ECUADOR-COSTA RICA: Coaches' Quotes

15 June 2006

Luis SUAREZ (ECU)
Did I ever dream of this moment? Yes, I did. People back in Ecuador will be delighted, and so they should be, because this is a day for celebration. The one thing that we have got going for us is the fact that we are solid at the back. We take a lot of satisfaction from keeping clean sheets. It’s always our starting point, and everything we do in the match is based on that.

Today we achieved our goal and that of the fans back home: to play one more match than at the last World Cup. And we don’t want to stop there. We want to go on and make a few more dreams come true. We're already well-known across the globe because we beat Argentina and Brazil, two traditionally strong teams, in qualification. On Tuesday, we have the opportunity to build on that reputation, and to show how far we have come. We've got the chance to make history against Germany, one of the traditional powers at this level.

Is it down to me? Without blowing my own trumpet, I think that I've picked the right squad. The players' contribution, though, has been enormous and I have to give them credit for that. I know that whoever I pick will go out there and do his job. Without them you wouldn't even be asking me if I think that I am the reason behind our success.

I don't think we can be so presumptuous as to choose our next opponents. The further you get in the World Cup, the harder it becomes, but that will be the same for whoever plays us. We deserve respect, as we respect every other team here, and our opponents will know that we are a strong side. It's like those people who said that we only won because we played at altitude. Over the last two games, we've shown that there's much more to us than that. Is this the best game of my life? No, the best game of my life is always the next one.

Alexandre GUIMARAES (ECU)
I don’t think we were too defensive. They scored an early goal from a situation that didn’t look very threatening, and from that point we were always chasing the game. Our game plan is based on hard work, and keeping things tight at the back. But today Ecuador were better than us in both of those aspects, and so they controlled the game. In the second half, they scored early on again, and we had to take risks, without ever having a lot of possession. That played right into Ecuador’s hands.

I’m in charge of this team, and I make the decisions. We’ll come to our conclusions after the third match, but, undoubtedly, to concede seven goals in two games, when we work so hard on our defensive system in training, is just too much. But I want to congratulate the Ecuador players and staff. They've carried their good form into the tournament, and they are worthy winners. They've done what we did in 1990, and I hope that they can go even further.