1997 in Ecuadorian football

Football in Ecuador

Season

1997

← 1996

1998 →

The 1997 season is the 75th season of competitive football in Ecuador.

National leagues

Serie A

Champion: Barcelona (13th title)
International cup qualifiers:
- 1998 Copa Libertadores: Barcelona, Deportivo Quito
- 1998 Copa CONMEBOL: LDU Quito
Relegated: Calvi, Deportivo Quevedo

Serie B

Winner: Panamá (1st title)
Promoted: Panamá, Delfín
Relegated: 9 de Octubre, Esmeraldas Petrolero

Segunda

Winner: Deportivo Quinindé
Promoted: Deportivo Quinindé, Audaz Octubrino

Clubs in international competitions

Team	1997 Copa Libertadores	1997 Copa CONMEBOL
El Nacional	Eliminated in the Round of 16	N/A
Emelec	Eliminated in the First Round	N/A
Técnico Universitario	N/A	Eliminated in the First Round

National teams

Senior team

The Ecuador national team played nineteen matches in 1997: ten 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, 4 at the 1997 Copa América, and five friendlies.

1998 FIFA World Cup qualifiers

Qualification to the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France finished in 1997. Ecuador finished 6th in CONMEBOL and failed to qualify to the tournament.

12 January 1997

Bolivia	2 – 0	Ecuador
Moreno 7' Etcheverry 12'

Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz

Attendance: 39,968

Referee: Óscar Ruiz (Colombia)

17 February 1997

Ecuador	4 – 0	Uruguay
Aguinaga 6' Delgado 69', 76' Chalá 86'

Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, Quito

Attendance: 18,000

Referee: Javier Castrilli (Argentina)

2 April 1997

Peru	1 – 1	Ecuador
Palacios 59'		Aguinaga 79' (pen.)

Estadio Nacional, Lima

Attendance: 42,299

Referee: John Toro Rendón (Colombia)

30 April 1997

Argentina	2 – 1	Ecuador
Ortega 13' Crespo 28'		Aguinaga 67'

Estadio River Plate, Buenos Aires

Attendance: 62,300

Referee: Félix Benegas (Paraguay)

8 June 1997

Ecuador	1 – 1	Chile
Graziani 43'		Salas 53'

Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, Quito

Attendance: 42,225

Referee: Benito Archundia (Mexico)

6 July 1997

Venezuela	1 – 1	Ecuador
Miranda 75'		Hurtado 55'

Estadio José Pachencho Romero, Maracaibo

Attendance: 4,729

Referee: Arturo Angeles (United States)

20 July 1997

Colombia	1 – 0	Ecuador
de Ávila 87'

Estadio Metropolitano, Barranquilla

Attendance: 35,000

Referee: Marcio Rezende (Brazil)

20 August 1997

Ecuador	2 – 1	Paraguay
Aguinaga 53' Graziani 78'		Báez 5'

Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, Quito

Attendance: 30,000

Referee: Rodrigo Badilla (Costa Rica)

12 October 1997

Ecuador	1 – 0	Bolivia
Graziani 26'

Estadio Monumental Isidro Romero Carbo, Guayaquil

Attendance: 14,568

Referee: Arturo Brizio Carter (Mexico)

16 November 1997

Uruguay	5 – 3	Ecuador
Saralegui 3', 12' Abreu 48', 52' Carlos Aguilera 63'		Graziani 2', 59', 68'

Estadio Domingo Burgueño, Maldonado

Attendance: 10,000

Referee: Antonio Marrufo (Mexico)

Copa América

The 1997 Copa América was held in Bolivia.

Group stage

Ecuador was drawn into Group A with Argentina, Chile, and Paraguay. They finished first in the group and advanced to the quarterfinals.

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Ecuador	3	2	1	0	4	1	+3	7
Argentina	3	1	2	0	3	1	+2	5
Paraguay	3	1	1	1	2	3	−1	4
Chile	3	0	0	3	1	5	−4	0

11 June 1997

21:05

Argentina	0 – 0	Ecuador
	Report

Estadio Félix Capriles, Cochabamba

Attendance: 17,000

Referee: Jorge Nieves (Uruguay)

14 June 1997

16:05

Paraguay	0 – 2	Ecuador
	Report	Sánchez 71' Graziani 86'

Estadio Félix Capriles, Cochabamba

Attendance: 5,000

Referee: Paolo Borgosano (Venezuela)

17 June 1997

19:05

Chile	1 – 2	Ecuador
Vergara 51'	Report	Graziani 32' Gavica 55'

Estadio Félix Capriles, Cochabamba

Attendance: 8,000

Referee: Rafael Sanabria (Colombia)

Quarterfinals

22 June 1997

15:05

Mexico	1 – 1	Ecuador
Blanco 18'	Report	Capurro 6' (pen.)
Penalties
Hernández Suárez Chávez Sánchez Blanco Villa	4 – 3	Montaño Graziani Fernández Capurro de la Cruz Rosero