Ecuador vs Uruguay: Time's up

History is tough to swallow sometimes. Historically, Uruguay has always been better than Ecuador. Better leagues, better players, and better world cups. The "charruas" won two of the first four editions of the ecumenical tournament, and although they have been inconsistent this time around, a win in Quito was just what they needed.

Inconsistency is the key word during these qualifiers. Ecuador and Uruguay define it. How else does one go from losing to Peru in Lima to winning in Quito? And how else does one go from beating Argentina to losing at home in Quito the way Ecuador did today?

It's saddening for a nation that has become accustomed to being a player on the big stage for the past 9 years. Maybe it's the wake-up call they need. Vizuete did a good job as coach but somehow I think a seasoned Argentine would make things more interesting for the Tricolores. Time will only tell. Now they have 2011 Copa America to look forward to, a tournament in which they have continuously failed ever since 1993. It's also sad for up-and-coming players like Chirstian Benitez and Joao Rojas, as well as for experienced world stars like Valencia, Mendez and Castillo.

So, take a bow, Ecuador. It's time to leave the number 5 spot to a better team... and today that team was Uruguay.

Sixto the Magician

That's right. Sixto Vizuete, coach of the Ecuador national team. 5 qualifiers, 2 wins, 3 ties and 0 losses. Unbeaten against Argentina (in Buenos Aires, no less) and Uruguay (Montevideo). Things are farm from being over and there is still a lot of terrain to be covered in qualifiers. A game against Chile in Quito awaits "la tricolor" in October to close out the first 9 matches of the herculean 18 match road devised by Conmebol as a prelude to FIFA's World Cup. But why is it so important at this point? Well, the old order that included Reasco, De la Cruz, Kaviedes, Tenorio and Co. have stepped aside for a new group of players that have carried out a renaissance of Ecuador futbol. The same few that helped Liga de Quito to Ecuador's first Club Championship form the backbone of the team--from Urrutia to Bolanos to Cevallos and Guerron. Cevallos is actually a 37-year-old veteran of the 2002 campaign but has enjoyed renewed spirit and play, not to mention an uncanny ability to stop penalties.
Back to Vizuete. Here's a coach that came out of nowhere. He played for Deportivo Cotopaxi (didn't know they existed but apparently they were in Ecuador's first division for at least one season). He coached the youth systems of the ESPOLI team and then the U-17 national side. This is where it gets interesting, for after failing to enter the U-17 World Cup he coached the same team that won the Pan American glod medal and thus the first ever footballing title for Ecuador. Following that came his opportunity as interim head coach when Luis Fernando Suarez resigned after 3 straight losses and a goal differencial of -10. Suarez, coach of Ecuador in the 2006 qualifiers and the World Cup failed to earn a single point in 3 games in the Copa America in Venezuela 2007. Suarez was a good coach but very single-minded and uninventive when every team learned his scheme. The 2010 campaign with him was terrible in that he lost the opening match in Quito to Venezuela. Losses to Brazil (Rio) and Paraguay (Asuncion) were understandable but the margins were a bit ridiculous (5-0 and 5-1).
Enter Vizuete. 5-1 win against Peru with just two days from the resignation of Suarez and his last game with the team. He was given full coach status earlier this year. Then came a 1-1 in Argentina for a game they could have won in Buenos Aires before an unfortunate tying goal in the 4th minute of stoppage time. An unfortunate 0-0 followed against Colombia in Quito and my fears (and another 13 million's) arose again. But the past couple of games showed that he's a masterful tactician, at least for now, with impressive defensive performances. A goal differential of +6 under his tutelage doesn't hurt either. Added to that are 3 friendlies: 3-1 vs Haiti, 0-2 vs France (Paris) and 1-0 vs Colombia (New York). So for those nay-sayers out there, this coach has defeinitely played a good variety of foes and his only loss came against mighty France in Paris.
In short... I'm a fan. I hope to remain a fan. I'm still very doubtful about our chances for a direct entry into South Africa, but a 5th play-off spot against CONCACAF may be within our reach if the team continues to perform as it has for the last 5 matches.

The next Mexican national team coach

Much has been said and speculated about the choice for Mexico's national team after pentapichichi Hugo Sanchez sank the team out of the Olympics and lost the CONCACAF Gold Cup and a spot in the FIFA Confederations Cup to be held in South Africa next year as a preamble to the World Cup. I'm not usually one to comment on Mexico futbol since my team(s) are fierce rivals of the Azteca side but because this could have significant implications for the US national team as well as CONCACAF in general, I thought I would address it as well. From what I've heard through various means (radio, TV, internet), some of the names that have been worked with include expensive and outright formidable coaches such as Portugal's Scolari, Atletico Madrid (and former Mexico coach) "el Vasco" Aguirre, former Argentine (and current Toluca coach) Jose Pekerman, Jose Mourinho, and just recently former English national team coach Sven Goran Eriksson. Why is this important? Well, right now the team is being coached by interim coach Jesus "el chucho" Ramirez and many in the media as well as players argue that he should keep the job. Ramirez was also the coach for the youth Mexican side U-17 that won that tournament as well as the Olympic side prior to Sanchez taking over (unfortunately). Arguably, he's the best man for the job. As I hinted in previous postings on this blog I think the best idea is to allow coaches to develop with the younger teams and move up the system to be eventual head coaches of the national teams. The recent performance of these coaches is reflected on their impressive records: Domenech took France to the 2006 final, Bradley has done great for the United States, Pekerman also performed great with Argentina, and so far Ecuador's Sixto Vizuete has done a better job than his predecessor. One of the more outspoken Mexican team owners, Jorge Vergara, has been continually adamant about having high profile, high price coaches such as those stated above. Lately, Eriksson has received a lot of press and the pros and cons have been tossed back and forth. Most outspoken of all is Jaime Gallardo of XM Satellite Radio's Futbol de Primera and Tricolor Deportivo shows. He insists that Chucho Ramirez should be left alone because of the multiple problems Eriksson would have trying to understand the Mexican style, players, league, and the language (!). I have to say I agree with his position. Let's rewind from an American perspective... Back in time after the 2006 failure (I, the same as many other fans out there, was hoping to see a lot more from the American side), Bruce Arena was discontinued as head coach, and rightly so. His cycle had ended and his style had shown its age and lost flair and element of surprise. Sunil Gulati, head of USSF, let too much time pass between the World Cup and a decision on a new head coach. He was hoping to land Germany's former coach Jurgen Kilnsman but that fell through when US Soccer demanded to have several aspects of the team (technical staff) be continued without Klinsman's consent, i.e. he would have little input in terms of staff and certain other logistics.
Enter Bob Bradley... Right after the Klinsman talks failed (and even though it had been termed a done deal by the media), an "interim" position was given to Bradley. He proved to be more than just an interim by winning crucial matches and the CONCACAF Gold Cup title and a return to the FIFA Confederations Cup. So far he has continued to perform really well including impressive wins away in European soil against Euro 2008 teams Switzerland (1-0) and a classic football Poland team (3-0!). Such was also the case with Ecuador's Sixto Vizuete, who took up the reins after Luis Fernando Suarez quit after losing 3 World Cup Qualifiers in a row. Vizuete won an impressive game against Peru by the score of 5-1, beat Haiti in a friendly match with an undermanned side and lost, just yesterday, against France by 0-2 in a game that was missing 50-60% of their starters against a fully loaded French side with the likes of Malouda, Thuram, and Anelka on the field.
So as for Ramirez and Mexico's team.... Let the Chucho stay. I'd be more worried about Mexico with him in charge than any other coach. Pekerman could also be a great addition for the team. Being turned down by the likes of Scolari and Mourinho and even "El Vazco" Aguirre should let the FMF know what their options truly are. Still, it would be interesting to have the Mexican side be coached by Eriksson. A toss-up for sure, but maybe a hint of things to come. Maybe once Bradley's cycle ends the USA could follow up on its promise of bringing a renowned coach to America.

Sixto at the helm

A little backtracking to my place of birth--Ecuador, that is. So, when we left the picture last year our then coach Luis Fernando Suarez had left the team further in the trenches by losing at home to the worst possible team in the conference--Venezuela-- and then going down by goleadas to Brazil and Paraguay. He should have gotten the picture after the Copa America when teams from around the region had figured out the Colombian's style of play and we saw nothing but failures, especially at the goalkeeping position. A quick exit a-la-Bolillo should have happened. In any case, we were left with no coach 3 days prior to the next WCQ match against arch rivals Peru. So who came to the rescue? By default, and with no other means, Chiriboga (president of FEF) resorted to the successful youth teams coach Sixto Vizuete. This happened only after repeatedly tempting former coach Hernan Dario "el Bolillo" Gomez that declined the offer due to a "serious divergence of thoughts" on his arrival. I personally feel that the large majority of Ecuador fans and a lot of the officials at the FEF felt the same way.
I feel that there is a serious lack of defensive play in the current team and the new generation isn't as solid as the previous one. Long are the days of De la Cruz, Hurtado, "la sombra" Espinoza, and Neicer Reasco. All of these players are currently still playing but their age, lack of participation in respective clubs, and lack of speed have mounted to exacerbate the current situation. Maybe this time around we may actually call on Jose Valencia from Willem II in Holland. Guagua is another player worth noting.
What Vizuete has been successful at doing is the development of younger players and he promises to inject some positive energy into the senior team as well as some young faces. There are a few non-believers out there but I think it's an Ecuadorean's turn to be at the helm of the national team. Some of the comments by a sector of the media arguing that the cycle of Colombian coaches might be over is well argued. At some point, players need to be injected with a new attitude and a new vision. This holds true for teams such as USA and England, where Arena's and Ericksson's cycles had to come to an end when they both came empty handed during the 2006 World Cup campaigns.
I have to admit that I don't have very high hopes of reaching 2010 this time around. I was pleasantly surprise with Ecuador's 2006 WCQ campaign as well as their appearance in Germany (Beckham kicked us out!). Maybe I'm wrong this time too ;) We're definitely off to a great start with Vizuete. Nothing's better than rolling over Peru 5-1.