On 28 March 2001: Ecuador played Brazil in Quito in what was to become a historic World Cup qualifier. Iván Kaviedes received the ball from Alex Aguinaga and ran at the Brazilian defence taking the ball past three defenders, his cross/shot was turned into the net by Agustín Delgado to give Ecuador a famous 1-0 win, their first ever triumph against the Brazilians. Later that year Kaviedes scored his most famous goal to give Ecuador the draw they needed against Uruguay to earn their first appearance at a World Cup finals in 2002.
Showing posts with label World Cup Qualifier. Show all posts
Showing posts with label World Cup Qualifier. Show all posts
Lujos: Juan Pablo Sorín caño against Ronaldinho
For several years Ronaldinho was the undisputed king of clever tricks and flicks. When Brazil played Argentina in a 2006 World Cup qualifier, Juan Pablo Sorín took the opportunity to show that Ronaldinho is not the only one who could pull off a trick. You have to laugh at the way Ronaldinho lashed out at his opponent when he realised that he'd been done.
Golazo: José Manuel Rey Ecuador vs Venezuela, WCQ 2007 - Monster free kick
13 October 2007. José Manuel Rey, (Venezuela's most capped player) lined up a free kick against Ecuador in the high altitude venue of Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, in the first round of the gruelling South American qualification campaign for the 2010 World Cup.
Judging by his enormous run up, it seemed like the former Dundee FC player was going to have a crack at goal, surely not from that far out? But he did, unleashing an absolutely blistering shot and when the ball hit the net the stadium fell into stunned silence apart from a tiny pocket of travelling Venezuela fans.
Venezuela held on to record their first ever win against Ecuador in Quito and got their World Cup qualification campaign off to an unexpectedly good start. The traditional whipping boys of South America eventually finished 8th out of the 10 teams, but only 2 points behind the Uruguay team that made it all the way to the World Cup semi-finals.
Partidazo: Argentina 0-5 Colombia, 5 September 1993 - Argentina's shame
The Colombia team celebrate their remarkable victory.
Argentina 0-5 Colombia
The Colombian side led by shaggy haired captain Carlos Valderrama handed the Albicelestes their biggest home defeat of all time, even though the home team was packed with legendary players such as Gabriel Batistuta, Diego Simeone and Fernando Redondo. The Colombians triumphed with two goals each from Faustino Asprilla and Freddy Rincón and a late goal from Adolfo Valencia which was even applauded by the Argentine crowd, who had also started to shout Olé at each Colombian pass and to boo their own players.
Aftermath
The Argentine press were extremely critical, sports magazine El Gráfico marked the loss with a completely black cover and the word disgraceful. Argentine coach Alfio Basile came under enormous pressure to bring Diego Maradona back into the team. After shedding a lot of excess weight Maradona was recalled for the playoff against Australia, in which he scored the decisive goal. He was later sent home from the World Cup in disgrace after failing a random drugs test for ephedrine doping, following this Argentina were beaten 3-2 by Romania in the 2nd round in one of the classic World Cup encounters.
Basile later said "I never want to think about that [Colombia] match again. It was a crime against nature, a day when I wanted to dig a hole in the ground and bury myself in it."
The result elevated Colombia to the unrealistic position as one of the favourites for the 1994 World Cup in the United States. Colombia crashed out in the first round after defender Andrés Escobar scored an own goal against the hosts, he was shot to death in Medellín days later.
Further reading
For more great games involving South American teams, check out the rest of the Partidazo series.
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