Ecuador run provides ideal showcase for players

BAD KISSINGEN, Germany, June 18 (Reuters) An Ecuador assistant coach joked that his side's World Cup run would see him replace Alex Ferguson as Manchester United manager but for the players attracting foreign clubs is a serious business.

Ecuador are assured of a place in the last 16 only four years after their World Cup finals debut following convincing victories over Poland and Costa Rica.

Indeed they will end up top of Group A if they draw with hosts Germany in their final match on Tuesday.

The squad arrived as virtually nobodies -- hardly surprising given only five of them play abroad -- and a general sense that they do not travel well, having been unbeaten in qualifying at their high altitude home but victorious only once on the road against Bolivia.

Ecuadoreans have hardly made a mark overseas. Striker Agustin Delgado lasted over two seasons at then premiership side Southampton but injury limited him to just five starts.

Right back Ulises de la Cruz, the only squad member in the premiership, struggles to make the starting line-up of mid-table Aston Villa.

Two of their number, captain Ivan Hurtado and striker Carlos Tenorio, ply their trade in Qatar.

Striker Ivan Kaviedes, now at Argentinos Juniors, was the first Ecuadorean to play in Europe when he moved to Perugia in 1998 but has hardly settled, moving clubs more than a dozen times since then.

RAISED PROFILES Ecuador arrived in Germany at a low-point following a 2-1 friendly loss to Macedonia at the end of May. Pundits were predicting an early exit. But since then they have blossomed and proved their critics wrong.

Centre back Giovanny Espinoza, right midfield supplier Edison Mendez or fellow midfielder Segundo Castillo, all playing for sides in capital Quito, have all raised their profiles.

When asked about future prospects, the players themselves give a standard answer that their thoughts are only on the next game but no doubt their agents are fielding far more calls.

If pressed, some admit to having ambitions to move to bigger clubs in Europe.

Hurtado, Ecuador's most capped player and now at Qatar's Al Arabi, has his sights on the premiership or possibly a return to Spain, although nothing has been settled.

Coach Luis Fernando Suarez has also said he would like to try his hand in Europe, although Ecuador have offered him a contract for four more years.

REUTERS AY RK1444