Independiente del Valle under 17 beat Independiente Juniors U17 5-1 in what was a very eventful match with many chances for the hosts. The visitors did not defend that well and left a lot of space open as they tried defending in a high line. The home team had a lot of creativity and ball-playing ability in midfield with Reyes, Arroyo and Paez and managed to play out of pressure really easily. In the end, Independiente del Valle under 17 were already up by five goals at half-time and cruised to victory.
In this match report, I have tried a (somewhat) similar format as I did with the Copa Libertadores U20, but I tried to keep it shorter and only write about a player’s physical, athletic and technical ability, next to their playing style. I will try to write about 150-200 words for each player and keep it concise and to the point. All information about the players was retrieved from fef.ec. I decided to write down their full name at the top of each player analysis and use the name that Independiente del Valle used in their YouTube broadcast as their name in the player analysis itself. I had to guess every player’s height, too.
Ratings:
1 – Ready for the first team
2 – Good, potential to be first team
3 – Decent, could make first team squad
4 – Decent potential, unlikely to make it to first team
5 – Unlikely to make first team
Jeremy Gabriel Valencia Caicedo – Goalkeeper – 14/08/2006 (15) – Ecuadorian
Jeremy Valencia is around 185cm tall and had a normal build. He is right-footed but also used his left foot for passes and first touches. As Independiente del Valle under 17 dominated possession and did not concede many chances, Valencia’s performance is mainly based on his on the ball ability. He has a good passing technique. Most of his passes were medium-long passes to the right-back or to one of the central midfielders. Valencia was very comfortable on the ball and played many risky passes. He was only once very sloppy in possession, giving away the ball in the defensive third. His receiving skills were alright but when the ball had an awkward bounce because of the bad pitch, he struggled to control the ball quickly. It looked like he was not that mobile in those situations. When retrieving the ball, Valencia was always looking to quickly distribute the ball and often drop-kicked the ball blindly towards the attack. In terms of goalkeeping skills, Valencia did not look confident in goal when making saves and did not look good when dealing with corners.
Rating: 4 – He did not convince me with his goalkeeping skills, but he is quite good on the ball. I will watch Valencia another time when I get the chance.
Gerald Patrick Mora Zambrano – Right-Back – 10/02/2005 (17) – Ecuadorian
Standing at around 175cm with a lean build, Gerald Mora did not look that strong in physical duels. Mora is right-footed and his weak foot is average. He has good speed over long distances and is quick on the first meters. Mora seemed to have decent athleticism, but his agility, balance and changes of directions were not really tested in this match. Gerald Mora was important for Independiente del Valle under 17 in the first phase of the build-up. His positional play was really good and he had the technical ability and vision to progress the ball further up the pitch. Mora had good one-touch passes and generally had good receiving skills, even though he occasionally had a bad first touch. In possession, he was occasionally quite sloppy. Gerald Mora was also very involved in the attacking play of Independiente del Valle and has good stamina. He created much danger in front of Independiente Juniors’ goal. Defensively, he did not get tested much but he showed good anticipation. Mora made one big mistake which led to the penalty which was scored by the opponents. Gerald Mora showed good intensity throughout the game.
Rating: 3 – He is a typical Independiente del Valle right-back and has good potential in the physical and technical areas, while also showing decent athleticism. I will watch Mora more often to further assess his athleticism. I think he is quite similar to Orlando Herrera.
Steven Rai Heras Angulo – Right Central Defender – 29/01/2007 (15) – Ecuadorian
Steven Heras is around 178cm tall and has a normal build. At the age of just 15, it is expected that he will grow a few centimetres. He is right-footed and his left foot was of sufficient level. Heras showed good pace and acceleration when playing in a high defensive line. On the ball, he is capable of getting past his opponent. His athleticism (agility, balance, changes of direction, etc.) was not tested that much in this match. Steven Heras has good passing technique over both short and long distances. He likes to play passes into the midfield and attack but made quite some mistakes. His long passes were quite accurate. Most of his passing actions were on Independiente del Valle’s half, often near his own box. Steven Heras had one moment in which he was not composed under pressure but did not make a mistake. Generally, he was composed under pressure and he had good vision. Heras did not have to make many defensive actions, but he showed good strength in ground duels and made one strong interception. He also had a moment where he timed his interception (slide tackle) wrong. This eventually led to a penalty for Independiente Juniors. Later in the game, Heras looked quite frustrated with his teammates as they often lost possession on their own half, seemingly losing concentration.
Rating: 2 – Steven Heras has good potential in the technical and physical areas. He still makes some mistakes in possession but that is to be expected with a 15-year-old. I will watch Heras more often to further assess his athleticism.
Jericho Ismael Hurtado Chillambo – Central Defender – 08/09/2005 (16) – Ecuadorian
Ismael Hurtado was (I think) Independiente del Valle’s tallest player, I think he is around 185cm tall with a lean build. The defender seemed two-footed. He looked strong in the ground duels. Hurtado has a good pace over long distances and was relatively quick on the first meters too. As for the other defenders, his athleticism was not tested that much as he rarely had to turn. However, there was one moment in this match that indicated that his mobility might not be that good, as he did not deal with a knee-high pass properly and lost the duel. He did not seem that athletic at this particular moment. Most duels were won by Ismael Hurtado and he had adequate interceptions and ball recoveries. Ismael Hurtado received the ball a lot in the first phase of the build-up. He was comfortable playing passes into midfield with both feet but also played a lot of passes towards Steven Heras. Most of his passes were played near his own box or close to the halfway line. His technique was good and he was capable of turning away from his opponent quite quickly. Ismael Hurtado was subbed off at half-time.
Rating: 3 – Ismael Hurtado showed mixed signs in terms of athleticism and does have a very lean build for a central defender. He has a good technique and did well on the ball in this match. I will watch Hurtado more often.
Elkin Eduardo Ruiz Congo – Left-Back – 27/05/2006 (15) – Ecuadorian
Elkin Ruiz is around 175 centimetres tall with a normal build. He is left-footed and did not often use his right foot. Ruiz has good pace over long distances and has okay acceleration in the first meters. He has a good leap in aerial duels and won most of his aerial duels. Ruiz even scored a header. He is quite athletic but mainly sprinted in straight lines this match. Ruiz has good defensive headers, when he clears the ball he manages to find his teammate. Elkin Ruiz has good receiving skills from long passes. It often happened that he received a long pass. He controlled most passes well. Ruiz has good ball control when dribbling, too. His short passing technique is quite good but his long passing technique is not great. His crossing delivery was not good and often inaccurate. Thanks to a good run in behind, Ruiz scored a goal in the first half. In defence, Ruiz had good anticipation and came in front of his opponent at the right times. Elkin Ruiz overcommitted in some defensive duels and failed to win 1v1 defensive duels sometimes. Ruiz got subbed off at half-time.
Rating: 4 – Elkin Ruiz scored two goals in this game and had a good performance. However, I do not think he showed that much potential in the technical aspect, while also not standing out in the athletic and physical areas. He does have some sort of potential in all of the areas though. I will watch him more often.
Ray Kendry Paez Andrade – Central Midfielder – 04/05/2007 (15) – Ecuadorian
Kendry Paez is around 178cm tall with a lean build and played as a right central midfielder. He is left-footed but was also very comfortable playing with his right foot. Paez played with great intensity and showed great power in the ground duels. He has good acceleration and speed over longer distances. Paez has good stamina. The Ecuadorian has great changes of direction when dribbling and he keeps his balance well. He is also very agile. Kendry Paez has a great crosspassing technique and often uses this technique to switch sides. His short passing technique was also very good. Paez often received the ball near the halfway line and created a lot of chances from that area. He has great receiving skills from long passes and adapted well to the bad pitch, controlling awkward, bouncy passes perfectly. Kendry Paez was very comfortable playing one-touch football. He has good close control in small spaces. In possession, Kendry Paez likes to move out wide. The only major aspect which I would like to see him improve on for the future is his scanning. He sometimes lost possession because he did not scan before receiving. Paez read the game well and looked very intelligent and hard-working throughout the match. He likes to shoot from distance. Paez seemed to be frustrated with his teammates sometimes. The Ecuadorian scored two goals and provided one assist for Independiente del Valle U17 in this match.
Rating: 2 – Kendry Paez has the biggest potential of all of the players on the pitch. He has a lot of potential in the athletic and technical areas. Kendry Paez did not look out of place physically playing against players that were 1-2 years older and outpowered most of them in physical duels. He created many chances for Independiente del Valle under 17 and is a very creative player. I think he has a lot of potential and can see him outgrowing Independiente del Valle’s first team in the future. I will watch him more often in the future.
Jairo Joel Reyes Castillo – Defensive Midfielder – 07/01/2006 (16) – Ecuadorian
Jairo Reyes is around 175cm tall and has a normal build. He played as a defensive midfielder and is two-footed. Reyes has good acceleration in the first few meters and pace over longer distances. He protected the ball well and generally stayed out of the duels. The Ecuadorian moves fluidly and is capable of changing directions quickly. However, his intensity is quite low and he only showed glimpses of his athletic ability. Reyes has a great technique. He adapted well to the bad pitch and showed great receiving skills, ball control and both his short and long passing technique with both feet were very good. Reyes occasionally had a sloppy pass this match. The midfielder dictated play and helped Independiente del Valle progress the ball further up the pitch in the first phase of the build-up. He was the main man in possession. Reyes also did well defensively, displaying good interceptions and ball recoveries. He is an intelligent player both in and out of possession, even though he occasionally did not position himself well when Independiente Juniors were in possession. I hope he will soon play for the U19s where he will be forced to increase his intensity, because I think he is talented, especially in the athletic and technical areas. Jairo Reyes was subbed off at half-time.
Rating: 3 – The midfielder has a lot of potential in the athletic and technical aspect, but his lack of intensity is very concerning. With an increase in intensity, I think that Jairo Reyes will definitely make the jump to the first team in the future. I will watch him more often.
Keny Alexander Arroyo Alvarado – Central Midfielder – 14/02/2006 (16) – Ecuadorian
Keny Arroyo is around 178cm tall with a normal build. He is two-footed and played as a left central midfielder in the first half and as a defensive midfielder in the second half until he got subbed off in the 68th minute. The midfielder has good acceleration and is capable of maintaining that pace over longer distances. Keny Arroyo showed mixed signs in terms of intensity. In the first half, he sometimes did not have enough intensity. However, in the second half, he upped his intensity and had good intensity. Keny Arroyo has fluid movement when playing one-two’s and doing stepovers and is naturally athletic. He has good one-touch play in small spaces and has a very good first touch. His short and long passing technique is great. Keny Arroyo plays with a lot of confidence. The midfielder has good over the top through passing and he has a great passing range. He showed his great vision when he played a through pass for Ayovi’s 3-0. Keny Arroyo sometimes had lapses of concentration and could be sloppy in the first phase of the build-up. The midfielder did well to create passing angles in the final third and is a very intelligent player in the first phase of the build-up. He gave away a penalty in the second half.
Rating: 2 – Based on this match, I think that Keny Arroyo could become a really good left central midfielder in a 4-2-3-1. The midfielder has good potential in the athletic and technical areas but also showed promising signs in the physical aspect. I will watch him more often.
Nayer Andres Caicedo Villaquiran – Right-Winger – 17/04/2006 (16) – Ecuadorian
Nayer Caicedo is around 175cm tall with a normal build. He played as a right-winger and is right-footed. Nayer Caicedo was very hesitant to use his left foot and even used his right foot in situations where he should have used his left foot. The Ecuadorian attacker has okay acceleration and pace but did not seem that athletic. He only sprinted in straight lines and did not turn quickly. Caicedo was quite strong in physical duels. He showed mixed signs with his technique. His first touch lacked quality sometimes, but this might be because of lapses of concentration. Nayer Caicedo always moves on the outside and tried to beat his opponent by pace. The winger was not that involved in the play. Most of his actions were in between the final and midfield third, close to the sideline. His intensity was too low and he did not do enough to have more involvement in the game.
Rating: 4 – Nayer Caicedo did not show great potential in the technical and athletic areas, but he has decent physicality. I want to watch him again and hope he will improve on his weak foot and athleticism.
Michael David Ayovi Ayovi – Striker – 06/05/2005 (16) – Ecuadorian
Michael Ayovi is around 182cm tall with a muscular build. He played as a striker and is right-footed. Ayovi has good speed and strength in the duels. He is tenacious and shows good perseverance to keep running after the ball, even when he is far behind his opponent in a sprint race. This tenacity helped him to recover possession a few times. Michael Ayovi is quite light on his feet for someone of his build. He is quite skilful in the small spaces, but his receiving skills were quite average. His shooting technique was good. Michael Ayovi is fairly selfish in the final third and a very direct player. He always tries to go for luck on his own and does not have an eye for his teammate. He tends to try to get past multiple opponents before scoring, too. Ayovi’s complacency in front of the goal led to Ayovi only scoring one goal in this match. His use of space was average. There was a lot of space in behind and Michael Ayovi failed to make good runs in behind.
Rating: 4 – I think that Ayovi has a lot of work to do before he can become a great striker. He was the captain in this match and his selfishness in front of the goal was really bad. He has a lot of potential in the physical and athletic areas. There is also something there in the technical area, but there is a lot of room for improvement.
Jeremi Natanael Rangel Loor – Left-Winger – 18/01/2007 (15) – Ecuadorian
Jeremi Rangel is around 175cm tall and has a normal build. He played 68 minutes as a left-winger and is right-footed. Rangel refused to use his left foot. The Ecuadorian player protects the ball well when in between the ball and the opponent. He showed good acceleration and pace in this match. Rangel did not take on his opponent that much in the match and was not involved in the play, but he showed good changes of direction and athleticism in the attacking 1v1 duels. Jeremi Rangel often received long passes from the other wing. He showed good receiving skills and almost always got his first touch right. His passing technique on his right foot was good. However, his final pass was below average in this match. He often tried to play low crosses with his right foot but always failed to reach the target. Jeremi Rangel liked to cut inside from the left wing and always looked for a teammate in space to play a through pass. The winger had quite a low intensity in this match and could have done more to have more involvement in the game.
Rating: 4 – I think he has some potential in the physical, athletic and technical areas, but he is not at the level of some of his teammates who have a similar age. I want to watch Jeremi Rangel more often though because I think he has some potential. He also just turned 15.
Darwin Johan Guagua Silva – Central Midfielder – 06/11/2007 (14) – Ecuadorian
Darwin Guagua is around 170 centimetres tall and has a lean build. He played as a right central midfielder. Guagua looked quite two-footed in the 45 minutes that he played but predominantly used his right foot. Darwin Guagua has quick feet and turns. He looked really athletic in this match. The Ecuadorian midfielder had a sloppy first touch at times. However, generally, Guagua has a good technique. The midfielder had good passing over both short and medium-long distances. Darwin Guagua liked to play powerful passes into the attack. He has good close control when dribbling. The midfielder played with a lot of energy and looked like a box-to-box midfielder. At the age of just 14, he is already playing for the U17s. However, because Independiente del Valle was unfocused in the second half, Darwin Guagua did not see that much of the ball and failed to make his mark.
Rating: 3 – I think he has potential in the physical, athletic and technical areas. He could become a lot better, but it is quite early to give a full future projection after these 45 minutes.
Jakson Jorcael Plaza Guagua – Central Defender – 27/05/2006 (15) – Ecuadorian
Jakson Plaza is around 178 centimetres tall and had a lean build. Plaza played 45 minutes as a left central defender. The defender is left-footed and did not look good using his right foot. He did not look that quick in this match and was beat by pace occasionally. Jakson Plaza looked vulnerable playing in a high defensive line. He has a good passing technique over both short and long distances. Jakson Plaza likes to play passes into midfield. The Ecuadorian was good with these passes, but in one situation he played a very loose pass through the centre with his right foot. Most of his actions were around halfway on his own half. He saw a lot of the ball in the first phase of the build-up and progressed the ball quite well.
Rating: 5 – I don’t think he showed much potential. Jakson Plaza did not seem to have much potential in the physical and athletic areas. He had good technical ability with his left foot.
Jeffrey Jair Caiza Bazurto – Left-Back – 29/05/2005 (16) – Ecuadorian
Jeffrey Caiza is around 173 centimetres tall and has a lean build. Caiza played 45 minutes as a left-back. He is left-footed and did not use his right foot that often. Jeffrey Caiza has decent pace and acceleration. He has a good leap in aerial duels and won most of his aerial duels. The left-back has good agility and good changes of direction. Jeffrey Caiza likes to carry the ball forward and made a lot of progressive runs. He is a very attacking-minded left-back and had a lot of involvement in the attack. The Ecuadorian left-back has a good passing and crossing technique. He was accurate and consistent with his passing. Most of Caiza’s actions were near the halfway line. He often received the ball in that area and carried the ball forward before giving the ball to one of the midfielders or attackers. He had good intensity in the 45 minutes that he played and looked like a dynamic left-back.
Rating: 3 – I think Jeffrey Caizo showed potential in the physical, athletic and technical areas. It will be interesting to see more of him in the future. I will watch more of him in the future when he is a starter.
Braulio Josue Manobanda Urbano – Central Defender – 06/04/2005 (17) – Ecuadorian
Josué Manobanda is around 182 centimetres tall and has a normal build. Manobanda played 22 minutes as a right central defender in a three at the back formation. He is right-footed and only used his left foot once in the 22 minutes that I saw him play. Manobanda had good pace and acceleration, especially for a central defender. He won a sprint race against an Independiente Juniors attacker. Josué Manobanda looked mobile and had quick feet. The Ecuadorian defender has a good passing technique and liked to play passes into midfield. He played with a lot of concentration but made a few errors with his first touch. Most of his on-the-ball actions were around halfway on their own half. His defensive actions were in the defensive third, but also higher up the pitch when Independiente Juniors were defending in a high defensive line.
Rating: 4 – He is one of the older players for this side and only played 22 minutes, making it hard to really assess his potential. However, he showed potential in the athletic and physical areas, while also having a decent technique apart from his first touch. It will be interesting to watch him from the start.
Duvian Andres Sevillano Cortez – Left-Winger – 22/11/2006 (15) – Ecuadorian
Andrés Sevillano is around 180 centimetres tall and has a normal build. Sevillano played 22 minutes as a left-winger. As Independiente del Valle under 17 were mostly defending throughout the last twenty minutes, Sevillano was not that much involved in the play. The Ecuadorian attacker was quite strong in the duels. He is quite quick on the first meters and was capable of maintaining that pace over longer distances. Andres Sevillano has bad one-touch play and was unlucky with the one through pass that he played. He showed good vision at that moment though. Sevillano mostly operated in the half-space, as left-back Jeffrey Caiza was often carrying the ball forward close to the touchline.
Rating: 4 – It is quite hard to assess the potential of this winger based on 22 minutes in which the team mainly defended, but he showed some potential in the physical area. However, in the technical and athletic areas, he did not show that much potential, but my opinion on that could change if I see more of him. I will watch him more often.