impressed scouts. I have no doubt in my mind that a few of them would have been transferred to MLS and elsewhere. Further success at the youth level would have proved that the bronze winning team wasn't a fluke and that Ecuador is simply getting better at developing young talent. I'll be keeping an eye on the Libertadores sub 20 competition. I believe it starts this week. In a couple of years we may see some of the kids play for the NT at the senior level.
No doubt about it - you're spot on with the assessment. Even thinking about El Nacional developing players, it was always a one-off for a season...you'd see a Toño or a Chucho or Castillo get shipped abroad, but transfer fees were smaller, terms were very one-sided (usually at the detriment of el Nacho), and the volume wasn't there. IDV is developing talent at such a pace that it looks like a factory assembly line - that's the model. It took about 15 years to get to this point, and it clearly was a gamble that paid off...the investment was only something empresarios could work with because we know the politics of Ecuadorian football, navigating the federation, and the always annoying pool of agents and faux-reps who want to get in on the action. All of that still exists at IDV, but year after year, the shady hand of the business gets so much cleaner and transparent. It really is such an admirable organization, and as such, it is one of the best player development centers on the continent.
They're just getting started too. Let's not forget about all the money they're bringing in by selling players. That money is going to be reinvested into the organization. I'm sure Emelec and Bsc would like to replicate Independiente's success but it would be a costly venture. Moises, Hincapie, and Plata are going to be cash cows for them. I have no doubt in my mind that one day Moises and Hincapie will get sold for $30m minimum. Plata for $20m. Idv will get 10% of that.
BSC and Emelec can't replicate IDV succes - nor can Liga, to be honest. Winning cultures and large/scrutinizing fan bases don't sit well with teams looking to develop talent...in some cases they stumble hard it gets ugly....in other cases there might be some success, but there would be no gut to sustain many losses. Their board of directors will also be fundamentally focused on sponsorship dollars, monetizing the fan base, and results...That's why IDV is so distinct.
"Maiky de la Cruz despertó el interés de uno de los equipos de la primera división de Francia" Información que trascendió en las últimas horas apunta a que Maiky De la Cruz, sobrino de Ulises y joya de las canteras de Liga Deportiva Universitaria que en 2021 fue destacado a nivel mundial, está en la mira de un equipo de la Ligue 1 de Francia. *Noticia en desarrollo https://www.futbolecuador.com/site/...ipos-de-la-primera-division-de-francia/142948 France is a great place for very young players to ply their trade and develop. I hope this move can happen. Along with ample first team opportunities if he represents well early on, in a few years and after some exposure in the domestic league and maybe smaller-scale Euro club play, it's not weird to assume a move to the PL, La Liga, or Serie A would be possible. It's a logical next step.
In my opinion he should stay in Liga and get some professional experience under his belt. The track record of young players leaving too soon isn't great. Johan Mina and Jordan Moran left too early and now you don't hear about them anymore. He'll have it tough in Liga tho. Lopez is gonna be the starter. It's interesting that we're starting to see the sons and nephews of players from the 2002 world cup generation. Patrickson Delgado is Tin's nephew. Djorkaeff is Neicer's son. And now Maiky. I'm not sure how it's looked at in soccer but in baseball it's a plus being the son or nephew of a baseball player.
I believe it would be a plus. Having a relative who is a seasoned professional goes a long way in setting a good example - both for playing/style as well as mindset. It gives an edge. I played for a summer in El Nacional's juveniles back in the early 2000s and played with one of El Tin's nephews. The kid had already traveled to a few countries with the family when there were some games that Tin was called up for - that experience, compared to others, might be slight, but it's could be seen as an asset.
Former professional players may also have contacts in the sport so that also helps. Ajax is also interested in two players from Liga's youth system - Zambrano and Solis. Both are only 17 years old. They're not all going to pan out but if a couple do then that's a win.
Exactly. Spot on with both points. Plus, youth scouting is a volume game....1 good contract pays for 10-20 duds.
Like we said not everyone will pan out. But if the option is there I don't think we should close out those options. Getting scouts like that to pick up players before they debute In their first team is huge. We never really had that before. It would be nice if one day big Euro teams start dropping cash for our youth players. In a few years this could be possible once we have more and more players go and eventually start having good records. We are still in early stages on that process I guess. The other plus is that when they come back they will have European experience. You'd be surprised when you look at some of our nt and best seria players actually had some experience aboard. Ayrton Preciado and Moises corozo went to Portugal anyone remember that?
This is absolutely going to happen. IDV has basically led the charge, now we're seeing some spillover to talent from Liga getting looks, and I wouldn't think it's an unreasonable assumption that some Guayaquil canteras will get favorable attention, too. IDV's runner up, champ, and (maybe) champ status has solidified the markings of a solid farm system that brings results.
I agree. These names being observed we have never heard of before until they started getting noticed by these team. They are very raw talent and there is no knowing how they will pan out. Remember when Liga sent all those players to Grupo Granada. It was Gabriel Corozo, Kevin Mercado, Pervis Estupinan and some random youth player being observed. In the end the 4th player never went to Granada stayed in Liga and we never heard from him again. The last I checked he was in mushuc runa like 3 seasons ago. Corozo and Mercado did not reach their expectations and Estupinan when I thought he would get stuck in 3rd division for ever blew up. Eventually we will get good results from sending players so early aboard. Felipe Caicedo was the best example of that but when we think about it there were a tone of players like him. Also CS Norte America and Academia Alfaro Moreno both based in Guayaquil worked alot and transfered players back and forth with IDV to reach the level of development IDV has now. FEF registered over 100k players got transferred from Norte America to IDV and vice versa back then they first came to 1st division. The amount of players developed at the time was amazing
There was another youth player from Liga that went on trial to South Hampton like 2 years ago his name was Juan asabodoy something like that can't find him at all I'm probably spelling his name wrong. He went on trial never ended up going to South Hampton and then we never heard from him again.
There's another Ecuadorian footballer playing for a Peruvian team. Universidad San Martin signed Carlos Arroyo a week or two ago. He joins Jairo Velez, John Narvaez, Fernando Guerrero, Juan Sanchez, Darlin Leiton, and Jacson Pita.
Joshue Quiñonez may go to MLS. Dude should gtfo out of there if he gets the chance. Aiman and Sosa are the starters. Rodriguez is the backup. Bustos doesn't have a good track record when it comes to giving young players an opportunity. Bsc actually has a decent track record when it comes to transferring CBs abroad. Arreaga and Torres have done well. Several years ago they sold Ordoñez to a German club and had he not suffered a knee injury I think he could have done okay.
Maiky de la Cruz to Reims is a done deal apparently. I don't know much about the club but France does have a good track record in developing young talent. I hope he doesn't follow the same fate as that of Johan Mina and Jordan Moran.
Jordan Moran and Johan Mina each have their own circumstances. Both probably wouldnt have gotten much chances in the first team. A lot of people were talking about how Jordan Moran should have been promoted to the first team after the U17. Dudes 19 now and still never gotten a chance. Other youth players got chances before he did Daykol Romero and Frank Ventura. For all we know he could have continued in Liga and we still would have never heard from him. He had Visa issues when trying to complete his transfer last year and had to wait a few more months. That could have delayed his development his transfer was made official in August and he got incorporated to their B team. It still very early to tell how he is doing especially with out media coverage on him. Either way if he comes back to Ecuador he would be alot more prepared after his experience there to be part of a first team here. Same goes for Johan Mina I know alot of Emelec fans asked why he was never brought to the first team and I think he got an injury when he first arrived to Germany and they sent him back to Ecuador so he can recover. His team wanted to use him to play Regional liga U23 their coach said they really needed a creative player like him but they had some issue with him and were only able to register him in the first team I think it was an issue with his work visa too I cant remember. It sucks but his team did do everything on their part to give him opportunities. They played him in the first team during preseason too and are now loaning him out to a team that he should of been able to adapt too his loan ends in june so lets see what happens. Remis is a very good team IMO. They tend to scout in lower league with the intention of developing and selling players. Most of the players on their squad are very young around 23 y/o. overall they are an underrated team in France and play UCL. They have a good history behind them so it really nice to see and Ecuadorian land there. One players I would like to hear about soon is Emerson Espinoza he made an odd move he got picked up by those Uruguayans who only buy players and loan them out. He went through Parma and Inter tho but now is stuck in spanish 3rd division. Dude needs to get sold to a team that has real interest in his development and not just trying to make a quick buck.
Moran and Mina are still young. They'll turn 20 in March and May respectively so it's not like their careers are over. I could see them coming back to Ecuador or even going MLS within an year or two. Jeremy Farfan is back in Ecuador. He's gonna play for Independiente Jrs this season. The Sudamericano and U20 World Cup being canceled last year impacted a lot of young players. Moran, Mina, Espinoza, and others would have been part of the squad. They would've gotten good exposure and could have made moves to teams that would have given them minutes. Young players need game experience. Guys like Moises Caicedo and Hincapie are talented but at the end of the day they were given opportunities to play. My worry for guys like Moran and Mina is that they're not being properly developed by not playing for first division sides. Ecuador may play an U21 tournament in the summer. Celico will use it as preparation for the U20 Sudamericano next year but I hope he calls up a few 20 and 21 year olds so they can get some exposure.
That will always be an issue with upcoming players. The last U17 had alot of promising players. Edwin Valencia was another player that People wanted to have debuted in BSC first team and we still havent seen him. Honestly I think most players would be better off going aboard rather than staying in Ecuador waiting to break into the first team. I think most teams aboard buy players with the intentions of developing them and they prioritize them since they are foreigners and investments. Sometimes Visa and injuries prevent that. Thats just bad luck really.
The majority of clubs in Ecuador don't give opportunities to young players. Idv does. Liga too especially in recent years. Aucas and Universidad Católica to an extent. If presented with the opportunity I don't blame players for choosing to go to Europe at a young age. They can continue their development and having European experience can open doors for them in the future. I think de la Cruz is going to Europe at a good age. If it doesn't work out for him then he can come back to Ecuador in a year or two and he'd still only be 19 or 20. Another thing to remember is that careers are short. The majority of Ecuadorian footballers come from poor socioeconomic backgrounds so they're looking for economic stability.
Buen viaje Maurito!! 🇦🇷🇪🇨con Mathi Solis y Oscar Zambrano rumbo a las pruebas en Ajax ✈🇳🇱 pic.twitter.com/LQVBA1xZAy— Nicolas Ayala (@ayalanicolas97) February 25, 2022 Good luck to them!