The football federation of Ecuador announced the departure of its coach, Spaniard Félix Sánchez, just hours after Thursday night’s defeat to Argentina nos penalty shootout in the quarterfinals of the America Cup.
“Today, the termination of the contract with coach Félix Sánchez Bas was agreed,” the Ecuadorian federation said in a brief statement.
“We thank Félix and his technical committee for their work and professionalism and we wish them success in their future projects”, concludes the text.
End of the match. We gave it our all.
• #LaTriArgentina • pic.twitter.com/1XKwvfYUpG
— The Tri 🇪🇨 (@LaTri) July 5, 2024
The announcement comes shortly after Ecuador had Lionel Messi’s Argentina on the ropes, drawing 1-1 in regulation time thanks to a late goal from Kevin Rodríguez (90’+3).
In the penalty shootout, Messi missed the first penalty when he tried to chip the ball and hit the crossbar. But Ecuador failed to take advantage of the opportunity and Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano ‘Dibu’ Martínez performed some of his miracles by saving two penalties at the NRG Stadium in Houston (United States).
“We are digesting the defeat,” but “the balance is positive,” Sánchez told reporters before announcing his departure. “We played against the toughest opponent and we showed that the team can compete against everyone (…) I am happy with this group of players.”
Sánchez, 48, took charge of Ecuador in early 2023 after managing the Qatar team that hosted the 2022 World Cup.
The coach, who came through the ranks of Barcelona’s youth academy, had been heavily questioned by a section of the press and the fans of the ‘Tricolor’ team, who were demanding better results from their exciting new generation, which included youngsters such as Moisés Caicedo and Kendry Páez, signed by Chelsea, and Piero Hincapié, from Bayer Leverkusen.
Ecuador are fifth in the South American Qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup after the first six rounds.
The Copa América has already seen the dismissal of Jamaica’s coach, Icelander Heimir Hallgrímsson, and has left other coaches such as Mexican Jaime Lozano and American Gregg Berhalter on the ropes.
Source: Gazetaesportiva
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