Overview
- Reports on Aug. 30–31 say Gallardo has reached a verbal agreement with the Federación Ecuatoriana de Fútbol and is expected to travel to Quito next week to sign a contract that the FEF has not yet announced.
- Ecuador’s president of the FEF, Francisco Egas, led the negotiations and is credited in reports with pushing the federation to pursue a high‑profile coach.
- This would be Gallardo’s first job with a national team after a decorated first spell at River Plate and mixed recent club results in Saudi Arabia and a second River stint.
- If he takes the job he will have under a month to prepare the team for friendlies in Asia, including a Sept. 24 match in Suwon and a tournament match in Yokohama on Oct. 1.
- The FEF frames the move as a ‘jump of quality’ to capitalize on players such as Moisés Caicedo and Piero Hincapié, and the hire could raise public expectations and increase short‑term pressure on results.