Today, we Ecuadorians are risking our destiny. The Government seems to have lost control of the country, which is now ruled by sinister forces of evil. Will it be possible to restore freedom, peace, security and democracy itself, threatened in the streets and prisons, from where they send ominous signals of hatred that end in the execution of officials, candidates and ordinary citizens, while those who have to protect us do not talk about fantastic “security rings” ? What is our duty today? Simple: think before making a decision that can take us back to the time when we were an “island of peace” (today it seems like a joke).

An old photo to dispel the fog

Writing a sports column at this crucial moment in life in society seems easy, but it is not. A dose of memory, a return to the memory of what is pleasant can help clear our minds when we are in a dark room in Ecuador that is getting darker every day.

The great Valencian blew out 95 candles

Review of old columns from time Sunday anecdotes (1990-1998), invented by our friend/brother Otón Chávez Pazmiño, we notice a photo in which Eduardo Guzmán Zuloaga appears. We started thinking about past gunboats and a few names popped up. We then noticed that, with the exception of the much-anticipated Washington Muñoz, the big guns that came through Buenos Aires soccer were left-handed. Since the time of Leonidas Machete Elizalde, who appeared in Panama in 1929 as a defense partner with Norbert Fox In 1930, Pérez moved to the Cacique line-up from General Córdoba. With peanuts seemingly brittle Machete He stood as a left winger next to the man who made him eat goalkeepers: Kento Muñoz.

Chacarita: my first football love

His trademark was the fearsome ball or volley. He went to Racing in 1931, and from there to Italy, where he established himself as a goalscorer by finding another eminent playmaker: Jorge Tolosano Laurid, who had already been called up Silky feet. It was selected in 1939 for the first South American tournament in which Ecuador participated (in Lima) and opened the way for great left-handed bombers.

Carlos Raffo (i), Carlos ‘Trompudo’ Pineda, Manuel ‘Chamo’ Flores and Clemente de La Torre. Photo: File

Fewer foreigners in the Pro League is ‘archaic’

When Emelec started being the cast of Millionaires, Juan Avelino Pizauri came to Guayaquil from the Vélez Sarsfield Reserve. On May 28, 1949, the Argentine made his debut as a second-half substitute for the North’s Carlos Peralta in a game against Aucas for the Pacific Tournament. Raúl Murrieta Rodríguez, who wrote in the newspaper The Telegraph as a pseudonym R3baptized Pizauri as Crazy for his spectacular starts, his antics and his great shot “that shakes the hills of Santa Ana,” as Murrieta wrote.

Barcelona SC, victim of hateful Creole cannibalism

‘Atomic Bomb’ Guzman

Pizauri’s predecessor in that cannonball was a powerful Guayaquil player who made a name for himself in Panama. In 1946, at an official tournament of the Guayas Sports Federation, he launched a missile that left Patria goalkeeper Carlos Roldán in his sleep. “It sounded like an atomic bomb,” said EL UNIVERSO, and since then they have been nicknamed Eduardo Guzmán Zuloaga. He went to Everest in 1951 at the beginning of his professional career; He was in the South American national team in 1953, in which he scored a goal from a free kick against Bolivia; and from there he went to Emelec in 1954.

Frantz Reichel and his role in the sports history of Ecuador

Eduardo Guzman’s shot had nothing to envy to the megatonic explosion. Journalism unanimously continued to call him the nickname by which history records him: Atom bomb.

He had just turned 16 when Clímaco Cañarte, one of the most intelligent players in our football, made his debut in Barcelona. They put him in as an emergency left tackle before the retirement of Guido Andrade. He wasn’t a pointer, and he wasn’t left-handed either, but he became the best in the country. He was a playmaker at heart who also had a missile in his left leg. He was in the national team from 1957 to 1965 and will forever remain in history.

Another big left-handed winger was Santiago Osorio, who arrived on October 9 from the Mendiburo Tigers of the Salem League, to integrate one of October’s best forwards: Vicente Vargas, Marcos Gómez, Pedro Figueroa, Luis Drouet and Santiago Osorio. He was stunned by the power with which he hit the ball, apart from his undeniable skill. In 1955, he went to Unión Deportiva Valdez and was no longer hit by Lucho Drouet with long balls, but Carlos Titan Altamirano. Osorio returned at the end of his career on October 9, but we always remember the great goal of his brand in the milagreña jersey scored on October 28, 1956 against Barcelona. Neither the crossbar nor the goalkeeper nor the audience noticed Osorio’s goal, but when the ball was peacefully sleeping at the base of the net.

In an unforgettable time for Emelec, who comes from Liga de Quito, one of the most technical Argentinian players who have passed through our halls arrived in Guayaquil: Roberto Child Ortega. He had an impressive poster. He starred for Colombia’s El Dorado at Deportivo Independiente Medellín, trained at Portuguesa de Deportes in Brazil and had the luxury of joining Fiorentina in Italy, alongside Julinho and Miguel Ángel Montuori. With him, the historical sequence of the five sages was completed: José Vicente Balseca, Jorge Bolaños, Carlos Raffo, Enrique Raymondi and Child Ortega.

De la Torre and the ‘Devil’

On August 28, 1962, in the Shipyard Classic, Ortega hit a free kick that sounded like an explosion. The ball sparkled off the grass. Pablo Ansaldo tried to block, and the ball hit the stone. The brilliant goalkeeper of Buenos Aires fell to his knees when the ball went over him like a comet and opened the goal. He was an all-time great and scored real goals.

He was a substitute for Ortega. He was an ill-mannered boy and brought himself to a tragic end. when Child Moved away, stayed as owner. He hit some impressive shots. It was Clemente de la Torre, from Emelec. We remember as milestones his strike from almost 50 meters when the Clásico del Astillero was dying on January 26, 1964. The score was empty and Barcelona won the national title (of 1963) with a tie. Almost from the corner of the midfield and flanks, from the side of the stands of the Modelo stadium, Clemente fired a ball that slid into the goal and that only the miracle of elasticity Helinho was able to deflect over the crossbar into the arc that overlooks the covered Colosseum (today Voltaire Paladines Pole ). Thanks to that blow, Barcelona was the champion.

Like De la Torre, but with more swagger due to his dribbling and quick runs, we’ll never forget Tiriza, the Brazilian left-handed striker who came to Barcelona from Bangú in 1963. His skinny legs produced the deadly left-footed kick with which he injured Hugo Mejía, breaking three ribs. He scored spectacular goals from free kicks or volleys, from kicks or from the first. The fans gave him a nickname that went down in history: devilbecause of his diabolical performances along the line and his hellish shots. (OR)