Overview
- The Ecuadorian Football Federation confirmed Marcelo Gallardo as national-team head coach on a contract running to 2030.
- Gallardo arrives directly from River Plate, where he won 14 official titles including two Copa Libertadores, and this will be his first job managing a national team.
- He succeeds Sebastián Beccacece, whose World Cup tenure included a 2-1 group win over Germany before Ecuador fell in the round of 16 to Mexico and the coach stepped down.
- The federation called the hire the start of a 'new era' aimed at long-term squad building, but it has not yet announced Gallardo’s staff, tactical plans, or immediate fixtures.
- Gallardo continues Ecuador’s recent pattern of hiring Argentine coaches—he is the fifth Argentine in 11 years—and his appointment could speed the export of young Ecuadorian players to bigger leagues and shape the national program through the 2030 cycle.