CS Emelec U17 – Match Report vs. Independiente del Valle U17 (17/11/2022)

CS Emelec U17 lost the final play-off match of the league against Independiente del Valle U17. After losing the first leg 3-1, the Guayaquil club lost 3-1 in the Estadio Banco Guayaquil making it a 6-2 loss over two matches. Emelec had a very good start, scoring the opening goal through captain Diogo Bagui. They set up in a 5-4-1 which moved into a 4-3-3 in possession, but they were playing in other formations quite often in this match as the players moved out of position all the time. It sometimes seemed like they did not play in a clear formation.

Youth 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

Jair Collahuazo

• Nationality: Ecuadorian
• Age: 16
• Date of birth: 21/01/2006
• Club: Emelec
• Career: Emelec
• Position: Centre Back
• Preferred foot: Left

Collahuazo played as a left central defender and formed a partnership with captain Diogo Bagui. Jair Collahuazo was the tallest player on the pitch, standing at 1.96 meters. He has a slim build. The Ecuadorian was relatively quick on the first meters and maintains that speed over longer distances. For someone of his height, he turns pretty quickly. I think he should still work on his athleticism even more, because this could be a great strength for his size. In first phase possession, he usually carried the ball forward a few meters before playing a long pass into the attack. This was mainly due to Emelec’s direct playing style. His play-in pass was pretty sloppy sometimes. He also gave away possession near his own box because his pass was sloppy, leading to Independiente del Valle’s third goal. He is comfortable on the ball under pressure.

The defender cut the passing lanes pretty well, doing well to scan and adjusting his position accordingly. He seemed to also scan pretty well in the box but his positioning dealing with crosses was not ideal as he lost Ayovi a few times. Collahuazo wins most aerial duels as he times his leap very well. His height also helps him to clear crosses. He looked pretty passive in his defending, but his timing of stepping up was good and his interceptions were strong. The Ecuadorian youth international managed to block Anthony Montezuma’s shot in front of an open goal after the goalkeeper made a big mistake, showing that he’s willing to put his body on the line to prevent the opponent from scoring. Jair Collahuazo did well to look at the ball in 1v1 duels with Kendry Paez. Paez liked to do fake shots, but Collahuazo did not get wrong-footed and did well to stay in front of him, not allowing him to find a gap to shoot. He also did well to win isolated 1v1s on the wing with Anthony Montezuma, even though it seemed like he could have been beaten easily if Montezuma would have turned the other way because Collahuazo only covered the inside of Montezuma.

Generally, I think that Jair Collahuazo looked pretty composed in defence apart from a handful of situations in which he was slightly uncontrolled. Collahuazo struggled with his defensive positioning when Independiente del Valle were playing quick combinations around the box. I think he won most of his defensive 1v1 duels this match, but his technique and positioning defending 1v1 situations can do with some improvement. He sometimes got too close to his opponent, forcing him to commit which went well in this match but could be a problem in the future.

Rating – 2

I am pretty certain that Jair Collahuazo will make it to Emelec’s first team within three years. However, he could also be an interesting player for MLS or LigaMX clubs to pick up before he makes his debut for the Guayaquil club.

Diogo Bagui

• Nationality: Ecuadorian
• Age: 17
• Date of birth: 20/03/2005
• Club: Emelec
• Career: Emelec
• Position: Centre Back
• Preferred foot: Right

The captain of Emelec played as a left central defender and formed a partnership with Jair Collahuazo. Diogo Bagui has a normal build but seems to generate a lot of power from his legs. He looked really strong in ground duels against Independiente del Valle’s attackers where they were positioned with their back towards the goal. Diogo Bagui is quick over long distances, but also showed decent speed over short distances. Bagui had alright athleticism, changing directions well but not looking super quick on the turn. He had a lot of confidence in aerial duels and timed his leap really well to win duels against Ayovi. However, in shoulder-to-shoulder duels Ayovi often had the upper-hand as Bagui was slightly slower and lost balance in those duels.

The defender of Emelec did well to cover Collahuazo’s back when an over the top through pass was played. Diogo Bagui generally made the right decisions out of possession, being passive when he had to be passive and stepping up when he needed to step up. Even though Emelec conceded three goals, I think that Bagui did pretty alright in defence and he displayed great maturity when defending. Sometimes, Independiente del Valle’s quick passing and speed was just a bit too much for Emelec’s midfield and defence. I think that his defensive positioning could be a little bit better though, as most of the chances came through average defensive positioning.

The defender did really well to compose himself in front of goal when he scored a penalty in the fourth minute. He also looked really composed carrying the ball out from the back, but did not have a great long passing technique. He gave away possession several times in first-phase possession, allowing Independiente del Valle to maintain the pressure on Emelec’s defence. His short passing technique was pretty good and he did not make any big mistake with his short passing.

Rating – 3

He was one of the better players in this Emelec side and showed good leadership skills. I think that Bagui has what it takes to become a future first-team player and he will probably move to the under 19’s next season. With 8 goals in 17 matches, I think that it is likely that Bagui has played in other positions for Emelec too.

Ronaldo Vera

• Nationality: Ecuadorian
• Age: 16
• Date of birth: 11/03/2006
• Club: Emelec
• Career: Emelec
• Position: Left Wing
• Preferred foot: Right

Ronaldo Vera played in multiple positions in this game, which was pretty odd to see because he played as right wing-back, central midfielder and left-winger in one game. He started off as a central midfielder in possession, while moving to the right wing-back position out of possession. It is possible that he just drifted out wide too often, which would be a problem, but I am not sure because he did this almost always and seemingly played on the right in a five-at-the-back. After Emelec made a sub in the first half, he moved to the left-wing position. He looked much better in that position, as it was clear quite quickly that he is not a defender.

The Ecuadorian youngster is pretty small and has a small build. He tried to stay out of the duels but compensated with high intensity and aggressiveness in the duels, without stepping over the line. Ronaldo Vera liked to step up as a wing-back but seemed overeager to intercept the ball, stepping into the duels too late and not composing himself. One of these duels also led to the 1-1. The youngster seemingly gave up in the duel after he got beat by pace. He did this multiple times which also led to a few chances for Independiente del Valle.

Most of Vera’s quality was on the ball in this game though. Ronaldo Vera moves really quick with the ball at his feet and seems to have the ball on a string while dribbling. He changes direction very quick. Cutting inside from the left wing, Vera proved that he can be really dangerous in the final third, having his shot from long range cannoned off the crossbar. He had really good power on his attempt from distance and striked the ball cleanly. However, he did seem like a pretty one-dimensional player on the left-wing, always trying to cut inside but not always timing his actions well.

Rating – 4

I thought that he has an interesting playing style, but it was a really tough match for Ronaldo Vera as he played out of position, while also not being involved much in the game because of Independiente del Valle’s dominance in the game. With 9 goals in 14 matches for the U16 in 2021, Ronaldo Vera definitely has played in an attacking role before. This season he has 3 goals in 17 matches for Emelec U17.

Joel Cedeño

• Nationality: Ecuadorian
• Age: 16
• Date of birth: 08/09/2006
• Club: Emelec
• Career: Emelec
• Position: Centre Back or Right-Back
• Preferred foot: Right

Joel Cedeño also played in various positions in this game. Starting off as a right central defender in a five-at-the-back, the Ecuadorian youngster moved into right-back in possession and fully played as a right-back later on in the game when Emelec made a sub. In the second half, Emelec went back to the original formation, meaning that Cedeño moved back to right central defence. I think that Joel Cedeño stands at around 1.75-1.80 meters, but he did not have a stocky build.

The Ecuadorian does not have great starting speed in the defensive 1v1 duels, losing the 1v1 duel pretty easily and not being able to prevent Independiente del Valle from scoring the 1-1. He also got beat easily because his starting position in the duels wasn’t great. He should really work on his defensive positioning in the 1v1 duels. The defender does not seem that athletic either. He is not capable of changing directions quickly, which makes him a vulnerable target for quick, agile wingers. However, he reacted to runs in behind pretty quickly allowing him to be one step ahead of the opponent, which he needs. Cedeño’s timing of stepping up was not that good. He didn’t time his interceptions well and was always slightly too late.

Joel Cedeño did not have many touches on the ball and did not look good whenever he touched the ball. He struggled to control the ball well during the times that he received a long pass, allowing his opponent to snatch the ball off of him. His technique definitely needs to be worked on.

Rating – 4/5

As Joel Cedeño was the youngest player for Emelec in this match, I can not be too harsh on him, but he did not look great in this match. However, I will definitely re-watch him in a different game to see how he performs against lower-level opponents. He has not made that many appearances for Emelec in the last two seasons, meaning that he either has been injured or just not good enough to play regular football for the Guayaquil club.