🔗 Share this article

Last September, under the oppressive nocturnal temperatures of Guayaquil, Ecuador wrapped up their South American World Cup road to the finals with a hard-fought 1-0 triumph over front-runners and current title winners Argentina. the 35-year-old forward, Ecuador's all-time scorer, sealed the result with a 12-yard shot on his landmark game. The iconic stadium erupted with elation and passion.

The two teams had previously guaranteed a place for the upcoming global tournament, and the opposition were competing lacking the captain, who had earlier bid farewell to the preliminary stage after his last match in Buenos Aires a few days earlier. But these narratives mattered to the local supporters. They were acknowledging a superb run as La Tricolor placed in second spot in the rankings, their top placement since South American qualifying switched to a single table. And, this accomplishment came despite starting the qualifiers with a three-point penalty due to the employment of paperwork with false information to enlist a player in the earlier round.

This was a campaign of complete resilience; Ecuador have furthermore remained unbeaten in a match since last fall, a tight 1-0 defeat away at Brazil. During that period, they have also allowed a single strike, with just five goals let past over the full of qualifying.

Ecuador’s Trajectory May Be Surprising, Yet It’s Actually a Logical Outcome of Local Investment

The national team's trajectory might seem shocking to a few, but it’s truly a logical outcome of the evolution of the home league, an rise of talent playing their trade in European leagues, and a youth system that keeps to produce stars. That makes a side that may go far in next summer’s World Cup. Now, as they prepare for a pair of exhibition matches against host nations – the United States and El Tri – the aim and motto from their standpoint is straightforward: push forward.

“The challenge is to treat these warm-up matches with the same level of focus as qualifiers,” said gaffer Beccacece last week. “Both the US and México are formidable sides and we intend to beat them.”

The coach, an Argentinian, took over as the national team's manager in the previous year, replacing his predecessor after falling to the Albiceleste in the Copa América last eight. Aged 44, he’s a quite inexperienced coach, and has never been an international one. He has no past as a professional player also. In Ecuador, he accepted a highly sought-after roles in South American football, with a gifted and eager team including the London club's the midfielder and Paris Saint-Germain's center back Willian Pacho.

Yet notwithstanding this supposed odd pairing, Beccacece has ingrained defensive discipline into a side that are currently specialists of the transition game thanks to an surplus of poise and pace. With Beccacece, the low block is their ally, especially when holding on to a advantage and to the players, defending – according to the proverb – really does win championships. Due to this philosophy, there are parts of Ecuador’s media that criticize the shortage of attacking flair. Out of the Conmebol nations who made it for the finals, La Tricolor were the joint lowest scorers together with the Guaraníes. But to the team, their tight defensive unit is a badge of achievement.

Team Unity and Resilience Characterize Ecuador’s Style

“We don’t operate with a defensive quintet,” stated the wing-back, an important figure of the team, when interviewed on Ecuador’s popular broadcast Marca 90 about the inclination to play with such a deep defense. “As a attacking full-back [first] but I aim to support the backline. Perhaps it’s seen as a negative approach but we execute a distinct form of duty.”

The duty the player referred to is a collective responsibility to guard the shot-stopper and ensure not a soul penetrates the 18-yard box. Ecuador has turned resilience into an trademark.

Beccacece’s Journey and Influence on the National Team

Becca’s lack of past as a footballer means he has climbed the ladder through the training hierarchy, in time working side by side with Sampaoli as his deputy for the Chilean club where they won practically every local trophy and the continental cup in the 2011 season. Eventually it brought the pair to the Chilean squad during Chile’s golden years, which included the global tournament in the Brazil edition when Chile sent home Spain in the Round of 16. They were furthermore the pair that steered Chile to win the South American championship a in 2015. Later, he joined local side Defensa y Justicia before Sampaoli contacted him a second time, this time as involved in the Russia 2018 quest for Argentina.

Now he manages a squad that has grown|