Gustavo Alfaro will make his World Cup debut as a manager in Qatar. Ecuador is his first assignment as a national coach. A known face in Argentina, Alfaro coached teams like Rosario Central and Boca Juniors in the past after a short club career with Atletico Rafaela. A midfielder by trade, he captained the club when it earned a promotion to Argentina’s Premier Division.
As a coach, Alfaro, 60, is known for producing miracles. In 2012, under his coaching, Arsenal Sarandi clinched the Argentine league.
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When he took up the Ecuador assignment in 2020, the South American country’s hope of qualifying for the World Cup was far and few between. Ecuador had failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup under the coaching of Jorge Celico. Jordi Cruyff, in fact, left the team without even taking a game.
Alfaro discarded old guard Antonio Valencia and included young faces such as Piero Hincapie, Moises Caicedo and Gonzalo Plata, among others, to rebuild the team.
The Argentine manager will now be relieved after Sports Arbitration Court allowed Ecuador to retain its World Cup spot following a raging controversy. One of his key players, Byron David Castillo, was at the centre of the feud. Castillo plied his trade for Ecuador despite being ineligible to play. He was born to Colombian parents and entered Ecuador illegally. Just a week before the World Cup, Ecuador left out Castillo from its 26-member squad.
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Alfaro does not rely on any specific formation. Depending on his opponents, he decide to apply one from 4-4-2, 4-3-3 and 3-5-2. Of the three, he prefers 4-4-2 formation, but during the qualifiers, he juggled between 4-3-3 and 3-5-2. It will be interesting to see which formation he uses during the World Cup.
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