Like most of Central and South America, Ecuador is soccer-mad and it can be said that soccer, popularly
known as "futbol", is the national sport of Ecuador.
Soccer in
Ecuador does not have the same association
with middle class "Soccer Moms" that is typical in the United States.
Rather, because of its basic simplicity and the lack
of any necessary equipment besides a ball, soccer thrives in lower income
working class areas where it is often the only recreational outlet available.
Ecuador loves its soccer.
Many of the sport's most famous players have risen
from poor origins to become national heroes on the scale of victorious generals
or movie stars.
When LDU Quito became the first Ecuadorian team to win
the regional Copa Libertadores in 2008, the country went wild.
People were celebrating like crazy, even before the second leg of
the final.
It gripped the nation and people were delirious.
Some maybe take it too seriously here.
Just ask former national team coach Hernán Gómez, who
was shot in the leg by a man who reportedly didn’t like that he’d excluded the
ex-president’s son from the team.
“It [the shooting] is something we all regret and
condemn,” former Ecuadorian president Abdalá Bucaram, the player’s father, said
at the time. “However, it’s soccer and people get excited and take revenge.”
Ecuador is a country of varying climates and high
altitudes, and the Ecuadorian soccer
team has successfully exploited their home advantage in international play.
In 2006, the national team qualified for the World Cup
by defeating world-renowned powerhouses such as Brazil and Argentina in games
played in Ecuador, at altitude.
However, Ecuador showed in the 2006 World Cup played
in Germany that it had moved beyond the ability to play well only in high
altitudes.
The nation's team had only qualified for the World Cup
for the first time in 2002.
It was a huge boost to the national pride and
self-esteem.
The slogan for the country because quickly “Si se
puede”, “Yes, you can” and it was chanted in every street corner, home, school
and work place.
When the team came home, it was met by tens thousands
of people at the airport and it toured through the country where even more
people came to the streets to see the new national heroes.
Sadly this year in Brazil, Ecuador could not show its
skills but was sent home after a stalemate with France.
It was truly a national moment of grief and many
people could be found crying on the streets.
Although Ecuador didn’t make it very far in the World
Cup, people take refuge in the fact that the players are getting recognized for
their skills.
The new, and some old, national
stars include the right winger Antonio Valencia,
famous for his exploits at Manchester United.
The previously underrated central
midfielder Cristhian Noboa from Dynamo Moscow, who is
gossiped to be changing teams to a better one soon.
The left wing, Jefferson Montero, another pride for the country who is
eager to see where he will be playing in the future.
Other stars Ecuador just loves to
love are Felipe Caicedo Frickson Erazo, Walter Ayoví and Renato Ibarra.
Soccer isn’t just soccer, and it
won’t be over when this Cup ends.
There’s always the drama and
glamour, and don’t forget that Ecuadorians are eager to see their stars’ wives
and hear about their domestic lives also.
And to keep playing themselves, whenever and where ever it is possible.
And to keep playing themselves, whenever and where ever it is possible.
