The 2023 National Championship organized by the Pro League has ended, in which Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito deservedly won its twelfth crown. The successful season culminated as they also won the Copa Sudamericana 2023 when they defeated the Brazilian team Fortaleza in a penalty shootout on Saturday, October 28, and the Lilies once again excelled at international Conmebol tournaments.

The league, after a notable participation in the Sudamericana, faced the national championship with the postponement of two games, plus those in the requested dates. Many doubted his ability to successfully meet the outstanding obligations of the second phase. Surprisingly, the Albino did a fantastic job, adding eleven wins, three draws and just one defeat to reach the final against Independiente del Valle (the leader of the first stage).

That series of victories pushed them to a high competitive level in the decisive matches, while their rival Independiente experienced the opposite in that round of the Pro League. In the second phase, the Valle team received more criticism than praise. Their coach, Martín Anselmi, failed to rebuild a solid defense after the injury to captain Richard Schunke. back figure. It also played into the decline in the performance of midfielder Cristian Pelleran, a 41-year-old player who could not cope with the demands of the campaign. Furthermore, the team suffered from the lack of strength of its scorer, the famous Bolivian striker Marcelo Moreno Martins.

In the head-to-head matches played at the Sangolquí and Rodrigo Paz stadiums, neither of the two finalists showed superiority over the other, resulting in well-deserved draws in both games. Those matches did not reach the expected football level. But what stood out was the excitement of deciding the championship on penalty kicks, the sober presentation of prizes and the traditional euphoria of the white fans. Among the several outstanding performances was undoubtedly the goal scored by the discovery of the year: the youngster Kendry Páez. Also a glaring mistake by goalkeeper Moisés Ramírez, which contrasted with the exceptional performance of his colleague Alexander Domínguez. Thus Liga de Quito became, on merit, the brand new champion of the Pro League 2023.

At the end of the season, it is important to draw conclusions about the positive and negative sides of our football. Among the most important are:

Among the most sensitive issues is the critical financial situation of several clubs that are struggling with obligations that affect the execution of the budget. Deportivo Cuenca, for example, owes more than $430,000 to the Internal Revenue Service (SRI), plus $180,000 to the IESS, and has frozen bank accounts and back wages. El Nacional is facing problems of internal ungovernability and is piling up the biggest debt in its history. To confirm the seriousness of several clubs, FIFA has disqualified Emelec and Barcelona from signing contracts in 2024, among others, the latter is immersed in a legal dispute that prevents the new dignitaries from performing their duties at the moment.

In addition, there was a complaint from the United States ambassador to Ecuador, Michael Fitzpatrick, who stated that corruption money laundering had infiltrated what he called the “national passion for soccer” through his clubs. Faced with this serious accusation, Miguel Ángel Loor, president of LigaPro, assured that Ecuadorian football is very controlled. He said the Pro League’s current director of integrity was the head of the criminal fraud division at the United States embassy. He added that clubs are obliged to report to the Financial Analysis Unit (UAFE) and that the Pro League has a valid contract with SRI. Loor also asked the American ambassador a question to which there is still no answer: Was the message addressed to the first league, second category or amateur clubs?

While these critical topics were being discussed, the news that went around the world was announced: the ranking of world football leagues by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS). That of Ecuador is in eleventh place, and in front of it are only the almighty like England, France, Germany, Spain and Italy, but also that of Paraguay, which is tenth.

Faced with this news, Miguel Ángel Loor questioned the position of the Pro League, expressing his disagreement: “The Paraguayan League to the Ecuadorian Pro League sounds strange to me.” We will continue to grow so that even with these strange rankings there is no doubt that the Ecuadorian is on top.” Given this background, it would be important to know the parameters and methodology used by the IFFHS to prepare these unusual scales.

As for Guayas, their football has failed. Cold numbers prove it. In the series, he won only one championship in the last six tournaments. In 2018, the champion was Liga de Quito; in 2019, Delfín; Barcelona in 2020; 2021. Independiente del Valle; 2022. Aucas; and in 2023 the League. Furthermore, in 2023, in Serie A, Guayas lost its place with the relegation of Guayaquil City. UB, the province said goodbye to Búhos ULVR; and in the second league, none of those promoted from that circle belong to Guayas.

The crisis does not stop there. For Guayas, the results of the national championships of the training categories are sad and disappointing, as can be seen:

The epilogue is based on the synergy between the challenges and failures of the Guayas Football Association 2023, which represents the worst chapter in its history since its foundation in 1950. Its clubs have disappointed sportingly and remained trapped and immersed in embarrassment.internal disputes. Nor could they choose their directives without resorting to ordinary justice and without ceasing to receive calls to attention from the Ministry of Sports. Meanwhile, AFNA and its core teams are basking in the success, bragging and bragging about their well-deserved achievements. (OR)