For Club Sport Emelec, the 2023 season must already be written on the black pages of its important history. Institutional and sports – which is the emotional substance that stimulates the fans – are two areas in which the electrics failed this year. The election events that filled the entire year of 2022 with uncertainty were an announcement of what unfortunately happened. The election won by the list led by José Pileggi was an embarrassing display of the legal resources and obstacles used to delay it.

Pileggi’s victory was based on bids that included revenue in excess of annual costs. He intended to implement a comprehensive plan that would bring entertainment back to the stadiums. He secured the presence of sponsors for Emelec to raise funds and intended to become the driver of a blue car that can run 250 kilometers per hour, but they made him drive 80 kilometers.

National tennis, before and after FET

But what encouraged the millionaire partner the most was the announcement that Emelec must register its name in international cups. Until now, thirteen months into Pileggi’s management, this maxim can be confirmed: paper can withstand anything. All those good intentions were just election proposals that served only to win the presidential position. With the new board of directors only a few months into office, the sports news has been intriguing.

Daniel Noboa, president of Ecuador, was ‘depressed’ with Emelec’s performance in 2023 under José Pileggi Véliz

For example, core midfield players such as Sebastián Rodríguez and Dixon Arroyo left for Peñarol and Inter Miami. The two left without leaving any financial benefit to Emelec. Then the Argentinian Miguel Rondelli was hired as a coach, who experienced a huge fiasco. He did not have the character or experience to lead a team that is constantly looking for results. Rondelli could not withstand the pressure from the media and fans and was fired shortly thereafter.

Guayas football, in decline in all aspects

Another mistake that cost Pileggi dearly was the hiring of an extensive list of mediocre foreign players who contributed nothing to football. Furthermore, it was an economic loss. The list includes names that should not have been foreign signings for a team of Emelec’s stature. Juan José Pérez (Colombian), Breiner Agrón (Colombian), José Alberti (Uruguayan), Carlos Villalba (Argentine), Samuel Sosa (Venezuelan) and Caín Fara (Argentine).

And Miller Bolaños arrived among the national team with great fanfare, who throughout his career did not manage to reconcile his excellent football level with the discipline that a professional must have. His exclusion did not surprise anyone. For Bryan Angulo and Michael Carcelén, due to disciplinary records, failure was predicted and it happened. Sirens’ songs seduced Emelec’s leadership naivety.

Play well or win? It’s a controversy

During his short tenure, Pileggi was also hit by the resignation of several leaders, some with knowledge and experience, who preferred to leave due to differences in the club’s management. Faced with these setbacks, Pileggi appeared before the press and said, “Everything is going smoothly.” But then he made a big political mistake. He faced someone with whom he had collaborated in leadership: Nassib Neme.

Pileggi criticized him for the administrative and financial situation in which he left Emelec. He discovered the late wages, the million-dollar debt with Banco del Pacífico, and the demands that appeared every day. These were sufficient reasons for the economic suffocation of the club. Until Neme, who was silent for ten months, decided to answer Pileggi in a letter addressed to EL UNIVERSO in which he called him “opportunist and vain, disguised as the president of Emelec”. “A person who is incapable of doing things well and who should apologize to Emelecism.”

I do not like the national team of Félix Sánchez Bas! It’s effort and no ideas

That tired letter from the former electric president destabilized Pileggi, who began a counter-response against everyone he assumed to be his opponents. He replied to former vice president Edmund Véjar: “When you’re a boy and you have good pants, you show your face and don’t hide.” He also objected to a section of the media talking about “people who are dedicated to not talking about football. Hidden in microphones and cameras, to denigrate people.” He did not identify himself.

To mitigate such criticism, Pileggi hired coach Hernán Torres, who came from Colombia with a strong personality and footballing knowledge suitable to correct Emelec’s course. The background has been confirmed in his character, but in football terms very little, in jerks and jerks. It was difficult for him to show his vaunted ability with a weakened team, in which several players stood out, such as Pedro Ortiz and Luis Fernando León. The other players were at a deplorable level.

Something that started badly, ended the same. 2023 is one of the worst years in the history of the million dollar institution. The statistics confirm that even 86.20% of the time it was among the worst on the table. In addition, it ended the streak of 15 consecutive years of qualifying for Conmebol tournaments and saved itself from relegation in the final games. The main headlines of the sports press recorded the sadness, anger, disappointment and helplessness of Emelecist fans.

Pileggi took to social media to try to convey what he thinks is coming next. On his account It’s a matter of patience, tolerance and time.”

As an example of what should be done in difficult times, the year 2006 comes to mind, when Emelec was experiencing serious moments, and Ferdinand Hidalgo Rojas bravely took over the position of club president for the second time. Faced with an economic and football crisis, he used prescriptions to relieve those pains. He reduced the spending budget and left football to Carlos Torres Garcés. Without a football commission, he used his knowledge and contacts, including Argentine footballers such as Luis Miguel Escalada and Marcos Mondaini and Colombian Luis Guillermo Rivera. Young national team players like Jorge Ladines, Cristian Noboa and others got the opportunity.

In 2006, Emelec had a young team, with a high level of competition, and was runner-up. Ferdinand Hidalgo taught how with work, modesty and knowledge you can form a team that the fans are proud of. Today, Emelecism has the following concerns: Will Pileggi be able to make such a disastrous season forgotten? Will he be able to show Nemeo that his statements are wrong when he says that he “does not have the administrative, economic and leadership capacity to reverse the chaos and institutional decay?” What caused Emelec? Will Emelec in 2024 be able to solve the depression of the president of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, so that he can once again see the team of which he is a self-confessed fan?

There you go, President Pileggi. He said he was used to big challenges. You have a new opportunity. Don’t waste it. (OR)