How simple in their size were former sports stars. They were found on the street, walking like any other citizen. They never refused a greeting, a handshake, maybe a photo, even though cameras could only be bought by people with good money at that time. They would stop at the corners of Buenos Aires when the neighborhoods were occupied by gallant ‘carrots’ talking about gossip, girls, movies or sports.

Long gone are the days – today – when permission for an interview must be sought 15 days in advance from the club’s head of public relations (generally a sour and unpleasant type). It will take at least a month for the ‘star’ to step in front of a microphone, mobile phone or television camera and start with the familiar: “Yes, no, I think…”. The terms are extended if it is a foreign ‘crack’ that no one knows in their country, but wins as a European player. I am making this introduction because as a child I lived in the reality of past times. And one of my favorite stories has to do with Alfred Bonnard, the best goalkeeper of all time for those of us who saw him play, except for those who never saw him mind the fence in the old Capwell or Model Stadium era. . Alfredo had already shone on Everest, North America, and Valdez when I, standing on the southeast corner of Pedro Moncayo and Aguirre streets—my unforgettable neighborhood—waited for him to get out of a taxi one Sunday afternoon. “Good afternoon, Alfredo, can I hold your briefcase?” He didn’t know me, but he must have seen my face as a good boy (11 years old) and handed it to me.

He went up to the apartment of his Everest and national team teammate Gerard Layedra and when they both came down Alfredo asked me: “Do you want to go to the stadium?” How I wouldn’t want to if a year ago my father took my brother Andrés and me to watch the Promotion games. Gerardo and Alfredo took me in a taxi to the entrance to the stands and with the famous goalkeeper’s briefcase, which did not come loose at all, I walked through the gate onto Calle San Martín. I was in the Capwell stands for the first time in my life. In my olfactory memory, the smell of the massage that came out of the changing rooms and the smell of the hot dogs that the old man made remained forever. Bow Sir.

The National Professional Football Commission of the National Sports Federation of Ecuador had the task of organizing our country’s participation in the South American Cup in Lima in 1953. Chosen as the weakest team by the organizers, the team was imposed a calendar in which it had to debut against the host in order for it to shine. On February 28, at the National Stadium in Lima, the match was played in front of 50,000 people. The day was not easy for the Peruvians, despite the shyness of the Ecuadorian striker.

At the end of the first 45 minutes, when Bonnard headed for the tunnel, suddenly the Peruvian fans rose to send him off with a thunderous ovation. Only a little hesitation allowed the Peruvians to score. The chronicle EL UNIVERSO, sent by Miguel Roque Salcedo, says: “Bonnard, magnificent, without any fault; covering high and low and showing hand position and safety. He was a great figure and the public, not inclined to our team, gradually reacted positively and in the end unreservedly applauded the meritorious performance of the goalkeeper who was a wall”. Ecuador’s second appearance was on March 4 against Paraguay. The public again watched Bonnard’s extraordinary performance with amazement. He surrendered the fence undefeated the first time, and in his report for the Associated Press, Argentine journalist Luis Vidal Sologuren commented: “Bonnard taught the goalkeepers.” When Bonnard re-entered the field, the crowd stood up and applauded him. The match ended goalless. Suddenly, the Peruvian fans asked Bonnard to ride the Olympic lap to the cheers of those in the stands, the Paraguayan players and his teammates. For Vidal Sologuren, “Ecuadorian defense was great, especially in the first half when almost the whole game took place in the Ecuadorian field. Bonnard was the best man of the night because he has vision, he’s safe, he’s brave and he dodged so many that it was considered fact. Paraguay was later the champion of South America.

Against Brazil, everything pointed to a victory on March 12. It was 2-0, and against established rivals from all over the world, Bonnard played a monumental game. For the critics, according to EL UNIVERS: “On the Ecuadorian lines there was a hero, the best goalkeeper ever seen in this championship: Bonnard. Rightly praised by the crowd, he stopped Brazil’s dominance. He held him back only because all Ecuadorian lines had moments when they indulged in perfect technique. But Ademir, for example, finished twice from the first, Didí once, Rodríguez once, and it was a cannon shot, and Baltasar, who tried shots, disappointed the Ecuadorian’s courage, security, vision of the position. For the marketfrom Lima, “the elegant striker of the Brazilians collapsed in front of the figure of the goalkeeper Bonnard”.

On March 23, against Uruguay, the team fell physically exhausted from intense work. A big score against could make praise for Bonnard overblown. It is for this reason that part of the comment is worth reproducing United Press International: “Bonnard continues to be an incredible goaltender who covers everything humanly possible. The Ecuadorians try to play, the defense opens up, and the Uruguayans press and give Bonnard a chance to become a star because in less than six minutes they shoot him five times from all the positions that the great goalkeeper covers, causing tremendous cheers and the strikers approach the Uruguayans to congratulate him”.

Vidal Sologuren said: “This is Alfredo Bonnard, the goalkeeper of the Ecuadorian team, the revelation of the competition.” We salute Bonnard for that match in which his team was in the game against the colossus of South American football, Brazil, and in which he experienced a defeat that is as much to his honor as the victory”.

Star seekers wasted no time. French businessman Alphonse Boghossian offered Bonnard a transfer to a team of his choice in Paris, Nice or Monte Carlo, whose clubs gave him the authority to sign the porteño at any price. Boghossian wanted to take him with him to Europe, but Bonnard preferred to return to Guayaquil since he promised to move to Unión Deportiva Valdez. Thus, the great possibility that the best goalkeeper of all time in Ecuador would play on the Old Continent was thwarted. (OR)