Showing posts with label LDU Quito. Show all posts
Showing posts with label LDU Quito. Show all posts

Darío Rodríguez vs Hernan Barcos dirty "tackle"



On 9 March 2011 five time Copa Libertadores champions Peñarol of Uruguay hosted the 2008 champions Liga de Quito in a group 8 match in the 2011 edition of the tournament.

Peñarol won the match 1-0 to take over as leaders of the group however had the referee or linesman properly punished Darío Rodríguez with a red card for this sly nut grab on Hernán Barcos perhaps the game would have ended with a different outcome.

For more crazy South American football check out the rest of the Cosas locas series.

Highlights: 2011 Copa Libertadores, Group 8

 Reports & highlights of Group 8 in the 2011 Copa Libertadores.


Results


17-02-11
Godoy Cruz (Arg) 2-1 LDU Quito (Ecu)
24-02-11
Independiente (Arg) 3-0 Peñarol (Uru)
01-03-11
Godoy Cruz (Arg) 1-3 Peñarol (Uru)
03-03-11
LDU Quito (Ecu) 3-0 Independiente (Arg)
09-03-11
Peñarol (Uru) 1-0 LDU Quito (Ecu)
10-03-11
Independiente (Arg) 1-3 Godoy Cruz (Arg)
17-03-11
LDU Quito (Ecu) 5-0 Peñarol (Uru)
23-03-11
Godoy Cruz (Arg) 1-1 Independiente (Arg)
31-03-11
Peñarol (Uru) 2-1 Godoy Cruz (Arg)
05-04-11
Independiente (Arg) 1-1 LDU Quito (Ecu)
12-04-11
Peñarol (Uru) 0-1 Independiente (Arg)
LDU Quito (Ecu) 2-0 Godoy Cruz (Arg)

Table

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Ecuador LDU Quito 6 3 1 2 12 4 +8 10
Uruguay Peñarol 6 3 0 3 6 11 -5 9
Argentina Independiente 6 2 2 2 7 8 -1 8
Argentina Godoy Cruz 6 2 1 3 8 10 -2 7

Match reports


Round 1

Argentine side Godoy Cruz recoreded an impressive 2-1 win against the 2008 champions and Recopa Sudamericana holders LDU Quito on their Copa Libertadores debut. Their goals came from Carlos & Nicolás Sánchez either side of a Neicer Reasco strike for the visitors.

The last two teams to see action in the group stages were two of the most famous names in the history of South American football. Seven time champions Independiente cruized to a 3-0 against Peñarol. The home team is known as the king of cups, a nickname reinforced by their Copa Sudamericana triumph in December. Before this game they had been stuck in a rut of poor form without a win in four games. Peñarol were the perfect opponents in the second half, another team stuck in a bad run of form (one win in six by the final whistle). The Uruguayans were wasteful in posession, easily contained and defensively disorganised. The pick of the action was Cristian Pellerano's long range scorcher that he hammered through a crowded box like a nail.

Round 2

Peñarol recovered in time for their second game in which they took a 1-3 away win against Godoy Cruz. The Uruguayans took the lead within a minute but Rúben Ramírez equalised with an unmarked header before the half hour. The visitors then soaked up a lot of pressure and scored twice on the counter attack. They dealt effectively with dozens of balls played into their box and could have had more goals on the counter. The key player in the Peñarol counter attacking play was Argentine number ten Alejandro Martinuccio.

As expected Liga de Quito continued their devastating home form with a comfortable 3-0 win against Independiente, a result that levels all four teams up on three points after two games, giving some justification for those of us that picked this group out as one of the toughest to call.

Round 3

 having started out with two away games Uruguayan side Peñarol put in a strong performance in their first home game of the group stages with a 1-0 win against Liga de Quito. 20 year old Urretaviscaya had a cracking game for the hosts showing an electric turn of pace and some good skills too. Luis Aguilar bagged the only goal of the game lashing in a back post volley dirct from a corner.Peñarol climbed to the top of the table however both sides can remain hopeful of progression having two home games remaining each.

Godoy Cruz recovered from their recent run of poor home results to show that they can still do it on the road inflicting a 1-3 defeat on fellow Argentines Independiente who have now gone sixteen games without a win against Argentine opposition. The home side took the lead through Facundo Parra but Godoy Cruz fought back to claim their first ever away win at the continental level. This result leaves Independiente in all kinds of trouble, they are bottom of the group and two of their three remaining games are away from home.

Round 4

Liga de Quito kept up their remarkable run of home form with a 5-0 demolition of Peñarol, Walter Calderón in great form, terrorising the Uruguayan defence and bagging himself two goals. It was LDU's fifteenth game without defeat at their Casa Blanca fortress in all competitions a run extending back to October 2010. The last time they lost a competitive home game against foreign opposition was a 2-3 defeat by Brazilian side Sport Recife back in April 2009, since then they have won twelve consecutive home games in international tournaments (Sudamericana -8, Recopa -2, Libertadores -2). Both sides are still in with a decent chance of qualification, Liga have bolstered their goal difference and Peñarol have the advantage of playing their last two games at home.

One week later the two Argentine sides lined up for their rematch. Independiente struck an early blow with Matías Defederico scoring a cracking goal in the first minute. Godoy Cruz took around half an hour to recover their composure which is understandable given their unreliable home form.

"El Tomba" found their equaliser in the 34th minute after man of the match Carlos Sánchez put in a decent cross and Rúben Ramírez was allowed a free header. Independiente goalkeeper Hilario Navarro did not cover himself in glory doing a rubbish superman impression and allowing Ramírez an open goal to aim at. Navarro made up for his error in the second half with a couple of good saves and a much more commanding performance. The 1-1 draw meant that Godoy Cruz climbed to the top of the group but they only have two away games remaining while Independiente have now gone 23 away games without a win and are rooted to the bottom of the group and will be out of the tournament if they don't beat Liga de Quito in their next game.

Round 5

Godoy Cruz faced their first two away games on foreign soil  in official competition in their last two group games. After a 2-1 defeat against Peñarol in Uruguay they are in serious danger of missing out on qualification. Unless Independiente beat Liga de Quito next week Godoy Cruz will need a win at the Casa Blanca where Liga have not lost in international competition for twelve games since April 2009.

Independiente were eliminated after they could only manage a 1-1 draw at home against Liga de Quito.Leonel Núñez put the Argentine side ahead from the penalty spot but former Racing Club player Hernán Barcos ensured their elimination with a second half equaliser.

Round 6

Independiente were already as good as out before they even kicked off but they can be fairly pleased with a decent 0-1 win against Peñarol in Montevideo. Facundo Parra scored the only goal of the game to give Independiente their first away win in international tournaments since a 0-1 win at Rosario Central in Copa Sudamericana 2003. The game in Montevideo was marred by two sendings off late in the game, Peñarol's Juan Manuel Olivera was sent off for a headbut and Independiente goalkeeper Fabián Assman also saw red for his reaction.

Godoy Cruz knew that they needed a win at Liga's Casa Blanca fortress but they couldn't muster their first ever competitive away win on foreign soil. Luis Bolaños put the hosts ahead in the 48th minute, Hernán Barcos bagged a second on 59 minutes and within three minutes of that the game was up after Carlos Sánchez got himself sent off. This result ensured that Liga joined Peñarol in the knockout round at the expense of both of the groups Argentine sides.



For more South American football highlights, including the Argentine and Brazilian leagues, the pick of the rest and other international tournaments:

Game of the week: 24 November 2010, LDU Quito 3-2 Independiente



This weeks pick as game of the week is yet another game from Independiente's Copa Sudamericana campaign. On 18 November the Argentine team traveled to the high altitude fortress of La Casa Blanca in Quito to face Liga Deportivo Universitario de Quito who are unbeaten on their own pitch in the tournament since 2007 in the first leg of their semi-final encounter.

The first goal of the game was a long range strike from Juan Manuel Salguiro to put the home team one goal up at half time. Independiente started the 2nd half slowly and within 12 minutes they were 3-0 down and at risk of falling so far behind that they would have no hope of overturning the defecit back in Avellaneda.

Within two minutes of going three goals behind, Néstor Silvera broke Liga's momentum with a vital away goal for Independiente which was clearly scored from an offside position. Six minutes later Lucas Mareque scored the second excellent long ranger of the game to make it 3-2. Liga came close to extending their lead on several occasions, they were denied by a brilliant double save from Independiente keeper Hilario Navarro who had an outstanding night despite shipping three goals. The second leg on Thursday next week should also be a contender for next week's game of the week.

Part of the game of the week series.

Partidazo: Liga de Quito 7-0 Emelec, Ecuadorian championship final 1998



In 1998 the team to watch in Ecuador were Liga Deportivo Universitario de Quito, (LDU Quito). They had played exhilirating attacking football, their young striker Iván Kaviedes hit an astonishing 43 goals that season and legendary Ecuadorian striker Eduardo Hurtado returned at the back end of the season on loan from LA Galaxy.

LDU faced Emelec in the 2nd leg of the 1998 Ecuadorian championship final on December 27 and had a 1-0 defecit to overcome. The star of game was an unlikely one, defender Ulises de La Cruz hit the first and only hat-trick of his career in an incredible 7-0 win. The other goals were scored by Eduardo Hurtado (2) Pavel Caicedo and club legend Néicer Reasco.

For more great games involving South American teams, check out the rest of the Partidazo series.

What ever happened to? Ulises de La Cruz

De La Cruz became the first Ecuadorian to join a Scottish Premier League
side when he joined Hibs in 2001
In June 2001 Scottish side Hibernian signed Ecuadorian international defender Ulises de La Cruz from Ecuadorian side Barcelona Sporting Club. This transfer made Hibs manager Alex McLiesh the first manager to sign an Ecuadorian player for a Scottish Premier league club, he then signed De La Cruz's international team mate and international journeyman Eduardo Hurtado.

De La Cruz was born 8 February 1974 in the village of Piquiucho in the Valle del Chota. He made his professional debut for Deportivo Quito in 1991. He also had stints with Liga de Quito, Barcelona Sporting Club and Aucas in his homeland and with Cruzeiro in Brazil. He made his international debut in a 3-0 defeat to Japan on 28 May 1995. Before his move to the UK he had featured in three Copa América squads in 1997, 1999 and 2001.

One of the highlights of his career was netting a hat-trick in an incredible 7-0 win against Emelec in the 1998 Ecuadorian championship final.

De La Cruz settled into the first team, he scored both goals in the Edinburgh derby in October 2001 including the opening goal after only 36 seconds. The game ended 2-1 to Hibs and De La Cruz won praise from his manager, the fans and the press for his performances.

In December 2001 McLeish, the manager who had signed De La Cruz was poached by Rangers. McLeish's replacement Bobby Williamson sent Hurtado back to Ecuador and without his international team mate or the manager that signed him it became clear that De La Cruz's time with the club was limited.

De la Cruz playing for Aston Villa
against Manchester united in 2004.
During the summer of 2002 he played for Ecuador in their first ever World Cup, he featured in all three of the countries games including their first ever win in the World Cup finals, a 1-0 victory against Croatia in Yokohama. 

In 2002 De La Cruz established the British-Ecuadorian charity Friends of FundeCruz to which he donates around 10% of his wages to help fund children's nutrition, health, education and sports development. So far the charity has helped to build a water treatment plant, a medical centre and a community sports centre in his local province of Valle del Chota. He is good friends with Southampton flop Agustín Delgado who also has a charity with similar objectives in the same province.

Following his success at the World Cup  he was signed by Premier League side Aston Villa for a fee of £1.5 million. Over the next four seasons he made 109 appearances for the club and scored two goals, his first came in a 2-0 win against Charlton Athletic in September 2002 and the other came in a 3-0 win against Luton Town in a League Cup tie on 2 October 2002. During his time at Villa he played in his 4th Copa América tournament. De La Cruz eventually left the Villa on a free transfer in 2006 after falling out with manager David O'Leary.

Ulises playing against Poland in the 2006 World Cup.
He played in his second World Cup that summer, appearing in all three of the group games and in Ecuador's first ever 2nd round match against England.

His next club were newly promoted Reading who were playing their first season ever in the English top flight. De la Cruz featured as an occasional player for the team that not only survived in the top flight but finished in 8th position only one point shy of a UEFA Cup place. The following season Reading were relegated and De La Cruz was released from his contract. He made a total of 24 appearances for the Royals in all competition and bagged one goal for the club in a 3-1 win against Sheffield United.

During his time at Reading he became their first ever representative at the Copa América, his fifth outing in the tournament and his last of seven major international tournaments for his country. In 2007 Ulises came up against young Brazilian sensation Robinho, in a World Cup qualifier. He cannot be blamed for failing to deal with the situation given Robinho's brilliance before his slump in form at Manchester City.

Between 2008 and 2009 he spent time on trial with a number of different clubs, he spent some time at  Watford where he played 45 minutes of a friendly against Brentford. He also had trials at Coventry City.
 

In March 2009 he was given the opportunity to join up with the man who brought him to the UK back in 2001 when Birmingham manager Alex McLeish offered him a temporary contract. De La Cruz played only one game for Aston Villa's fierce local rivals, he was offered a 1 year contract buit decided to return to Ecuador to play regular first team football and improve his chances of returning to the Ecuador national team.


All in all Ulises de La Cruz played 8 seasons in British football making 164 appearances in all competitions and scoring 4 goals. He will never be remembered as one of the great exciting flair players but he was one of the very few South American players to last the course in British football. Many many exiting and highly talented South Americans have been beaten into submission by football in the UK, yet De La Cruz had what it takes to survive our game for 8 years.

After being released by Birmingham De La Cruz joined up with Liga de Quito; the most powerful team back in Ecuador. In July that year he was part of the team that annihilated Brazilian side Internacional 4-0 on aggregate in the final of the Recopa Sudamericana 2009 (South American Super Cup).

In 2009 De La Cruz was part of the Liga de Quito
side that won the Copa Sudamericana in 2009.
Later that year he won his second major international tournament with the club. He was part of the team that beat Brazilian side Fluminense 5-4 on aggregate to win the Copa Sudamericana 2009, although he was sent off in the second leg of the final after only 14 minutes.


De La Cruz had been frozen out of the Ecuador national team back in 2008 on 99 caps but he was recalled to the team in May 2010 for a couple of pre-World Cup warm up matches for Mexico and South Korea to put himself on the exclusive list of players with 100+ caps for their countries. With 101 caps and 6 goals he is currently Ecuador's 3rd most capped player behind Eduardo Hurtado and Alex Aguinaga.

In September 2008 he won his third major international title with Liga de Quito, he played in the 2nd leg of the Recopa Sudamericana in which they beat Alex Sabella's Estudiantes side which was captained by Juan Sebastián Verón to become only the 3rd side ever to retain the title after São Paulo of Brazil and Boca Juniors of Argentina.

De La Cruz still plays for Liga de Quito who are currently at the semi-final stage of their defence of their Copa Sudamericana championship and top of the Ecuadorian league. He continues his charity work and is a UNICEF ambassador. However he may be remembered back in the UK he will be rightly regarded as one of Ecuador's finest players, who was part of the most successful generation of Ecuadorian footballers ever to grace the game.

Part of the What ever happened to? series.

Agustín Orión kick-ups vs Liga de Quito, Copa Libertadores 2008



On 15 May 2008 Argentine side San Lorenzo hosted Liga de Quito of Ecuador in the 1st leg of their Copa Libertadores quarter final. San Lorenzo were overwhelming favourites to win the game, they had eliminated River Plate in the previous round coming back from 2-0 down away from home with only 9 players.

When the San Lorenzo goalkeeper Agustín Orión received the ball he inexplicably decided to try some kick-ups instead of clearing it, he was closed down by Liga's Argentine striker Claudio Bieler who nipped in to knock the ball into the net. Adrián González equalised for San Lorenzo with a free kick but a 1-1 draw was a brilliant result for the Ecuadorians to take back to their high altitude fortress in Quito for the 2nd leg.

The teams drew 1-1 in the second leg and Liga won the penalty shootout to eliminate San Lorenzo. The Ecuadorians went on to win the tournament beating Brazilian side Fluminense in the highest scoring final in the history of the competition to become the first Ecuadorian side to win a major international tournament. Since then they have also won the Copa Sudamericana in 2009 and established themselves as one of the powerhouses of South American football.

For more crazy South American football check out the rest of the Cosas locas series.

What ever happened to? Iván Kaviedes

Kaviedes at Crystal palace in 2004.
On 19 August 2004 newly promoted Premier League side Crystal Palace signed 26 year old Ecuador international striker Iván Kaviedes from Barcelona Sporting Club for a reported fee of £2 million.

By this point Kaviedes was already an international journeyman footballer having played professional football in Ecuador (Emelec, Deportivo Quito & Barcelona SC), Italy (Perugia), Spain (Celta Vigo & Valladolid), Mexico (Puebla) and Portugal (FC Porto) with varying degrees of success. At the time he was a regular first team player for the Ecuador national team and a very popular player in his homeland having scored the goal that secured Ecuador's first ever qualification for the World Cup in a 1-1 draw with Uruguay in November 2001.

He was highly regarded as a finisher, he scored 43 goals in one season for his first club Emelec, the goal of the season for 2000-01 in Spain with a bicycle kick against Barcelona for Valladolid and this excellent finish for Mexican side Puebla. Another notable moment in his career was this dribble and pass to set up Agustín Delgado's goal in a famous 1-0 win against Brazil in 2001.

Upon his arrival in south London  manager Ian Dowie said "He is an icon in Ecuadorian football and an outstanding footballer. He's come on trial and shown good motivation in training, he's a breath of fresh air, a great finisher and a free-kick specialist."


Despite Dowie's positive words Kaviedes barely featured for Palace despite the fact that they were embroiled in a relegation battle and struggling to score goals. He made six competitive appearances for the club, he made his debut in a 1-3 defeat against Everton. His only start came in a game against Chelsea and the remaining four appearances all came as a second half substitute. It can be argued that he was unfortunate that Dowie stuck to a 4-5-1 formation and team mate Andy Johnson hit a rich vein of form, scoring 21 goals in the season and making himself virtually undroppable. In January 2005 he was allowed to leave the club after his contract was terminated by mutual consent, despite all of Johnson's goals Palace were relegated at the end of the season.
Kaviedes spiderman celebration at the 2006 World Cup.
Kaviedes returned to Barcelona Sporting Club in 2005 and regained his scoring touch, netting 9 goals in 19 games


Later that year he joined Argentine Primera División side Argentinos Juniors where he played with limited success, but he was still selected for the 2006 World Cup squad. He famously put on a spiderman mask after scoring against Costa Rica in the World Cup as a tribute to former team mate Otilino "Spiderman" Tenorio who had died in a car crash in 2005.
After the World Cup he had another brief stint with Barcelona Sporting Club and in 2007 he joined El Nacional where he scored 14 goals in 34 league appearances. This stint was the last time that he managed to finish a season without being sacked by his club.


His last cap for Ecuador came in November 2007 in a 5-1 win against Peru in a World Cup qualifier. He made a total of 53 appearances for his country scoring 16 goals, making him Ecuador's joint 4th highest goal scorer behind Agustín Delgado, Eduardo Hurtado and Alex Aguinaga.


In 2008 he joined Liga de Quito but after only two games he quit the club after a disagreement about a debt he said wasn't his. In 2009 he spent time in a drugs rehabilitation clinic and after recovering he trained with LDU Portoviejo but was not ever officially part of their squad.


After two years out of the game he returned to action for Macará in 2010, but once again he was sacked. The official reason was that he kept missing training and had other disciplinary issues. The manager of the club said that Iván always said that he wishes people would listen to him, but lots of people did listen to him and when they said things that he didn't want to hear he got angry with them.


This version of events is disputed on his official website which claims that he was forced out of the club against the manager's wishes by a group of players that have influence with the directors.


Whatever the case, it is clear that Kaviedes' career has been in serious decline since the 2006 World Cup. He is still remarkably popular amongst Ecuadorians, which is unsurprising given the flair with which he used to score goals and his place in the history of Ecuadorian football is safe thanks to his goal to earn Ecuador their first ever World Cup appearance.


It is hard to say why he failed at Crystal Palace since he was barely given an opportunity to play for the club, but like Southampton flop and international strike partner Agustín Delgado it is clear from his achievements before and after his short spell in English football that he was a quality player.

Part of the What ever happened to? series.

Partidazos: Copa Libertadores final 2008

LDU Quito celebrate with the Copa Libertadores Trophy.

The Copa Libertadores final of 2008 was expected to be a cake walk for the Brazilian team Fluminense against the Ecuadorian underdogs LDU Quito. In fact it turned out to be one of the closest finals ever with LDU winning on penalties in the Maracaná after a 5-5 draw on aggregate.

LDU won their home leg 4-2 and then travelled to the Maracaná where they took a 6th minute lead to make the score 5-2 on aggregate, Fluminense fought back with a hat-trick from their influential midfielder Thiago Neves.  The 2nd leg finished 3-1 but since away goals didn't count in the final, the game was decided in a dramatic penalty shootout with Grobbelaar style antics from LDU's veteran goalkeeper José Cevallos, and their charismatic Argentine manager Edgardo Bauza seemingly dispassionate, alone on the bench until the moment of victory.

The final broke all kinds of records; the first Ecuadorian team to win Copa Libertadores, the most goals over ever in the final (10) the most goals in 1 leg (6), first player to score a hat-trick in the final (Thiago Neves) and the first player to score 4 goals over two legs (Thiago Neves).

For more great games involving South American teams, check out the rest of the Partidazo series.