UPPER MONTCLAIR, N.J. – Reynaldo Rueda is back in North America, a place that recently hosted the battles where he finally gave Honduras the elusive dream they had been chasing for 28 years: the World Cup comeback.
Done with the Honduran journey where he left a great legacy of new names in the national team – including World Cup international defender Roger Espinoza of the Kansas City Wizards – the Colombian coach has started a new project with the Ecuadorian national team.
Still, Rueda had nothing but positive things to say about his experience with Honduras.
“It was a great experience," he said on Wednesday before Ecuador’s practice in preparation for the upcoming friendly against Colombia on Friday at Red Bull Arena. "[Honduras] offered an excellent lesson of a soccer culture that combines many different styles of play."
[inline_node:320210]“North America, Central America and the Caribbean are very different, but yet they compete in the same region, which has bigger things, like its calendar and such,” he added.
His new challenge is similar to the one he achieved last year: take the Ecuadorian squad back to the world’s elite competition. Ecuador missed the World Cup in South Africa after participating in both Japan and Korea in 2002 and Germany in 2006.
Still, Rueda is aware that the path will be different, since the World Cup qualifiers in the Americas differ from one region to another. Even though he spoke about the differences, the coach refrained from making comparisons.
“To establish similar aspects between the qualifiers in CONCACAF and CONMEBOL is very complex," Rueda said. "My experience in CONCACAF was big.”
“[I hope to] have a good run in Ecuador. … They have evolved a lot, thanks in part to the work done by our predecessors, who have left their mark and a big challenge,” Rueda added. “We have to take advantage of what they’ve done, continue learning and hope that we can fulfill the expectations of the federation and the fans.”
Speaking about their upcoming game against Colombia, Rueda expressed that it was a “nice opportunity, a very interesting game because of the moment that the two teams are going through currently. I hope that works for both of us in terms of reaching better conclusions.”
The game will be a special one because of the “special reciprocal relationship we share.”
“Everyone in Ecuador loves Hernán [Darío Gomez, Colombia’s current coach] because of the history he achieved when he took them for the first time to a World Cup,” Rueda said. "We have respect for each other and our land, where we shaped our careers and had the honor to lead the national team.”
Now with Ecuador, he doesn’t feel as if he is in a strange place. On the contrary, it is a squad he knows well.
“Thanks to the process I had in South America, I faced these players since they were playing in youth divisions and I’ve seen their development,” he said. “Now the goal is to successfully mix the veterans with those who are starting out, and that way create the team that we all need.”
