Ecuador-Venezuela: ten results that make it risky to say that the Tricolor ‘already has won’ the qualifying match for the Qatar 2022 World Cup

Neither the world soccer powers – and Ecuador is not one of them, nor three World Cup qualifications bring it closer to that range – assume that a match is won before it is played. However, as happens before any confrontation with the Venezuelan football team, be it at the club or national team level, a sector of national journalism predicts that victory is already “in the pocket” tricolor simply because the rival is llanero.

In relation to this Thursday’s duel against Vinotinto, on the thirteenth date of the 2022 World Cup qualifier, the habit of underestimating the Venezuelan team resurfaces through euphoric opinions such as: “That game is already won”, “those three points they are ours ”,“ with all due respect, we are better ”,“ we play in Quito ”,“ that is the game to win ”.

There is no lesson despite two recent fiascoes against Venezuela, with respect to which an “easy” victory for Ecuador was also predicted in each case: the 2-2 draw in the Copa América 2021, against an adversary diminished in its composition; and the 2-1 defeat of Gustavo Alfaro’s team a month ago in Caracas in the current World Cup.

Beyond the result that the Selection obtained this Thursday at the Rodrigo Paz Delgado stadium, a review of the history of the clashes against the llanero football shows that it is more advisable, despite the current condition of the visiting team, to be prudent. This is what ten soccer slips suggest that occurred when it was thought, as now, that against Venezuela the “game is already won.”

1. In his second participation in the Copa LibertadoresIn 1964, Barcelona Sporting Club starred in a role against Deportivo Italia, from Caracas, which arrived at the Modelo stadium as supposedly slaughtered beef. The Brazilian Zequinha gave Venezuela its first victory in the history of the tournament with a 1-0 against a squad with stars such as Helinho, Vicente Lecaro, Luciano Macías, Cortijo Bustamante, Washington Muñoz, Nivaldo, Helio Cruz. The canaries did not pass the round.

2. On March 18, 1975 El Nacional was beaten at the Olympic Stadium in Caracas by Deportivo Galicia, at the close of the military participation in the Copa Libertadores that year. Castro (2), Estrade and Cecilio Palenzuela scored the Quito team of Carlos Ron, Fabián Paz and Miño, Perdomo Véliz, Wilson Nieves, Miguel Pérez, Manuel Swett, among others.

3. In 1983 it was not necessary for the party in Guayaquil between Barcelona and Deportivo Táchira will close the group stage of the Copa Libertadores. The bullfighters were already eliminated because they did not win any game against the llaneros. Atlético San Cristóbal, the only classified in Group 4 (El Nacional de Quito also failed), did not get scared in a Model stadium to burst and with ten men tied at 3. There was a show by Gaby Barreiro and Pedro Febles before consecrated persons such as Galo Vásquez, Juan Madruñero, Paulo César, Ricardo Armendáriz, Mario Tenorio and Alberto Andrade.

4. In 1994 the electricians rubbed their hands because on the horizon of the second round of the Libertadores appeared the Minervén, from Puerto Ordaz. But the equality at 3 on aggregate, after the round-trip duels, forced the collection of penalty kicks at Capwell Stadium. In Emelec they played Jacinto Espinoza, Luis Capurro, Iván Hurtado, Máximo Tenorio, Kléber Fajardo, Luis Oste, and the overrated Walter Pico, among others, but the Venezuelan club advanced and converted four, against two of the hosts.

5. With “an aberrant, tangled, disastrous approach imposed by (Dusan) Draskovic”, according to the book Ecuadorian soccer and its national team, by historian Mauro Velásquez, another game that journalism considered “already won” ended with the defeat of Ecuador 2-1 in Puerto Ordaz, in 1993. It was the first llanera victory over the Tricolor in the history of the qualifying rounds; in that case heading to the 1994 World Cup. Raúl Noriega, Byron Tenorio, Carlos Muñoz, Cléver Chalá, Jacinto Espinoza, Iván Hurtado, Raúl Avilés and Eduardo Hurtado are some of the players who played in that defeat.

6. In the 2006 World Cup qualifiers in Germany Venezuela he won the three points at home, in San Cristóbal, against Ecuador on October 14, 2004. The Llaneros won 3-1 with a double by Rubeth Morán and a goal by Gabriel Urdaneta scored against goalkeeper Edwin Villafuerte.

7. La Vinotinto won at the height of Quito 1-0 on October 13, 2007, at the start of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. With “a masterful free kick executed by José Manuel Rey” the llaneros pulverized the predictions of a comfortable victory for Ecuador. Daniel Viteri; Ulises de la Cruz, Iván Hurtado, Geovanny Espinoza, Óscar Bagüí (David Quiroz); Segundo Castillo, Antonio Valencia (Félix Borja), Édison Méndez, Christian Lara (Walter Ayoví); Christian Benítez, Carlos Tenorio were the players lined up by Luis Fernando Suárez.

8. In Salta, Argentina, in the 2011 Copa AméricaEcuador lost for the first time in that tournament against Venezuela. The llanero goal was made by César Eduardo González and the Tricolor that he lost 1-0 formed with Marcelo Elizaga; Néicer Reasco, Norberto Araujo, Frickson Erazo, Walter Ayoví; Segundo Castillo (David Quiroz), Christian Noboa, Michael Arroyo (Edson Montaño), Édison Méndez; Christian Benítez, Felipe Caicedo.

9. ‘Ecuador lets go of the victory against Venezuela and continues without winning in the Copa América’, He titled EL UNIVERSO last June in his information on the tie at 2 with the llaneros in Brazil 2021. On the third date of Group B against “the courage and handsomeness of the decimated Venezuela (due to injuries and COVID-19 infections) Ayrton Preciado opened the account for La Tri and made it equal to 1 Edson Castillo. The Selection went up again thanks to a goal from Gonzalo Plata and in additional Ronald Hernández made it 2-2.

10. In endless ‘previews’ (term copied from the transmissions of River Plate chains) It was predicted, for a change, before the October 10 meeting between Venezuela and Ecuador, heading for the 2022 World Cup, that “that match is already won” and that “those three points are ours.” The reality was different. “Ecuador, without ideas, fell 2-1 in the field of Venezuela, bottom of the South American qualifier to the World Cup in Qatar 2022, a result that is far from the calculation of the Tri coach, Gustavo Alfaro,” said this newspaper. Enner Valencia scored a penalty kick in the 36th minute, but Darwin Machís drew at 1. And “with the complicity of goalkeeper Moisés Ramírez” from a free kick Eduardo Bello made Vinotinto celebrate 2-1. (D)