Argentinian goalkeeper Javier Burrai showed with his performances in Barcelona that he is not only a fundamental bastion for his team to fall in terms of results, but confirmed that he can be considered one of the best foreign goalkeepers to come to the yellow club throughout history. And there are a few you have to challenge that privilege with. We can’t avoid including Luis Alberto on this list criminal cap Alayón, the Uruguayan goalkeeper who defended the crest of the bullfight between 1970 and 1973. His success in stopping penalties, speed, great reflexes and personality made him an idol for Canarian fans.

In the history of goalkeepers with a great career in Barcelona, ​​it is impossible not to include the Brazilian Helinho, remembered as Flying fish, a name he justified by hitting a stick on a stick, thanks to his great agility. Helinho was Barcelona’s goalkeeper between 1963 and 1966, winning four titles with the Toreadors. In my opinion, respecting the opinion of others, he is the best foreign goalkeeper who arrived in Barcelona and Ecuador. In addition, Helinho was the first goalkeeper born in another country to play in official competitions with the Ecuadorian team.

The history of Javier Burrai’s arrival in Ecuador dates back to 2018, and it is known that striker Juan Manuel Tévez, who had already played in Macara, called Burrai, who at that time was playing in Gimnasia y Esgrima de Jujuy. At first he did not agree to come because he had no idea about Ecuadorian football. One of the reasons that helped him decide was the meeting with goalkeeper Esteban Dreer, with whom he was a teammate at Arsenal de Sarandí.

Burrai admits that from the age of five he loved covering himself and that his father instilled in him a passion for football and became his coach. He practiced every day after returning from class in a rustic arch in his backyard. His father gave him his first gloves and boots. Burrai admits that these were times of great economic difficulty.

Óscar Burrai, his father, supported him in making the decision to leave his hometown of San Nicolás and seek more happiness in the great Buenos Aires, an event that allowed him to forge his personality. Javier Burrai made his debut in the first division when he was about to turn 26 years old, in Arsenal. He was then hired by a Swiss club, but returned to Argentina in 2017. He was playing in the second league when he received a call that changed his life and came to try his luck in Ecuadorian football.

After two acceptable seasons with Macaro Ambateño, the big news was when Carlos Alfaro Moreno and Aquiles Alvarez announced that Máximo Banguera, who was the absolute owner of Barcelona’s goal, would not continue in the team and that his replacement would be Javier Burrai. The news was received with some skepticism; replacing Banguera was not an easy task in those days.

As the years pass, it is necessary to recognize the success of these leaders. Burrai made himself irreplaceable with his spectacular performances. He had memorable performances, such as when he played the final of the 2020 championship against Liga de Quito in the second leg, on the night of December 29 in the capital, defined by penalties, and Burrai saved two. That epic journey catapulted him to hero status.

We all remember her tears dedicated to the memory of her father who passed away a few months ago. After the game, Burrai looked up at the sky and exclaimed, “That was my old man, I swear that was my old man.” His performance was key to Barcelona winning the 17th star. In recent days, Burrai has again given a lot to talk about, on and off the pitch. He was the star of his team again last Sunday against Delfín. Three impressive saves prevented defeat. He had a brilliant performance. But there was also a lot of talk about the interest and progress of the naturalization process as an Ecuadorian.

The nationalization of football players in our country has a long history. It is estimated that more than 60 players have been granted Ecuadorian citizenship. The history of these procedures is full of irregularities, primarily due to the manner in which they were approved by various governments on duty. From time to time, we were surprised not only by the speed and exclusivity of the procedures, regardless of the requirements, conditions and deadlines that the procedure requires, which are clearly not respected. Many of us have wondered why soccer players enjoy advantages to convince the authorities that they want to be Ecuadorian.

It is known in football circles that in most cases, the athlete decides on citizenship so that he is not a foreigner and thus can renew the contract that will keep him at the club. There are quite a few cases and it was not difficult to find out whether a football player was really interested in acquiring our citizenship because of a sense of belonging to the country or for purely commercial reasons.

But the fundamental concern lies not in whether the procedure is prolonged or shortened, but in the reason for the grant based on the so-called “naturalization by the services relevant to the country”. In doing so, you must be direct: what are the relevant services for the state? Let it be clear that the interested party should not refer to this procedure approved by our Ecuadorian citizenship for the relevant services. It has to be the state that has to approve it, because it considers it naturalization by honor, which is also called great extraordinary naturalization or by grace.

In exceptional cases, it was awarded to distinguished foreigners who had made great contributions to the welfare of the nation. Juan Carlos Holguín did well when he was in the position of Chancellor of the Republic, when he confirmed “that in the government of Guillermo Lasso, foreign athletes will not be granted Ecuadorian citizenship for relevant services”. Because of this, the files of several footballers did not progress, such as Lorenzo Faravelli, Cristian Pellerano, Bruno Piñatares, Burrai, Ezequiel Piovi and others.

A few days ago, the president of the Barcelona Football Commission, Antonio Álvarez, referred again to the fact that the matter of the nationalization of Burrai has gone too far. I assume that the regular procedures requiring three or more years of living in the country have been completed. And if so, he has the right to consider him a compatriot by ministerial decree. Burrai also revealed his interest in being called up to the national team, and if he gets our citizenship and fulfills the condition required by FIFA, five years of residence, then DT Félix Sánchez Bas could freely choose him. I wonder if Alexander Domínguez, Hernán Galíndez and Moisés Ramírez are in Tri for merit; whom Burrai would marginalize.

It would also be unfair for Pedro Ortiz and Gonzalo Valle, because of the level they are showing, to be delayed once again. We will soon know the details about the naturalization of Burrai and the decision of the Spaniard Sánchez Bas in the invitation for the qualifications that begin. (OR)