Twice canceled his return
Jordi Cruyff twice canceled his return from Spain. On July 9th, he claimed, according to reports from the Ecuadorian Football Federation, that he would not travel to Quito with the four members of his coaching staff due to "personal problems". In response, the FEF, through its general secretary, informed that the national team coach, who has been absent from the country since March 14th -when he traveled to Barcelona to be with his family because of the coronavirus pandemic, without permission from the Ecuafútbol board but with the consent of Francisco Egas, whom he recognizes as his only "boss"- would arrive on Thursday, July 16th. But the Dutchman changed his mind and, upon learning of the resignation of the sports director Antonio Cordón, asked for two more days to analyze whether it was convenient for him to return to Ecuador or not.
This position of Cruyff has had repercussions in Israel, where from 2012 to 2017 he was the sports manager of the Maccabi club, in Tel Aviv, of which he was also the coach in 2018. The newspaper Hayom published an extensive article on Monday signed by journalist Dor Hoffman, in which he assures that the coach has become "the enemy of the people of Ecuador".
Last Friday, Egas, who is leading the FEF until FIFA makes a disciplinary decision that could involve the suspension of the executive for resorting to ordinary justice to avoid being removed as president of the organization, stated that he was "surprised" by Cruyff's position, who feels "criticized and unprotected" in Ecuador, where since his presentation as coach in January, he has only been present for 24 days.
The article in the Israeli newspaper says: "On January 13th of this year, Jordi Cruyff was presented as the coach of the Ecuadorian national team. Yesterday (Sunday), July 19th (actually it was Friday the 17th), he announced his resignation (which he has not made official). During this half year, 186 days to be exact, the Dutchman did not coach a single game. Furthermore, he did not even lead a single training session or call up players at any time. What did he do? After signing a $150,000 per month contract, the former professional manager of Maccabi Tel Aviv made $900,000 for nothing".
In the publication titled 'Take the money and run: Jordi Cruyff became the enemy of the people in Ecuador', Hoffman adds: "Of course, these were not the plans. Neither Cruyff's nor the Ecuadorian Federation's. The Dutch coach, who wanted to take his career to levels beyond Israel and China, was the icing on the cake of a grand project by the president of the Ecuadorian Football Federation, Francisco Egas. After failing in the World Cup qualifiers (for Russia 2018) and in the Copa America (for Brazil 2019), Ecuador was determined to turn the page and go for a new European approach, and for that purpose a Spanish professional manager, Antonio Cordón, was hired, who recommended Cruyff Jr. The Dutchman signed a three-year contract with the goal of qualifying for Qatar 2022. The expectations were very high, but reality fell to the ground".
According to the Israeli media, the justification of the pandemic for Cruyff's nonexistent work with the national team is not enough. "Even before the coronavirus disrupted the plans, Cruyff did not try to carry them out. Instead of monitoring the (Ecuadorian) players in Europe, he traveled to Israel to meet friends and was severely criticized in the media. He spent very little time in Ecuador, showed little interest in what was happening, and in March he returned to Spain without asking for permission. Although he promised to invest all his time in the (national) team, he started working as a TV commentator and columnist for the Catalan newspaper SPORT".
It also refers to Cruyff's decision to take two days (which have already expired) to make a decision about returning to Ecuador. "When he was at the airport in Madrid, he called the president of the Federation and announced that he would not board the plane. 'He said he needed two days to think about his future because he felt hurt', said Egas, who at that time understood which way the wind was blowing. Cruyff will not continue, just like Cordón, who announced his departure before him. The anger towards Cruyff is immense. 'He mocked us', commented Carlos Galarza (vocal) of the FEF, 'He has no respect and he is a liar', opined Luis Alfonso Chango, president of the local club Mushuc Runa. And he added: '500 years ago, the Spaniards stole gold from us, and here, in the 21st century, Mr. Cruyff arrives and steals thousands of dollars from us'"
In the conclusion, Hoffman comments: "Social media did not feel sorry for Jordi either, who, according to reports, took this step to take another step towards FC Barcelona, perhaps as a substitute until Xavi arrives, and perhaps as a professional manager when the former player arrives. The thing is that Cruyff had a contractual clause and would use it if Barça called him, but Jordi did not even wait for it, and he ran away". (D)