Last Wednesday, with a 0-0 draw in Capwell with Sporting Cristal from Peru, Emelec qualified for the round of 16 of the Copa Sudamericana, where they will face Defensa y Justicia from Argentina.

A week earlier, those led by Hernán Torres beat the Sky Blues 1-0 in Lima and with a goalless draw secured their ticket to the next stage of the cup.

However, one of the numbers that the Peruvians have had throughout their history did not hide their discomfort at relegation and fiercely criticized the Blues.

“Not only is Emelec the worst I’ve seen in history, but it was the easiest opponent Cristal has found since the Copa Libertadores and now Sudamericana,” said Julinho, a goalscorer and figurehead for Lima in the 1990s.

“Cristal competed in the Copa Libertadores, they faced Fluminense and River Plata (from Argentina), of all the teams Emelec faced they were the worst, I don’t understand how they were eliminated with a team like that,” added the Brazilian in snap-in radius.

The former player did not hide his discomfort and criticized the Ecuadorians and insisted that the electric team were not dominant in the series.

“Emelec here (in Peru) kicked one ball to the goal, scored a goal and played everything behind and it was disastrous and his problem was not in the definition,” he said.

“He had a few chances (at Capwell), the game was very easy and he missed qualifying (on Wednesday),” Julinho concluded. (D)