By Jay Mwamba
Ecuador
Group G
Perched along the equator, from which it derives its name, Ecuador has never been a nation easily associated with the footballing giants of Latin America.
That was not until the Andean state, one of the smallest on its continent, finished second to the storied Argentines at the conclusion of the marathon South American World Cup qualifiers last November and booked its first appearance in the finals.
Buffeted in the powerful Ecuadorian wake were such traditional Latin powerhouses as Brazil, beaten 1-0 in one meeting in Quito; Paraguay, vanquished 2-1, and two-time world champs Uruguay (1-1).
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Led by a savvy coach, inspired by one of the world’s most unacknowledged midfield masters, and behind the finishing of the South American qualifiers’ joint top scorer, Ecuador went 9-4-5 (win, loss, draw) en route to securing their place in Japan/Korea ’02.
It’s a challenging group, considering their modest international reputation, that the Ecuadorians find themselves in in the finals. Drawn against Italy, Croatia and Mexico in Group G, few give them a chance of advancing to the second round, yet as their qualifying form indicated, they are more than capable of raising eyebrows.
Though some detractors attribute Ecuador’s qualification to the punishing high altitude of their capital city Quito, where they played their home matches, it was the acquisition of Hernan Dario Gomez before the qualifiers that ultimately improved their football fortunes.
One of the better coaches to come out of violence-wracked Colombia, the 45-year-old Gomez was an assistant on his country’s ill-fated USA ’94 squad, and assumed the reins as head coach four years later at France ’98.
His arrival was the final piece of the puzzle for a team of young, promising talent, built around veteran midfielder and captain Alex Aguinaga.
Now aged 33, Aguinaga is a combination of Roy Keane and David Beckham. He attacks, defends and is a set-piece specialist with a killer touch. He won the first of his more than 80 caps in 1987 and has spent more than 12 years playing in the relative anonymity of Mexican football with Necaxa.
The general international public got its first glimpse of the pony-tailed talisman two years ago at the FIFA World Club championship in Brazil where he led Necaxa to a third-place finish ahead of Real Madrid.
Along the way, Aguinaga more than held his own against Keano and Becks as Necaxa were denied a memorable victory over Manchester United by an 88th minute Dwight Yorke equalizer.
Forward Agustin Delgado was Necaxa’s top scorer in the tournament, an accomplishment he reprised for Ecuador in the World Cup qualifiers when he struck nine times. Only Argentine marksman Hernan Crespo matched that tally. His biggest moment in the qualifiers came when his well-taken goal consigned Brazil to a 1-0 defeat in Quito.
At 6-foot-3, Delgado, who’s 27, is not the archetypical South American striker. He has, probably on account of his height, exceptional ability in the air, can leave markers panting with his pace and has a sharp eye for goals.
It may have been these decidedly European qualities that persuaded Southampton to part with nearly $5 million dollars for Delgado, who, however, has been dogged by a knee injury since his move to the English Premier League last summer.
Should he regain full fitness in time for the finals, Delgado could be one of the notable strikers of the first round.
Ecuador’s other standout is the 24-year-old Ivan Kaviedes, Delgado’s attacking partner. A natural goal-scorer who once struck 42 times in 37 domestic league matches, he thrived as a playmaker for his towering colleague in the qualifiers and most famously set up Delgado’s winner against the Brazilians.
Tactically, Ecuador under Gomez have used the 4-4-2 formation effectively, with such improvisations as overlapping play from the fullbacks. They are a confident, mentally focused side that overcame a near tragedy after the triumph over Brazil to reach the finals.
That was when Gomez was mysteriously shot in the leg in a Quito hotel and left Ecuador after announcing his resignation. However, player pressure forced the Ecuadorian FA to plead for the Colombian’s return. He did.
In two tries with his home team, Gomez failed to get into the World Cup second round. Third time might be a charm with the Ecuadorians, who have as good a shot as any of their Group G opponents to advance. Conventional wisdom may tip Italy and Croatia to pull through, but this is a wide open group.
Ecuador open against Italy in Sapporo on June 3, and as any close student of the game knows, the Azzurri are notorious underachievers against so-called minnow teams. Italy could easily struggle to beat Tanzania 1-0 one week and go out and defeat Argentina the next.
After victories over the likes of Brazil in the qualifiers, Aguinaga and his mates are unlikely to be overawed by the Italians in a match they could conceivably pick up a point from.
Next up is Mexico in a Latin local derby of sorts in Miyagi on June 9. Easily a winnable affair, given Aguinaga’s intimate knowledge of the Mexican game and players from his career-long affiliation with the central Americans.
And against Croatia in their last game on June 13 in Yokohama, youth and athleticism may be the difference given the age of the graying Balkan squad.
From all indications, it could be a memorable World Cup debut for the hitherto unknown South Americans.
(Each week, Jay Mwamba previews a World Cup finalist or finalists. The teams profiles to this point are Cameroon, Saudi Arabia, Germany, Denmark, Uruguay, Senegal, France, Paraguay, Slovenia, Spain, South Africa, Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Turkey, the United States, South Korea, Portugal, Poland, Nigeria, Sweden, Argentina, England and Croatia.)