According to Doble Amarilla, Marcelo Gallardo has departed for Quito and is set to officially become the head coach of the Ecuadorian national team. This will be his first time managing a national team. He will lead the team on a trip to Asia for two friendlies against South Korea and Japan.

Before departing from Ezeiza International Airport, Gallardo explained why he accepted Ecuador's offer: "This is a completely new challenge for me. I've always been curious about what it would be like to coach a national team. I think this opportunity came at the right time because I was eager to start working again."

Gallardo revealed that Ecuador had approached him two years ago: "Two years ago, before Sebastián Beccacece took over, I had this opportunity. But at that time, I wasn't in the right state to accept such a challenge."

"Now, two years later, this opportunity has come around again, and I feel good. I'm motivated and eager to take on a completely different challenge in my coaching career. I'm very happy."

Speaking about Ecuador's current squad, Gallardo said: "This is a very talented generation of players, which obviously excites me greatly. Many of them are young and gifted, with many playing for top clubs in Europe, and some have enormous potential for development. This makes me even more eager to take this step and help them improve."

Regarding the team-building strategy going forward, Gallardo stated: "Our goal is to build a team that the Ecuadorian people can strongly identify with, and that requires a process."

"This team certainly has potential and players capable of taking the next step. We will begin a long-term process, hoping everything progresses in the right direction with proper support behind it. These things cannot be achieved overnight."

On the upcoming World Cup qualifiers, Gallardo was cautious: "We need to see how the World Cup qualifiers develop and whether more nations will participate in the next World Cup, which will determine the level of competition we face. We'll have a clearer picture later."

According to the schedule, Gallardo will be officially unveiled after arriving in Quito and will announce his first squad for the Ecuadorian national team. Ecuador will face South Korea on September 24 and Japan on October 1 in their first Asian tour following the World Cup.

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