In 2002, Ecuador played the first World Cup in its history and Juan Carlos Burbano (54) was there. The former midfielder played a few games with La Tri en route to the Korea-Japan event and then became one of the 23 selected for the competition. The El Nacional idol describes that moment as a dream come true.

21 years after that World Cup, Burbano still feels part of Tri, but now as a fan. In this context, the former footballer responds to the invitation of AS and looks back on the match between Ecuador and La Roja, which will be played this Tuesday at the Rodrigo Paz Delgado stadium in Quito.

New Ecuador-Chile is coming. What do you think that match will be like?

It’s an important game, because we have to secure points at home if we want to go to the World Cup. And Chile will always be a tough opponent. We know they are not at their best and have administrative problems, as Alexis has already said, but they are a team that has a lot of respect.

He says he heard what Alexis said…

It seems to me that the player has every right to speak, but maybe I would handle it more internally.

Were you surprised by Sánchez’s speech?

Of course. The minimum a player must have is comfort to function. It’s about good concentration, a good pitch, changing rooms, showers… Everything has to be flawless. If there is no such thing, a person becomes demotivated.

It will be the first meeting between Ecuador and La Roja after everything that happened with Byron Castillo. Is there a lot of anger in your country against Chile because of this case?

Thinking carefully, what we have to do is accept the mistake. Chile fought for what it considered to be fair and in the end Ecuador was sanctioned. Although there are people who are angry with Chile, it does not mean that we do not have a good relationship with that country or that we will treat the players badly. Ecuador fans must behave properly and support their team. On the pitch, we have to win legitimately, with good football, to show that we were better than Chile.

How much does Ecuador lose without Enner Valencia?

In the World Cup we had Enner Valencia, Michael Estrada and Gonzalo Plata, and now they are gone. It was very difficult for Professor Sánchez to find a replacement, especially Enner… A player like Kevin Rodríguez appeared, who is very important, and also Kendry Páez, with excellent youth, but we still don’t have that’ 9′. We will see if Jordy Caicedo and ‘Leo’ Campana get their chance.

La Roja, for its part, does not have Arturo Vidal or Gary Medel…

They are historic players from Chile, they have won several things with the national team, now we have the advantage that they will not be there, but we should not rely on it.

It’s seen on Ecuador’s social media and fans are calling for Félix Sánchez to leave. The same thing happened here with Eduardo Berizza who resigned a few days ago…

Networks are like that. There are many negative people who can express their feelings, but it is too early to draw conclusions. I would give a little more space to Professor Félix Sánchez. Chile will be a very good test and I hope they will overcome it. That way we would be a little calmer for next year.

On a general level, yes, Ecuador is much better than Chile…

We are a little better than Chile. Not very far, but I think we have made important steps in the work in the training departments. Independiente del Valle is one of the best examples, along with Liga de Quito. Católica and Aucas are also going that way and I hope there will be results soon. This work is reflected in the export of several players to Europe and is important because they gain a lot of experience, open up, learn another culture, another language and this makes them grow as footballers and people.

What do you think of La Roja’s recent slump?

– Chile has to make a change little by little. The work in the training departments is essential and I’m sure there is talent in Chile. These players should soon take over Medel, from Vidal, and so they will return to the first places. In any case, this tie has only just begun and no one can be considered eliminated.

Do you admire a Chilean player? From the current team or from the past…

Of course. I remember Caszely, Zamorano, Salas, Alexis who is current. Chile will always be a very motivated opponent for the player… Zamorano, for example, fought in Inter Milan, with Ronaldo. He put his work at the service of the team and if he needed to come in for five minutes, he did it. He left the lesson and did the same at Real Madrid. He is one of the greatest that Chile has ever had. (D)