The Vultures Are Circling.

By: Mauro | July 7th, 2008

In an effort to keep the continental and European clubs from completely picking apart this great Libertadores Cup winning side, LDU Quito has promised to do all they can to keep this squad together so that they can represent South America in the Club World Cup in Japan this December with a side resembling the one that played this last Wednesday.

LDU’s lead director, Rodrigo Paz, has said that maintaining the level they’ve achieved this season is going to be a tough mission but that they have pledged to do all they can to keep the core group of players together. Part of that is securing their more important player’s and coach’s contracts for the forseeable future.

While they had lost Joffre Guerrón, transferred to Getafe of La Liga, before the end of the Libertadores run was completed, they managed to secure most of the rest of their players to contracts. This, of course, does not keep the European clubs from coming in and offering a sum too good to pass on.

Speculation about the futures of Ecuadorian players Luís Bolaños and Patricio Urrutia and Paraguayan player Enrique Vera has already begun. All were integral to the cup win in their own way and it seems their contracts may be up soon.

Some might consider Urrutia, who will be 30 years old in October, a little too ripe for European football, I’m sure there would be a few Mexican clubs or even a Brazilian club or two that would be interested in him. I’ll have a few arguments when I say that Urrutia could very well be the heart and soul of this squad and his resolve in midfield and long range shot will be sorely missed.

Bolaños, on the other hand, has been rumored to have offers from clubs in Spain as well as San Lorenzo de Almagro in Argentina. The Argentine Primera is a great league to place himself in the shop window while keeping his eye on a transfer to Europe. Although a transfer from Argentina would fetch a bigger fee than directly from LDUQ in Ecuador.

Bolaños, together with Guerrón, were the principal threats for LDU on offense and it would be a HUGE blow to their future hopes should they lose them both at the same time. Franklin Salas is a fine replacement for Bolaños and showed in one big match (vs. San Lorenzo, 2nd leg) that he’s ready to step in and make a name for himself.

Paraguayan international, Enrique Vera is showing great form right now, with club and country, where Paraguay are leading the qualifiers for the World Cup in South Africa in 2010. I could see him ending up somewhere else in South America or maybe Mexico as he is 29 this year and most likely a little too long in the tooth for a European transfer. Still, it would be hard to replace him at LDU since he has been a great contributor for the squad.

Coach Edgardo Bauza has a contract with the club until the end of the year and both sides seem to agree that he’ll see it out. Should a bigger club come sniffing around from Europe, unlikely in my opinion, LDU will not be able to compete.

Not that Bauza is a bad coach or anything, I think what he’s done with a relatively obscure team is very notable, but the track record for Argentine coaches in Europe is not a great one, with exception to the one or two seasons that Hector Cuper had with Valencia. I could see him being picked up by a big club in any country in South America, except maybe Brazil.

Meanwhile, Damián Manso and Claudio Bieler are both still under contract with the club until at least the end of the year. Bieler is only 24 and I could possibly see him in Europe but only with a smaller Spanish team or in Turkey, Greece, Russia or possibly the Netherlands. All those countries pay better than Ecuador and the better clubs could offer some type of Champs League or UEFA Cup experience.

Manso is 29 as well and could possibly get some time with a Mexican club or in Argentina. I couldn’t possibly rule out another stint with his old club, Newell’s Old Boys in Argentina. But a transfer for both these players is at least 6 months off. Personally, I believe Manso was instrumental on this squad. When he went off injured last Wednesday, Bolaños was unable to fill the gap left by him and LDU’s offensive production waned.

Still, while all these now big name players could vacate the club, I’ve spoken of Franklin Salas’ ability to replace Bolaños, other players of note that are still playing with the club and have shown some great ability are, Edder Vaca and Jonny Villalba and William Araujo. While a little longer in the tooth, they also have World Cup veteran, Agustin Delgado, on their squad and most of the defense will remain.

Central defender Norberto Araujo signed a new contract this week. He was being followed by Argentine clubs, Independiente and Boca Juniors but he decided to stay on with the club for the next three seasons. He was solid at the back and formed a fantastic tandem with Renán Calle and Jairo Campos, both staying on for the time being.