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For Argentina, there¿s more than just 3 points at stake on their debut in Copa América 2004, there¿s an 80-year tradition they must defend. The record title winner in the competition alongside Uruguay, both with 14 cup glories, the Argentineans haven¿t won the longest running football tournament in the world since 1993, in Ecuador. To end this 11-year drought, coach Marcelo Bielsa called up all his first choice players. The team that will take to the pitch this Wednesday, at 7:45 pm local time, (9:45 pm, Brasilia time), to face Ecuador at the Elias Aguirre stadium in Chiclayo is basically the same that represented the country in the recent 2006 World Cup Qualifiers. Bielsa¿s future at the helm of the national squad is also at stake. He has placed his bets on a side that is second in the Qualifiers, on 12 points, behind Brazil, but has performed poorly in the two previous fixtures (losing 3-1 to Brazil and being held to goal-less draw by Paraguay). In fact, the coach has been severely criticized since the poor campaign at the 2002 World Cup finals, when the Argentineans were ousted in the first phase.
But the manager will make a few tests. During the Wednesday match, Bielsa might give up the 3-4-3 formation frequently used by Argentina, but will keep an attack-minded outfit, using the traditional 4-3-3, with two men on the flanks. Besides, he dismissed Crespo from Copa América duty and called up Saviola, the Barcelona frontman. Tevez, from Boca Juniors, will be on the bench. Young D¿Allesandro, who plays in the Bundesliga, will be the maestro and will don the number 10 jersey that made Maradona a legend.
Ecuador will also boast their top players in this Copa América. Manager Hernan Dario Gomez is studying alternatives for the Qualifiers, but dreams of victory in the opening match against Argentina (under his command, Ecuador lost three times in as many matches) and knows that a positive result is key for his chances of qualifying to the quarterfinals.
Argentina: Roberto Abbondanzieri - Javier Zanetti, Roberto Ayala, Gabriel Heinze, Juan Pablo Sorín - Luis González, Javier Mascherano, Andrés D'Alessandro - César Delgado, Javier Saviola and Cristian González. C: Marcelo Bielsa.
Ecuador: Giovanny Ibarra - Ulises de la Cruz, Iván Hurtado, Giovanny Espinoza, Néicer Reasco - Edwin Tenorio, Alfonso Obregón, Edison Méndez, Cléber Chalá - Franklin Salas and Agustín Delgado. C: Hernán Darío Gómez
Venue: Elías Aguirre Stadium (Chiclayo-PER)
Referee: Carlos Amarilla (PAR)
Assistant Referees: Nelson Cano (PAR) and Cristian Júlio (CHI)
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