The last time Jefferson Orejuela played a first league match was on October 16, 2022, when he came on in the 61st minute of a match that his team Guayaquil City lost 2-0 against Liga de Quito at Rodrigo Paz Stadium. according to the portal data Transfermarkt. The Esmeralda midfielder had only ten appearances for the so-called citizens, today in Serie B.

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Orejuela arrived at City after successive failures at Fluminense, Querétaro, Barcelona SC and Emelec. After a long time without work, Orejuela found work again as a soccer player. This Friday, in an interview with Mach Sports, Major César Benalcázar, El Nacional’s physical trainer, confirmed that Eddie Guevara and Jefferson Orejuela have been recruited by the military team for 2024. Orejuela has not played professionally for fifteen months to date.

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Marginalized at Fluminense

The man from Esmeralda, who will turn 31 on February 14, gained affirmation by participating in Independiente del Valle, a finalist in the Copa Libertadores in 2016. He was already 23 years old when he was called “promising”. He received excessive praise from the press sector despite the fact that as a midfielder he based his game on passing the ball sideways or backwards: “Cries out for a call to the Tricolor”, “The representation is Jefferson Orejuelo and ten others”, it was said. Orejuela hardly lasted at all in the star plans.

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Fluminense signed him and in December 2017 he was already in trouble. Esports balloon announced: “He ended up isolated from the group due to his lack of commitment. After Fla-Flu (a classic that Flamengo won 1-0 in the Copa Sudamericana), when the midfielder was severely reprimanded by some teammates in the dressing room, and physical aggression also comes into play. Orejuela didn’t seem to care about the defeat. The annoyance with the Ecuadorian has been going on for some time. And there’s a strong indication that Orejuela’s vibe with the rest of the cast isn’t the best: he’s not part of the players’ WhatsApp group.”

A beheaded generation

Probably the disastrous role in Querétaro, Mexico marked him negatively. He arrived at that club in 2020 from the Quito league, but after five games they thanked him. After insignificant stints at Barcelona SC (2020), Emelec (2021) and Guayaquil City (2022), it was confirmed, successively, that Orejuela was admired as a promise.

Orejuela is part of the so-called ‘Decapitated Generation’ of Independiente del Valle in 2016, the year that team reached the final of the Libertadores, losing to Atlético Nacional from Medellín. They exploded and were transferred abroad, except for Orejuel, Arturo Mina, Luis Kunti Caicedo, Gabriel Cortez, Bryan Cabeza, José tin Angulo, Jonathan González and others. But for various reasons (poor performance, indiscipline, sanctions for doping and age falsification) they failed. (D)