Fifa World Cup 2014: Ecuador must fill void left by death of Christian Benitez

Dubai: Ecuador were left in turmoil after striker Christian Benitez died, aged 27, of a cardiac arrest while playing in Qatar for his club side Al Jaish last July.

‘Chucho’ was the country’s third highest goal scorer ever with 24 goals and provided the finishing touches to their attacking flair. Psychologically, Benitez’s passing will have brought the squad closer together and more determined to honour his memory in Brazil, but physically they still lack his talismanic presence up front.

How La Tri will overcome this, or rather who can step in to fill the void left by Benitez, will be key to their campaign.

Faced with relatively beatable opening opponents in Switzerland and Honduras, Ecuador have a good chance of progressing — thus equalling their record round of 16 finish — even before playing France. But that’s only if they can find a quick solution to their attacking shortfalls.

Coach Reinaldo Rueda’s wide and counter-attacking 4-4-2 system relies heavily on wingers Jefferson Montero and Antonio Valencia. But it’s up front and on the end of crosses where they lack Benitez’s aerial ability and physicality.

Felipe Caicedo and Enner Valencia remain an unknown entity together in the box, but will be determined to prove that they are not the weak links.

Meanwhile, in defence, where the age and pace of Jorge Guagua and Walter Ayovi have been brought into question, Ecuador will be just as keen to deflect attention. The theory that playing a World Cup in their own continent will favour South American teams should give Ecuador some hope, but their failure to get a win away from home in Conmebol qualifying leaves many in doubt.

If Ecuador beat Switzerland and Honduras early on in Group E, you would expect them to come up against Argentina or Nigeria and a last-16 exit. But, if they stumble against their opening two opponents and leave everything to play for against France, they could be going home early.

Ecuador

Group E
Fifa ranking: 28

Top man

Antonio Valencia
Date of birth: August 4, 1985 (age 28)
Place of birth: Lago Agrio
Height: 1.80m
Weight: 78kg
Playing position: Right winger
International caps: 68. Goals: 8 

Coach

Reinaldo Rueda
Date of birth: April 16, 1957 (age 57)
Place of birth: Cali (Colombia)
Manager since: September 2010
Record: P44 W19 D13 L12 – 43 per cent win ratio

Best 11 (4-4-2)

Maximo Banguera; Walter Ayovi, Jorge Guagua, Frickson Erazo, Juan Carlos Paredes; Jefferson Montero, Segundo Castillo, Christian Noboa, Antonio Valencia; Felipe Caicedo, Jaime Ayovi

Squad

Goalkeepers: Maximo Banguera (Barcelona SC), Alexander Dominguez (LDU Quito), Adrian Bone (El Nacional)

Defenders: Frickson Erazo (Flamengo), Jorge Guagua, Oscar Bagui, Gabriel Achilier (all Emelec), Walter Ayovi (Pachuca), Juan Carlos Paredes (Barcelona SC)

Midfielders: Segundo Castillo (Al-Hilal), Carlos Gruezo (VfB Stuttgart), Renato Ibarra (Vitesse Arnhem), Cristian Noboa (Dynamo Moscow), Luis Saritama (Barcelona SC), Antonio Valencia (Manchester United), Edison Mendez (Independiente Santa Fe), Michael Arroyo (Atlante)

Forwards: Felipe Caicedo (Al-Jazira), Jefferson Montero (Morelia), Joao Rojas (Cruz Azul), Fidel Martinez, Jaime Ayovi (both Tijuana), Enner Valencia (Pachuca)

Group opponents

Switzerland
France
Honduras

Qualifying campaign

Scraped automatic qualification after finishing fourth in Conmebol qualifying, above Uruguay on goal difference.

World Cup history

First tournament: 2002 (in South Korea/Japan)
Appearances (nefore 2014): 2
Best finish: Round of 16 (2006)
Club: Manchester United (England)

Pros

• A 2013 survey by Fifa identified Antonio Valencia as the world’s current fastest footballer with a top speed of 35.2km/h.
• Coach Reinaldo Rueda is the second longest serving national team manager in South America after Uruguay’s Oscar Tabarez.
• Ecuador open with games against Switzerland and Honduras, opponents who are far from unbeatable.

Cons

• Ecuador failed to win away from home in their Conmebol qualifying campaign, picking up just three points on their travels despite being unbeaten at home.
• The death of striker Christian “Chucho” Benitez leaves the squad without its third highest goal-scorer of all-time (with 24 goals). Benitez died aged 27 of a cardiac arrest during a match with Qatari side Al Jaish in Doha last July.
• Ageing defenders Walter Ayovi (34) and Jorge Guagua (32) lack pace, although Ecuador still boasted the third best defensive record in Conmebol qualifying.