They speak and remember with emotion their trips to the World Cups in which they have accompanied the Ecuadorian team in the most important international soccer event that takes place every four years. Their happiness overflows them.
They remember the first match that Ecuador played in a World Cup, their goals, defeats, illusions, expectations and experiences they have had, as well as the cultures, customs and knowledge they acquired on their travels.
They are the fans and fans of the Ecuadorian team, who also live close by and are part of the country’s World Cup history.
Doctor Juan Carlos Estrada and coffee producer Juan Carlos Bustamante from Loja are two of the compatriots who have been to these World Cup events.
A dream in Qatar, Ecuadorians awarded by companies will support the Tri in the 2022 World Cup
The first has decreed and decided to accompany the Tri in all the World Cups to which it qualifies, as long as God allows it.
These fans and fans make their plans in advance, save money, pay for their stay packages and prepare their bags to be at these matches. And in Qatar they will once again sing the national anthem at the top of their lungs in the opening match, between the host and Ecuador, this Sunday. Here part of their stories:
Juan Carlos Estrada: I decreed that I would go to all the World Cups in which the national team qualifies
“You go to see your team because you love it, because you want to experience this beautiful party with it. It is an incomparable experience to be there”, says Dr. Estrada, 53, from the Milenium Clinic.
He relives all his trips and visits as if it had been yesterday. “When the national team’s first match was, Ecuador against Italy (in the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup), you can’t imagine how you could hear people singing the national anthem. We were few, about 3,500 Ecuadorian fans really, maximum 4,000, in relation to the stadium painted blue by Italy. There, the national anthem was heard as if we were 80,000 fans singing, with their throats cut, with tears in their eyes, ”he recalls that meeting 20 years ago.
In that World Cup he also saw up close, behind the arc, the goal with which Édison Méndez made Ecuador win 1-0 against Croatia, the favorite. “After the goal he kissed the ring and pointed his finger (towards the public in that area), it was a complete jubilation, people hugged each other, sang. We went out singing from the stadium to the hotel, in the hotel”, indicates Estrada.
Enjoy the World Cup! Locals and shopping centers get ready to receive the fans
This will be the fourth World Cup event in which he will be accompanying the team on his own. Korea-Japan 2002, Germany 2006, Brazil 2014 and now Qatar 2022.
In the World Cup in Germany, Ecuador advanced to the round of 16 and Dr. Estrada extended his stay in that event to support the team. There he had to venture out to continue his stay, finally managing to get a ticket for the La Tri game in that phase. His wife, Verónica López Uscocovich, also traveled for that week.
From Brazil, he remembers a World Cup with great joy, totally football-focused in every sense of the word. There he took his father, Roberto Estrada. At the moment he travels alone, and if Ecuador goes to the next phase, his wife will also join.
Juan Bustamante: I hope to see my country in the World Cup final
“I’m going to stay for the entire World Cup, I’m going to the three games in Ecuador and the final. I hope I get to see my country in the final, we have to think big as these young people from our beloved team think”, says Juan Carlos Bustamante, 49 years old.
This coffee producer from Celica, in Loja, whose hobby is reading a lot and doing sports in the gym, like cross fitHe has been to the World Cups in Brazil 2014, Russia 2018 and now in Qatar 2022, where he traveled last Tuesday, motivated by his passion for soccer and love for his country, he highlights.
“The World Cup that drew the most attention was Germany 2006, because we went through the group stage. We hope this selection does and exceeds that. The boys of today are very young and hungry for glory”, Bustamante explains.
His trips are planned every four years. In all that time he saved $10 a day. He does it every time he finishes a world cup. Thus, when the appointment in Qatar ends, he will begin to gather the United States, Mexico and Canada for the World Cup that will be played in 2026. his cabal: the faith in God that he has.
He travels alone and there, in each country hosting the World Cup, he makes friends, because his idea is that soccer unites peoples. One of the World Cups that astonished him the most was that of Russia, due to the organization he saw. “It was perfect”.
As for the language, he uses the cell phone translator. That has helped him in all his trips, for this World Cup he will translate from Spanish to Arabic, or vice versa. “I feel happy, very happy and calm. This Friday (today, November 18) I will already be in Doha.
“The Qataris can beat us in money, but in football we beat them,” he says with great conviction. He carries 30 Ecuadorian replica jerseys to trade with fans from other countries. (YO)
Source: Eluniverso
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
