Paolo Guerrero (age 39) and Marcelo Martins Moreno (36), contemporary soccer leaders from Peru and Bolivia, respectively, could not have been engaged in Ecuadorian teams five years or a decade ago, when their levels were higher than those low performances that showed in the 2023 Pro League tournament, whose season ended last Sunday.

They came to the country, among other things, because they were at the end of their prestigious career. Both are very veterans (75 years between them), available for the finances of two national clubs with the most stable finances: Liga de Quito and Independiente del Valle.

Neither Guerrero nor Martins Moreno lived up to the expectations created by their celebrity status (from years past) when their signings were announced. With a past more compelling than their sporting present, they share the historical privilege of being their teams’ top scorers. But what also unites them is that they have experienced two setbacks in the 2023 Pro League.

Disappointing in the final

The two strikers were so decisive for their teams and important for their coaches that Guerrero was substituted in the first leg of the final and in the second leg against Independiente. Moreno stayed on the bench in the first match and entered the final match in the 74th minute for one of the winners in stoppage time, but he didn’t succeed either: he sent a shot over the horizontal.

Guerrero skillfully hid his discreet performance behind two titles won in the Liga de Quito: the Copa Sudamericana and the national championship. Moreno’s bad role was more exposed. However, the numbers condemn both.

According to the official statistics published by the Pro League on its website, the Peruvian played thirteen games in the Ecuadorian competition. He started eleven times, but every time he started a game he was substituted 90.9% of the time (ten substitutions). He scored five goals, including one from a penalty kick. And out of a possible 1170 minutes, he played 902.

He is almost 40 years old

Guerrero will turn 40 on January 1, 2024. In order to continue with the League of Quito, he has already made a request to the management: that the Argentine Luis Zubeldía remain as coach. Isaac Álvarez, president of Azucene, spoke with KCH radio and rejected the statements of the striker who is close to retirement.

“It’s a problem I don’t share much with. That ‘if he stays, I will stay too’, because the League is an institution and setting personal conditions is not appropriate. In any company, it is very difficult to set the conditions to be part of the institution. It’s about love, defending the currency, defending the colors and working hard with enthusiasm,” the manager said.

Eight-time starter

In the case of Moreno Martins, who played in Brazil, Ukraine, Germany, England, he came after two bad campaigns in a row in China and Paraguay. In Ecuador, he confirmed his decline, so much so that as a footballer of Independiente del Valle, he last played for Bolivia, the team from which he retired.

In the Pro League, the Bolivian appeared in 20 games, but only started in eight of those occasions as a starter for Sangolquí (40%). Of all the times he started in the first eleven, the former scorer was replaced four times (50%). He scored only four goals.

Those from Valle let go of Martins Moreno, who will go to Lima. the newspaper Reasonfrom La Paz, relayed the statements made by the attacker on Tuesday Radio Ua station that supports Peruvian club Universitario de Deportes: “It’s true, there are surveys of Peruvian teams, but I haven’t spoken to any of them directly.” (D)