Ecuador World Cup Team Blog » World Cup 2006

In Case You Were Wondering…

Trent — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 20:22:09 +0000

There are changes afoot at World Cup Blog. Posting is light at least until the changes are implemented. Check out Bob’s main post here.

Many of you have been readers and commenters since the early days nearly two years ago. Thanks!…and I hope you continue to participate in the World Cup Blog community.

After all, 2010 WC qualifiers are right around the corner. ¡Sí se puede!

Felipe Caicedo Turning Heads

Trent — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 01:08:56 +0000

We’ve been high on Caicedo for a long time, and have followed his career in Europe such as it is. Now it seems that some of the big boys are considering vying for his services.

Try these on for size: Valencia, Atletico Madrid, Sevilla, Milan, Juventus, Fiorentina, Udinese and Palermo. Rumors at this point, but we will keep abreast of the situation. I’d love to see more Ecuas in Spain / Italy.

Honduras 2-1 Ecuador

Trent — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 11:02:37 +0000

Ecuador’s very brief winning streak is over, as La Tricolor crashed 1-2 at Honduras in a friendly match held yesterday.

Jorge Guagua’s 88th-minute penalty was not enough to overcome two late Honduran goals, one each by the Italian Serie A-based duo of Julio Cesar de Leon and David Suazo.

Ecuador 5- 1 El Salvador

Trent — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 01:14:59 +0000

Ecuador have emphatically defeated El Salvador 5-1 in a friendly held today in Quito. It didn’t help that from halftime the visitors were down to ten men, and then spent the last half hour with only nine.

La Tricolor were paced by Cristian Benitez, who is quickly showing that he is the goal-scoring future for Ecuador. Other goals came from Cristian Lara, Felipe Caicedo and Patricio Urrutia. Excepting Urrutia (who has admittedly been playing well of late), the scorers are amongst the youngsters, and therefore the future, of the Ecuador national team.

Sure, El Salvador has not been playing well lately. But this is only a good sign.

R.I.P. Jairo Andres Nazareno

Trent — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 01:33:36 +0000

The latest in what seems like a rash of recent football player deaths is Ecuadorian Jairo Andres Nazareno. Nazareno, who plays for Chimborazo in Ecaudor’s third division, suffered chest pains during a match last week and died of an apparent cardiac arrest.

Thoughts and prayers.

LFS: S’up, UDLC?

Trent — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 00:57:16 +0000

Ecuador national coach Luis Fernando Suarez is publicly wondering what the hell Reading defender Ulises de la Cruz is up to these days.

UDLC was a no-show for the recent Bolivia friendly, and has thusly been left out of the upcoming matches against El Salvador and Honduras.

Sez the gaffer: “I’m waiting for him to talk directly to me to know the reasons for not being with the team. Until I get an explanation I feel he has got a lot of things to sort out. So I’m not counting on him for these games.”

Seems like UDLC, who is as we’ve said before one of the better guys in all of professional football, has some ’splaining to do to his coach.

Edison’s Champions League Draw

Trent — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 17:00:37 +0000

Ecuador midfielder Edison Mendez learns his club’s Champions League fate as the final eight groups are determined.

PSV Eindhoven will share Group G with Inter Milan, Fenerbahce and CSKA Moscow. No pushovers in the group, to be sure.

Would love to see Edison make some more noise in this year’s CL.

Jefferson Perez Update: Still a Badass

Trent — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 01:46:03 +0000

We’ve been fans of speed walker Jefferson Perez for nearly as long as World Cup Blog has been extant. So it should be no surprise that we’re stoked that JP has won his third 20k gold medal at this years’ IAAF world track and field championships in Osaka, Japan.

Sez JP: “This could be the toughest of my victories. I was walking so fast that in these conditions, I knew I could collapse. It was kind of suicidal.”

Congrats to Jefferson!

Unrelatedly…the school I attended in Guayaquil was named Jefferson. Coincidence?

Yeah, probably.

Full Time: Bolivia 0-1 Ecuador

Trent — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 01:00:37 +0000

Thanks, as noted, to Patricio Urrutia. A nice result, to be sure.

Lineups:

Ecuador:
Elizaga
Montaño, Hurtado, Espinoza, Aguirre
Méndez, Urrutia, Bran, Lara
Benítez, F. Caicedo.

Bolivia:
Galarza
Arces, Raldés, L. Méndez, Mojica
Reyes, Sacha Lima, Campos, Vaca
Andaveris, Parada.

Half Time: Bolivia 0-1 Ecuador

Trent — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 00:12:11 +0000

Thanks to Patricio Urrutia, whose relatives sometimes read this blog (fo’ real!).