First was Dussan Draskovic from Montenegro, who groomed a generation of
players who were able to compete in physical terms.
Then came Francisco
Maturana of Colombia, who put more emphasis on the ball skills so beloved in
the land of his birth.
And now his compatriot Gomez has turned team spirit
into an obsession.
Ecuador have one young player who fulfills alll three of these coaches'
And, in terms of the future of the national team, a key
consequence of the World Cup could be that Edison Mendez emerges as the most
important player in the side.
The 23-year-old midfielder is one of Ecuador's shortest players, but is
becoming a giant on the field with his combination of ability and lung
Mendez broke into the side half way through the marathon qualification
campaign. It was a key moment. Ecuador were sixth in the table, and in
danger of missing out on the World Cup once more.
But in Mendez's first game Ecuador won away from home - an achievement they
had last managed in World Cup qualifying back in 1965.
introduction of Mendez they suffered just one defeat in the last nine games,
and flew past the line to finish as the second team in South America.
Against Brazil, Mendez marked Rivaldo out of the game. Against Paraguay his
cross set up the winner for Delgado. Agaianst Peru he scored the vital
equaliser after Ecuador had gone behind almost straight from the kick-off.
Gomez describes him as "a player who wants to do the work of all those
around him". It is becoming increasingly apparent that the midfielder has
the attributes to make good his promise.
Ecuador will go into their first World Cup with the spotlight on the likes
of Delgado, Kaviedes, Aguinaga and De La Cruz. But by the end the talk
could be of Edison Mendez.