Independiente del Valle: secret of its success, by Jorge Barraza – International Soccer – Sports

When one puts «Independ…» in Google, the legendary Independiente de Avellaneda, seven times champion of America, does not appear, he appears Valley Independent. It means something: it is the fashionable team. The new champion of the Recopa Sudamericana. could with flamenco, the Brazilian giant, but Independiente is the Ecuadorian Giant Killer. In 2016, when few knew that they existed, Boca and River did not matter. To Boca, 2-1 in Quito and 3-2 at La Bombonera. They also beat Atlético Mineiro 3-2. Last October they knocked out São Paulo in the Copa Sudamericana final (2-0) and now sent FLA to the canvas, the undefeated champion of the Libertadores who played 13 games, won 12 and tied one.

The nickname is no exaggeration: among his long list of victims are also Corinthians, Gremio, Botafogo (Brazilians are his specialty), Olimpia, Cerro Porteño, the original Independiente, Estudiantes, Barcelona, ​​Junior… He has inflicted merciless thrashings on him to Spanish Union and Catholic University of Chile, to University of Peru. It is a mosquito that bites strongly.(You may be interested: Independiente del Valle surprises Flamengo and is the Recopa champion)

In Brazil, this new debacle of Flamengo against the modest Negriazul team appeared little. In 2020 Independiente del Valle had already given him a historic beating in Quito: 5 to 0. The worst flamengo international defeat in its history and marked the worst of a current champion in Libertadores. “Flamengo plays with 50 million fans behind them,” says Ufarte, that Atlético de Madrid striker who started at the rubronegro club because he lived in Rio de Janeiro as a youngster. Fifty million against fourteen followers, but in the rectangle there were no differences. It was 1-0 for IDV in Ecuador and 1-0 in favor of Flamengo in Brazil. On penalties, the terrible efficiency of Independiente del Valle made him the winner by 5 to 4. With this he won his third international title and raised $1,800,000 in prize money.

Flamengo’s 192 million annual budget cannot compare to Independiente del Valle’s less than 10 million. IDV, as it is summed up in your country, is the symbol of this notable evolution of Ecuadorian soccer that some neighbors are determined to relativize, but which is becoming more evident every day. It is already a two-time champion of the Copa Sudamericana (2019 and 2022) and was the Ecuadorian champion in 2021. Be careful: it is a humble club by history, but its managers are immensely rich and have turned Independiente into a tasty business.

A short review of his brief football career is essential. IDV was born in 1958 as a tiny regional club. It lived in the third category until, on the verge of disappearing, in 2005 it was taken over by the wealthy real estate businessman Michel Deller, owner of shopping centers and chains such as KFC, a bank in Panama, a brewery and others. Deller gave him professional management and, already in 2007, he got promotion to Serie «B». Barely two years later, a new title and the long-awaited arrival in the First Division. Since 2010, everything has gone from amazement to amazement: it has classified nine editions of Libertadores and five of South American Cup.

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He stole a good portion of the limelight from Barcelona, ​​Emelec and Liga de Quito, the big three, he achieved authentic feats at the continental level and, most especially, he became the enlightened discoverer of talents who has given birth to almost all good players. Ecuadorians of the last decade. A saber: Moisés Caicedo (today at Brighton), Piero Hincapié (Bayer Leverkusen), Gonzalo Plata (Valladolid), Ángelo Preciado (Genk, Belgium), Júnior Sornoza (went to Fluminense and returned to the club), Jhegson Méndez (São Paulo FC), Alan Franco (Talleres de Córdoba), Mario Pineida (Fluminense and now Barcelona), Michael Estrada (Cruz Azul), Juanito Cazares (Independiente de Avellaneda) and a dozen more who made up the selection and went abroad.

Since that first third title in 2007 they have had 16 coaches, which indicates that the success of IDV does not correspond to an enlightened one, it is the philosophy of the club that triumphs. 5 Ecuadorian coaches (all at the beginning), 5 Argentines, 2 Spaniards, a Brazilian, a Portuguese, a Uruguayan and a Colombian (Alexis Mendoza) have paraded. The current is Martin Anselmi, emerged from Independiente de Avellaneda.

What is the formula for success? they ask abroad. The one of a lifetime: recruit the best prospects in the country. Newell’s Old Boys, the top Argentine seedbed, was already doing it in the 20s of the last century. At first, due to being so new and lacking in structure, he received minors who were approached by representative Marcos Zambrano. Then he formed his own scouting network. It has been observed with a strong presence in the provinces of Esmeraldas, Manabí, Guayas, Pichincha, Los Ríos. He built a modern stadium and, above all, a magnificent high-performance center in Sangolquí, 40 minutes from Quito, he captured the best figures from the U-12 and U-14 championships and takes them to the pension.

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“There are 120 boys who are pupils there. That costs the club three million dollars a year, but they recoup it by transferring just one player. In addition, they sell up to 70, at most 80% of the pass, the rest they keep”, says Tito Rosales, editor of Sports at El Comercio, from Quito. And he adds: “Before, the boys went to Barcelona or Emelec, now they are looking for them to go to IDV, because they know that they have a better future there. There is a key man in all this phenomenon that is Independiente: Santiago Morales, manager of the club. He does not come from soccer, he is an economist, but he knows a lot. He put everything together and everything goes through him. He is the head of the scouting department, a key space. Morales is the one who also monitors each contract for the first team. Each reinforcement is chosen based on data, he is a data obsessive. If they are going to hire a containment midfielder, they study him in depth, how many saves he makes per game, how many games they play a year, what he runs, his efficiency in passing… ”.

michel deller He is not alone in the club, he has three other business friends as members. They have just bought the Numancia, from the third category in Spain, where they will surely take young people to do internships or show them in Europe. There they can increase their price. The president of Numancia is none other than Santiago Morales.
Many ask what the IDV model is like, to copy it. Nothing science fiction: have people who know about football. In lower territory, make a sweep throughout the national and take the best promises; in professionals, study very well each signing based on performance. In these clashes against Flamengo, they lined up seven Argentines and one Chilean. Elements of low price and high response in the field.

«They say that within the sports complex they also have a school,» says a friend. Yes, the boys who arrive at the club’s boarding house are obliged to study and enjoy all the comforts. They may also have a chapel to pray. But the secret of this success is to have a good eye, to recruit the good ones. All good, but if they bought later