The reasons for Ecuador's almost certain elimination in the first phase of the South American Women's U-20 Championship have several aspects, and although coach Vanessa Arauz preferred not to imagine that they would be out of the tournament, in another context she pointed to one: the players lack tournaments to improve their level.
"We try to involve the players in a process, but it is not easy when they do not have much local or international competition," said the coach, analyzing the poor performance of goalkeeper Andrea Moran, responsible for at least two goals in the Tri's 1-4 defeat against Colombia, in a match played on Monday.
"That (not having championships) costs us when facing official tournaments," she added, and asked not to condemn the goalkeeper, whom the public in Riobamba, where the Group A matches of the South American Championship are played, booed on several occasions.
The same flaw was found by midfielder Josselyn Espinales, who pointed out that the opponents have an advantage since their countries have long local championships.
Paraguayan Jessica Martinez, who plays for Santos in Brazil and competes in the Brasileirao and the Paulista tournament, both professional events, stated that playing these tournaments does help gain experience.
"In my country, I played for Olimpia and Sportivo Limpeno, but there only about four clubs take the women's tournament seriously, the rest just participate. In contrast, in Brazil, every team takes it seriously and there is a level playing field. That helps us grow in this sport."
Colombia is another country with a professional women's football league, and their national teams are regular contenders in CONMEBOL tournaments.
Last year, in Ecuador, in December after some delays, a phase of the national tournament was played in three days, which caused discontent. There were reports of injuries due to physical demand, as Ana Carolina Lara, assistant coach of Universidad San Francisco, pointed out.
"Injured players, torn muscles, passing out. They played three consecutive days. What does Ecuador Soccer Federation think? Inhumane, a disgrace. And in 15 days, three more consecutive matches?" wrote Lara on her Twitter account.
Amilcar Mantilla, executive of the National Commission of Amateur Soccer, took responsibility for organizing the tournament but indicated that it was with the consent of the clubs. He clarified that there were no serious injury cases.
In this context, and also without a youth tournament where Arauz could have observed players, the Guerreras, as the Ecuador U-20 women's national team is known, are close to ending their dream of going to the 2018 France World Cup.
A miracle will prevent the predictable, but for that, Ecuador will have to win against Paraguay and Peru, teams that, like Argentina and Colombia, have 3 points. The Tricolor has no points, and their football does not harbor hopes. (D)