ECUADOR OFFICIAL THREAD

[Adalon]

Cagliari are on the trail of Ecuador international forward Franklin Salas.

The highly-rated young striker currently plays for Liga Deportiva Universitaria in Quito but is wanted by Italian side Cagliari.

The Serie B outfit are pushing for promotion to the top flight and are ready to splash out $3 million on the 22-year-old.

Salas is aware of Cagliari's interest but is waiting to hear of something concrete before he gets excited about a potential switch to Europe.

"I knew about the interest from Cagliari by reading what the press in my country is saying," said Salas.

"To tell the truth, nobody has spoken with me but that is maybe because the negotiations are done directly between the officials of both clubs.

"As I have always said, I only want to know about a transfer when there is really something official and that could be the reason why nobody has told me anything yet."

Even if Cagliari fail to clinch promotion, Salas is unfazed by playing in Serie B where he would team up with Gianfranco Zola.

He continued: "It doesn't matter if Cagliari are in Serie B because it's a very competitive championship and anyway for a South American player, it is very important to have the chance to play in Europe."

[Pibe´s fan]

He´s a good player, he´s skilled. I saw him every match he played for Ecuador for the Olympic qualify.

[El Greavio]

do u think he'll have a good partnership with the gr8 zola. an honour if he does. and where did calgari get $3million from. theyre only in serie b

[Adalon]

zola is still going::shocked: how old is he now 37?

[El Greavio]

yeh he finishes at the end of the season. in his first game he scored 4 goals 4 calgari

[Adalon]

BRING ZOLA BACK TO CHELSEA!!!!!

[El Greavio]

zola just wants 2 have his last season at the club that made him the zola we all know and love

didnt zola score 6 in his first game for caliagri in a friendly match??

[Frank Cunha]

How good is Ecuador? I hear a lot of good things about this national team.

[Frank Cunha]

game to take place tonight
12:20 Japan ? - ? Ecuador

[Frank Cunha]

what improvement on this guys in the last 10 years, what show by LDU de Quito, 2-0 in the first 14m, this is a team the will be going far in the Libertadores Cup


Cup of Libertadores

South America - Copa Libertadores
22:44 April 25



14' LDU de Quito 2 - 0 Atletico Nacional

[Frank Cunha]

Ecuador list of players for the world cup

- GOAL KEEPERS: Edwin Villafuerte (Deportivo Quito), Cristian Mora (Liga de Quito) and Damian Lanza (Aucas).
- DEFENDERS: Iván Hurtado (Al Arabi, Qatar), Ulises de la Cruz (Aston Villa, England), José Luis Perlaza (Olmedo), Jorge Guagua (El Nacional ), Paul Ambrossi, Néicer Reasco and Giovanny Espinoza (Liga de Quito).
- MIDFIELDERS: Antonio Valencia (Recreacional Huelva, Spain), Edwin Tenorio (Barcelona), Edison Méndez and Patricio Urrutia (Liga de Quito), Marlon Ayoví and Luis Saritama (Deportivo Quito), Segundo Castillo and Cristian Lara (El National ).
-FORWARDS: Iván Kaviedes (Argentinos Juniors, Argentina), Agustín Delgado (Liga de Quito); Félix Borja, Cristian Benítez, (El Nacional) and Carlos Tenorio (Al Saad, Qatar).

They will have a month to work

Ecuador's coach, Colombian Luis Fernando Suárez, said today they will have one month with the whole team to prepare for their performance in the World Cup, Germany 2006. "Ecuador will arrive in good shape to dispute the World Cup, because the most important thing will be the 25 days that we will have to work together, because we have an elaborated tactical situation prepared a long time ago", Suárez said to the journalists.

The trainer specified that in the first week of trainings that will begin next Monday, he will review all the tactical and strategic schemes that have always worked and that Ecuadorian footballers are good at remembering.

"Both friendly matches we will have, May 24 against Colombia in New York, and Macedonia, on the 28, in Spain, will be good to evaluate and to make the best decisions and immediately, in the following week, to define the alignment for their premiere match against Poland", he pointed out.

Ecuador will concentrate next Monday in Quito and will travel to New York May 22 for the friendly of the 24th against Colombia, four days later, it will play against Macedonia, in Spain and from there on to Bad Kissingen, in Germany, to be concentrated for the World Cup.

[Frank Cunha]

By Paul Kennedy
Managing Editor
Soccer America

Ecuador looks beyond smuggling scandal

This should be a time of celebration for Ecuadoran soccer.
Ecuador, which never qualified for the World Cup finals before 2002, is headed to the World Cup for the second straight time.
But the Ecuador national team, which faces Colombia tonight in the nightcap of a Giants Stadium doubleheader after the Red Bulls-FC Dallas MLS game, was rocked last month by the arrest of team coordinator Vinicio Luna on charges of illegal immigrant trafficking.
Luna and team doctor Patricio Maldonado were detained on April 10 for allegedly seeking U.S. visas for at least two people not connected to the squad after charging them thousands of dollars for the visas. On April 21, a judge issued another arrest warrant for the team's public relations director.
Ecuador’s Colombian coach, Luis Suarez, was undetered by the smuggling charges.
"Everybody laments what happened,” he told Reuters, “but the players know that there is something more important, that there is the World Cup.”
Ecuador’s goal is to reach the second round, and Suarez says his players’ biggest shortcoming is their chronically low self-esteem.
"Ecuador still shows that lack of confidence," he said, "because when the team wins many say it is not because of our strengths but because of our rival's shortcomings."

[simaozinho200]

ecuador current league standings
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/tables?...=ecu.1&cc=5901

[Frank Cunha]

Barcelona in 6th place that's a surprise.