I'm crushed. "Chocked" is the word that describes this pathetic Ecuadorian team that failed to capitalize on a weaker team with more heart in the game. What a waste od missed opportunities - this game is going to come back and bit us in the ass - BIG TIME!!!! I have nothing else to sya that has not been said. Oh and by the way, this is why we don't go to other boards and troll - because in the end, we get owned!!!
Again, 2 steps forward and 2 steps back. That looked like an Ecuador team from the early 90's, making ridiculous defensive mistakes. Totally awful. - I think we have to seriously consider getting Elizaga some playing time, or how about Rorys Aragon? I believe that as Cevallos is getting older he is getting more afraid of injuring himself by going for balls in the area. This has become very clear, even at Liga, he is too scared to come off the line. - Why does this team lack motivation and killer instinct? We had a 1-0 lead against a team that was already lacking confidence...we had them down for the count, and let them get back up and knock us out! I noticed this right away after scoring the goal, but I was figuring that at halftime Vizuete would spark some aggression into these guys. Instead, it got worse, we slept through the 2nd half. - Castro unfortunately had his chance and blew it, really badly. Whatever happened to Jorge Guagua, is he that out of form? He was supposed to be Hurtado's successor since last World Cup. - I actually only remembered that Felix Borja came on in the 2nd half when I saw the game summary - apparently he came on in the 62nd minute. He played 30 minutes, and I DIDN'T SEE HIM ONE TIME! DID YOU????? - Is it just me, or are you also wondering why, despite being probably several inches taller than every Venezuelan and Chilean defender, Caicedo has not been able to get his head to a single cross into the box in either game?? How come Benitez, who is probably half the size of Caicedo, is far more dangerous in the air?? - How long until we keep giving Guerron chances to produce even 50% of what he did in Libertadores?? What happened to his stepovers and clever changes of direction?? He doesn't seem to even try those anymore. - Finally, on Vizuete, I think he has proven himself to be a good coach tactically, and his decisions on players and substitutions are for the most part pretty good - he couldn't have known that Castro and Cevallos would self-destruct out there. But to me he seems to need to measure his tone and his temperament and transmit this to the players. Against Chile, there was a sense of aggression and combativeness, because it was a big game and we needed to set the tone. Against Venezuela however, there was definitely a mood of overconfidence. Apparently he started telling the press he has had coaching offers from USA and Mexico - you don't say that!! We were basically expecting Venezuela to come out and give us 3 points, and after the first goal the team just relaxed. We've done this before in big games (Mexico 2002, Chile 2007, Argentina 2008), score first and give up the lead, and Vizuete needs to learn that our players need to develop a killer instinct to put the game away!
Manolo, I absolutely agree with your last post. Furthermore, I'd like to add that it is necessary to fase out the old goalkeepers and bring in Aragon, Dominguez and Banguera from now on. Also, I'll note that Noboa is still getting overlooked in Russia even after their press, and ours keeps saying that the boy is tearing it up out there. We need to develop a mindset of hunger for every game, it is essential that we score first, then continue to attack and keep on scoring, if anything might kill us in later stages, it's going to be the goal differential so goleadas are now almost a necessity to come back to zero. Felix Borja is utterly useless, even though he plays in Germany and scores there, he has never been able to put up a teardrop's worth of difference into one of our games-why not use Palacios up front who is a proven finisher in the box. I lay the blame around everyone for this game: coaches, and players. I blame Vizuete for obviously not instilling into the players a sense of urgency that this game called for-Yes, we're still alive in the WCQ but had we won this game we would have controlled our own destiny. I also blame Sixto for making some tactical changes that were faulty (Borja most notably). And finally for the coach's side, I blame him for making excuses for these useless yellow cards that we're getting-Cevallos needs to stop burning time, he made the excuse that the emotion of the game made Benitez take his shirt off (if the rule says don't do it, then enforce it) and same for Caicedo a few games ago....As for the players, Guerron played with such a lack of spark, there were parts of the game where he was simply walking around!!!! Benitez and Valencia should be blamed as well-Benitez for that silly yellow card and Valencia for being so reckless, these were two key absences in the team. And overall for the team, no heart, no passion, no sense of urgency...we need to play every game like it's our last, maybe now we'll do that.
This is my take on the game! days before we started the game, I suggested this midfield: Guerron--Mendez--Cortez--Urrutia--Ayovi or Bolanos To my pleasant surprised Sixto opted to line these men up for the job to control the game in the midfield. What went wrong? Cortez did not show up! He was lost and was not able to impose his physical precense in the field. Mendez and Urrutia are GREAT players! BUT they play in the same position and have the same characteristics. Well, they got lost last night! Maybe not enough time for them to get used to playing with each other. They should have kept the possesion of the ball with their nice touch. Guerron was walking in the field and there were some times when he was just waiting for the ball instead of attacking the ball. And when he finally received the ball, he was not even trying to push it forward. I just felt like he didn't want to play! Ayovi, was prolly the best thing we had in the midfield. When he came out, I understood it was because Bolanos has a more offensive mentality. Vizuete was prolly thinking that he would cause damage on the left side. MAYBE that is when no one knew of Bolanos, but now, everyone knows that he is not a left footer and can't use his left foot, and always fake left and dribbles right! So he didn't do anything during the time he was in. Here is where we lost the game! In the midfield! The Venezuelan Midfielders had way too much time to think with the ball on their feet. sometimes they would push the ball forward w/ no deffender challenging them, I.E. third goal and a couple of out-of-the-area shots. If you know about futbol, you know that a midfield running forward with full ball control, WILL find space to make that killer pass or shot! The defensive mistakes happen because the lack of communication of the centers and the goalie! you can't blame only Ceballos or only Castro, but also Espinoza. First goal - Ezpinoza didn't jump, Ceballos didn't come out, Castro thought he did. Goal! Second Goal - Corner kick to first post, both centrals go for it, peinada from Venezuelan player leaves both of our centrals jugados and a HUGE empty space in el Area Chica (which belongs to the goalie BTW) and Venezuelan player scores! In in opinion, Vizuete planned the game well, but the games did not performed as expected. Now the Borja thing! that's another subject! how many chances are we going to give him? he is like Cholo Vera in Barcelona! or maybe worse!!