The Argentine Gustavo Alfaro, coach of the Ecuadorian national team, confessed the strange feeling he experienced upon arriving at the Ecuadorian Football Federation (FEF), hired in September 2020, one month before the start of the South American qualifier for the Qatar World Cup 2022.
Alfaro was interviewed by the Spanish program The Chiringuito TVstreamed on Twitch.
“Unfortunately, when we arrived, we did not find anything here (at the FEF), we did not find data, we did not find the feeling of where we were standing,” said the technical director.
“A very methodical and exhaustive analysis of individual and collective performance had to be carried out,” Alfaro said, regarding the preparation of his first list of those summoned for the duels against Argentina and Uruguay in October 2020.
Alfaro was hired by the board led by Francisco Egas after the Spanish-Dutch Jordi Cruyff left the bench without directing any party in the six months he was in charge. His resignation was made official on July 23, 2020.
“It was a process that had a lot of uncertainty from the start, more than anything because of the situation in which the Ecuadorian team found itself prior to the start of the tie, and also because a very important generational change had to be made,” he mentioned.
Ecuador’s next rival in the tie is Paraguay, on Thursday, March 24, a match that the Argentine hopes will define the classification from the Tri to the World Cup.
“They have put us in a situation of expectation two dates from the end, where even without getting points we can probably play the World Cup. Obviously, we want to finish the tie as we have throughout the entire competition, being behind Brazil and Argentina. Ecuador is very close. We are very close to making that dream come true.”
The 59-year-old albiceleste, who had managed several teams, such as Boca Juniors, assured that the qualification with Ecuador to Qatar 2022 has enormous meaning.
“If I did, it would be the most significant achievement for me.”
With Argentina already qualified, Ecuador will have to close the tie by playing against Lionel Messi’s team on Tuesday, March 29 in Guayaquil. (D)
Source: Eluniverso
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