Jordi Cruyff steps down as Ecuador coach

Cruyff resigned from his post on Thursday without having led a single game or even a training session.

In this picture taken on 13 January, 2020, Ecuador’s president Lenin Moreno (left) welcomes Jordi Cruyff as Ecuador’s new national football coach in Quito, Ecuador. Cruyff had signed a three-year contract.

Jordi Cruyff has stepped down as Ecuador coach without leading the national team in any games.

The Ecuadorian football federation said on Thursday it had agreed to end the Spanish-Dutch coach’s contract at the request of Cruyff, who is the son of football great Johan Cruyff.

“The coach of the national team communicated his resignation to the president of the federation,” the federation said in a statement. “All contractual clauses will be respected, including the one of damages for unilateral termination of contract by the coach.”

The 46-year-old Jordi Cruyff, a former Barcelona and Manchester United midfielder, had signed a three-year contract in January before the coronavirus pandemic interrupted the international season. With the permission of the federation, Cruyff has not been to the South American nation since March.

South American World Cup qualifiers are set to begin in less than three months. Ecuador’s first match will be against Lionel Messi’s Argentina.