We reaffirm our concept from the previous column: no other football in South America (and in the Concacaf area it could hardly be the United States), shows the progress and progress of the Ecuadorian. Steady progress, no crashes. And that in all areas: formation of good football players, character, technique, competitiveness, biotype, general progress of clubs, strengthening of their teams. Perhaps there were no prestigious Ecuadorian coaches with titles or work to show. It is still a deficit. In any case, this point is not an obstacle to decisively affirm his noticeable rise. There is a reality: the very fact that the topic is being discussed reflects its growth and it says that the second series (the first being Argentina and Brazil) had a direct rival. Because they will not return to the past: Ecuador has risen to stay in the layer shared by Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, and in the 60s and 70s Peru. And those four now see how tricolor football is happening to them.

The one who knows how to sign wins

That is why some sectors of Ecuadorian journalism claim the seal of “third party in South America” ​​for their football. It is…? This chronicler believes that he still cannot topple Uruguay. Information: on Tuesday, two Uruguayan stars appeared in the spectacular match Liverpool 2 – Real Madrid 5: Darwin Núñez in the English club and Federico Valverde in the Spanish one. And there are still many light blues in world football. Diego Forlán and Luis Suárez were Pichichi in Spain, Edinson Cavani is the all-time top scorer for Paris Saint Germain, and there are many other cases. In the titles achieved, comparison is impossible. In the end, La Celeste hosted 14 World Cups compared to Ecuador’s 4. And in this millennium, 5 to 4. There is still a big gap between Uruguay and the other seven.

Dream of the World Cup with poker at the venue

Instead, fourth place is temporary. Sometimes it was occupied by Colombia, sometimes by Chile and Paraguay. Ecuador is struggling on this step. And win. But it is good to know the impression of Ecuadorian colleagues.

“At the level of club competitions in the Conmebol tournaments, if that third place is ‘wanted’, because of what Independiente del Valle has done in recent years, and because Barcelona SC is the only semi-finalist in the Libertadores outside of the two monsters,” begins Aurelio Dávila, of facebook radio. And continue. “In the national teams, you have to divide it into three parts: in the qualifiers and the World Cup, you fight for 4th place, after Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, but with the unsolved task of being the protagonists of the World Cup, you only went beyond the group stage once, so you can to talk to Colombia, Paraguay and even Chile. In the Copa América we are a big failure, we only reached the semi-finals once and that at home, and then mediocre games”.

They are no longer hits

Dávila, a great statistician and journalist, concludes: “In training, it is another point in our favor, the South American title in 2019, an excellent participation in the previous World Cup and the expectation of what is coming in this world. The cup and the ‘raw material’ that you have, invites something to get excited about, this time we lack a DT with more experience and process experience.In a big smoothie, today I would put Ecuador in 4th place and my order would be: Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Chile , Paraguay, Venezuela and Bolivia”.

Harry Kane is useless

Carlos Víctor Morales cautiously says: “Besides looking for titles or looking for justification in terms of place, I believe that Ecuador has evolved a lot in recent years. And examples are in sight, three South American titles at club level, qualification for the World Cup for seniors and under-20s, places in the Copa Libertadores between Liga, Barcelona and Independiente del Valle. By all accounts, they bounce back from other countries where they don’t bounce in the club and national team. I really believe in the result of good work and when you excel at all levels and work well, results come. It is also true that everything is a product of a cycle, a phase, although the results are visible. I don’t think so, and not because I don’t believe it, it’s worth the pun, third place because I have a lot of respect for what Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile, Colombia produce and when you see the players who export to other countries, you realize that they surpass us in size Even everything that have earned. But right now in the regional competitions in South America we see that the balance is very much tilted in favor of Ecuador.”

Another interesting vision is from Francisco Molestina: “More than being third in the continent, what I hear is asking for more places in the Conmebol tournaments. And that has to do with what’s happening inside South America, not outside of it. That is, in the Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana, where Brazilians and Argentines dominate. There is a third place where Ecuador clearly appears. Winning the Copa Libertadores, Sudamericanas, reaching the final stages and being eliminated only by the Brazilians and the Argentines, especially the Brazilians. There has been noticeable progress in the national teams in the last twenty years. But we can be third in clubs and leagues. It is different at the state level, there are other weights. About Uruguay, its history, the players it plays. But here I return to the above: Peñarol and Nacional are not to be feared today. The same is happening with the Chileans Colo Colo, Universidad de Chile, Católica, Peruvians Sporting Cristal, Alianza, Paraguayans… They are all very bad. It’s not worth confronting them. Ecuador is experiencing the best moment in its history. Others have already experienced it”.

Closes Stalin Cobeña, from Football channel: “I think Ecuador deserves respect in South America because of the World Cup standings in different categories, they were already the South American U-20 champion, third in the World Cup, with the fact that the Ecuadorian league is very competitive, the third best from South America. This means that in the Libertadores and Sudamericana their clubs are the protagonists, Liga de Quito, Independiente del Valle and Barcelona itself. We are a little short of being the third power after Brazil and Argentina, winning or being a finalist in the Copa América would be a step forward in quality and reaching a rich history Uruguay, for now Ecuador is fighting with the biggest in South American football, respects it as one that has grown the most in the last 20 years, I think it is the fourth best on the continent, we are above Colombia. Be careful… If Uruguay is neglected in the next Copa América , and Ecuador is the protagonist, it will be the third continental power”.

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